GBTA Closes and "Poops" almost daily

eastfernstreet · 04/10/2013, 01:42 PM

I have a GBTA in a 6-month old tank and have had him for almost three months. He has been hosting a pair of young, black o. clowns for a few weeks now. He is bright green, about 6-8 inches across and, after a few initial wanderings on the rocks quickly settled into a mid-level, upside-down berth in the front of the tank.

He is not "bubbled" but his tentacles are stout, he eats a little krill every couple of weeks and seems generally quite happy.

Question: How worried should I be that every couple of days he closes up and poops out a bunch of brown, stringy matter? He's not bleaching and, as I said, he's happy the rest of the day. (It's this brown stuff that attracted the clowns in the first place.) Is this normal?

(If you want to yell at me for having an anemone in a young tank, feel free, but it's really water under the bridge.)

igarc009 · 04/10/2013, 04:34 PM

My nems are always pooping as well. The more you feed the more they poop. As for the young tank I think six months is more than enough time. I waited a month before I through in Nems into my small nem tank and none have died been over a year.

elegance coral · 04/10/2013, 07:15 PM

The brown stuff isn't "poop". It's zooxanthellae. If the anemone is discharging zooxanthellae that often, it's either bleaching, or the nutrient level of the system is to high causing rapid reproduction of zooxanthellae. You say the anemone isn't bleaching, so if you clean up the system, this behavior should stop.

Peace
EC

eastfernstreet · 04/10/2013, 07:22 PM

@elegance

Thanks. (I was using poop as a descriptive but am grateful for the nutrient info.) I had read that "sick" and "bleaching" anemones would lose their photosynthetic cells but hadn't managed to learn about excess nutrients being a potential cause.

I'll see if that isn't perhaps at the root of the issue (no pun intended).

Thanks!

04/10/2013, 01:42 PM	#1
eastfernstreet Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Tampa, Florida Posts: 150	GBTA Closes and "Poops" almost daily I have a GBTA in a 6-month old tank and have had him for almost three months. He has been hosting a pair of young, black o. clowns for a few weeks now. He is bright green, about 6-8 inches across and, after a few initial wanderings on the rocks quickly settled into a mid-level, upside-down berth in the front of the tank. He is not "bubbled" but his tentacles are stout, he eats a little krill every couple of weeks and seems generally quite happy. Question: How worried should I be that every couple of days he closes up and poops out a bunch of brown, stringy matter? He's not bleaching and, as I said, he's happy the rest of the day. (It's this brown stuff that attracted the clowns in the first place.) Is this normal? (If you want to yell at me for having an anemone in a young tank, feel free, but it's really water under the bridge.) __________________ Learning Patience In hobby since 09/12. Current Tank Info: 90 gal., 2 2x54w T5 w/ATI's, 100+ lbs. LR, 125 Coralife SuperSkimmer, 2x Maxspect Gyre XF250, 2 O. Clowns, 1 Longnosed Hawk, 1 Tomini Tang, 1 Flame Angel, 1 Green Mandarin, Rics, Fox, Montis, GSP, Zoas, Gorg, Birdsnest, Shrooms, Shrimp, Crabs, etc.

04/10/2013, 07:15 PM	#3
elegance coral They call me EC Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: central Florida Posts: 6,208	The brown stuff isn't "poop". It's zooxanthellae. If the anemone is discharging zooxanthellae that often, it's either bleaching, or the nutrient level of the system is to high causing rapid reproduction of zooxanthellae. You say the anemone isn't bleaching, so if you clean up the system, this behavior should stop. Peace EC __________________ "Most of the failures with marine aquaria are due to lack of knowledge of the biological processes that occur in the aquarium." Martin A. Moe, Jr. "A scientist seeks the truth, wherever that may lead. A believer already knows the truth, and cannot be swayed no matter how compelling the evidence." Current Tank Info: I'm trying to see how many tanks will fit in my house before the wife loses it.

04/10/2013, 07:22 PM	#4
eastfernstreet Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Tampa, Florida Posts: 150	@elegance Thanks. (I was using poop as a descriptive but am grateful for the nutrient info.) I had read that "sick" and "bleaching" anemones would lose their photosynthetic cells but hadn't managed to learn about excess nutrients being a potential cause. I'll see if that isn't perhaps at the root of the issue (no pun intended). Thanks! __________________ Learning Patience In hobby since 09/12. Current Tank Info: 90 gal., 2 2x54w T5 w/ATI's, 100+ lbs. LR, 125 Coralife SuperSkimmer, 2x Maxspect Gyre XF250, 2 O. Clowns, 1 Longnosed Hawk, 1 Tomini Tang, 1 Flame Angel, 1 Green Mandarin, Rics, Fox, Montis, GSP, Zoas, Gorg, Birdsnest, Shrooms, Shrimp, Crabs, etc.

04/10/2013, 04:34 PM	#2
igarc009 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 96	My nems are always pooping as well. The more you feed the more they poop. As for the young tank I think six months is more than enough time. I waited a month before I through in Nems into my small nem tank and none have died been over a year.