BTA help!

woozel121 · 10/23/2011, 10:00 AM

How can I tell if my bta is dying? I got it yesterday morning from my lfs and during the night it didn't seem to be doing well, the only "moving" it has done is falling over, the mouth was open last night and kind of shriveled up and is closed this morning and the body is swollen, if it is dying should I take it out or hope for an amazing recovery? I took in a water sample to my lfs the day before I got the bta and he said everything was perfect, ph levels were at 8.2 and nitrates as well as ammonia was at 0, temp stays at 78, it's a 14 gallon biocube with a snowflake clown fish and a black and white ocellaris clown fish as well as 12lbs of live rock and 1.5 inches of live sand, I have been labeled the shrimp killer as well because every peppermint shrimp I get dies no matter what I do. I can't stand everything dying like this, what do I do?

Ben_n_Em · 10/24/2011, 06:54 PM

Sounds a bit like some early troubles i went through. Did the anemone look fully healthy and extended in the store before you purchased it? How long has your tank been running and what kind of flow/lighting are you using?

I'd try to wait it out a little bit to see if the nem turns it around, but would definetly remove him if he starts expelling a decent amount of spagetti-like innards or starts to deteriorate in any way. No reason to risk polluting the tank and risking the fish.

I lost the first two nems i bought. One was from a LFS and one was online. Had also ironically lost a shrimp or two at that point. Started to think something might be wrong with my tank. I then bought two very healthy nems from a local club member. They have done great for about a year. In retrospect I think the first two i got never had a chance. Never saw either looking too good and there was steady decline till the end.

Good luck. I hope your guy pulls through. I'd just let him be unless you need to pull him out.

-ben

woozel121 · 10/24/2011, 07:28 PM

The anemone died early this morning, the ammonia levels went way up and I have gotten those back down after doing a 2 gallon water change. The tank had only been running for 2 months, my lfs said that all the levels were right and it should be okay, once I get the tank stable again I am debating putting some coral in the tank instead, being some clowns accept those as well, I know an anemone isn't necessary for clowns to be happy, I just want a tank with more than live rock and fish. As soon as I took the nem out of the tank he just completely melted/fell apart, it was horrible. Letting the tank recover now. Think it will be another while before I try another shrimp.

Kabuto · 10/24/2011, 10:10 PM

Did you acclimate it well? I got two BTAs from club members. On one the members sg was almost the same as mine so I only acclimated ~1hr. The other has a much higher sg than I did. It took about 2.5+ hrs to acclimate and get it lowered to my sg level.

Ben_n_Em · 10/25/2011, 08:34 PM

Sorry to hear that you lost him. We all understand the desire to fill a tank, but taking it slow is soooo much better in the long run. Slow and steady additions will greatly improve your odds for success and greatly improve the overall satisfaction with the hobby. I'd also highly recommend researching tank additions (and their timing) on here vice asking the lfs. It was probably too early to add a nem. Agree with the previous post about making sure you are using safe acclumation procedures. A peppermint or skunk shrimp really should be fine in the tank if the fish are doing well. Some local stores are fantastic. Others will tell you anything to make a sale. Unfortunetely most of us need a couple years in the hobby before we can start to tell the difference between those who are providing helpful info and the others. Best of luck in the future.

woozel121 · 10/27/2011, 09:42 PM

I drip acclimated it for 2 hours, and it still didn't do well, could the 20 min car ride home have done damage? I picked up a coral today and it has been doing great, I went to another lfs and tried their shrimp and now everything is all happy and healthy

I did research possible tank additions which is why I backed off on a lot of what I would have liked to choose.

sqwat · 10/28/2011, 08:08 AM

allwaYS follow the one year rule.these lfs should be shut down or fined torturing animals to make a quick buck.if thety just told the customer the right way you make more money in the long run not just some right away they should have to go to a class and get licenced and equipment checked every 6 months to make sure they are using the proper stoff to keep there stock healthy.it makes me sick.not only is this guy out of money now he has a bad taste in his mouth on the hoby its just detrimental

garygb · 10/28/2011, 09:19 AM

Having your own test kits for ph, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate is a good idea. Also, a good refractometer for measuring the specific gravity/salinity is important. The large hydrometers are good (e.g. Tropic Marin), but not that much cheaper than a refractometer and much more of a pain to fool with. Also, in terms of help, pics and tank info. (lighting, tank size, circulation, etc.) will lead to more helpful, useful information to you from RC members.

10/23/2011, 10:00 AM	#1
woozel121 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 3	BTA help! How can I tell if my bta is dying? I got it yesterday morning from my lfs and during the night it didn't seem to be doing well, the only "moving" it has done is falling over, the mouth was open last night and kind of shriveled up and is closed this morning and the body is swollen, if it is dying should I take it out or hope for an amazing recovery? I took in a water sample to my lfs the day before I got the bta and he said everything was perfect, ph levels were at 8.2 and nitrates as well as ammonia was at 0, temp stays at 78, it's a 14 gallon biocube with a snowflake clown fish and a black and white ocellaris clown fish as well as 12lbs of live rock and 1.5 inches of live sand, I have been labeled the shrimp killer as well because every peppermint shrimp I get dies no matter what I do. I can't stand everything dying like this, what do I do?

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10/24/2011, 06:54 PM	#2
Ben_n_Em Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 76	Sounds a bit like some early troubles i went through. Did the anemone look fully healthy and extended in the store before you purchased it? How long has your tank been running and what kind of flow/lighting are you using? I'd try to wait it out a little bit to see if the nem turns it around, but would definetly remove him if he starts expelling a decent amount of spagetti-like innards or starts to deteriorate in any way. No reason to risk polluting the tank and risking the fish. I lost the first two nems i bought. One was from a LFS and one was online. Had also ironically lost a shrimp or two at that point. Started to think something might be wrong with my tank. I then bought two very healthy nems from a local club member. They have done great for about a year. In retrospect I think the first two i got never had a chance. Never saw either looking too good and there was steady decline till the end. Good luck. I hope your guy pulls through. I'd just let him be unless you need to pull him out. -ben

10/24/2011, 07:28 PM	#3
woozel121 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 3	The anemone died early this morning, the ammonia levels went way up and I have gotten those back down after doing a 2 gallon water change. The tank had only been running for 2 months, my lfs said that all the levels were right and it should be okay, once I get the tank stable again I am debating putting some coral in the tank instead, being some clowns accept those as well, I know an anemone isn't necessary for clowns to be happy, I just want a tank with more than live rock and fish. As soon as I took the nem out of the tank he just completely melted/fell apart, it was horrible. Letting the tank recover now. Think it will be another while before I try another shrimp.

10/24/2011, 10:10 PM	#4
Kabuto Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Phoenix AZ Posts: 133	Did you acclimate it well? I got two BTAs from club members. On one the members sg was almost the same as mine so I only acclimated ~1hr. The other has a much higher sg than I did. It took about 2.5+ hrs to acclimate and get it lowered to my sg level.

10/25/2011, 08:34 PM	#5
Ben_n_Em Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 76	Sorry to hear that you lost him. We all understand the desire to fill a tank, but taking it slow is soooo much better in the long run. Slow and steady additions will greatly improve your odds for success and greatly improve the overall satisfaction with the hobby. I'd also highly recommend researching tank additions (and their timing) on here vice asking the lfs. It was probably too early to add a nem. Agree with the previous post about making sure you are using safe acclumation procedures. A peppermint or skunk shrimp really should be fine in the tank if the fish are doing well. Some local stores are fantastic. Others will tell you anything to make a sale. Unfortunetely most of us need a couple years in the hobby before we can start to tell the difference between those who are providing helpful info and the others. Best of luck in the future.

10/27/2011, 09:42 PM	#6
woozel121 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 3	I drip acclimated it for 2 hours, and it still didn't do well, could the 20 min car ride home have done damage? I picked up a coral today and it has been doing great, I went to another lfs and tried their shrimp and now everything is all happy and healthy I did research possible tank additions which is why I backed off on a lot of what I would have liked to choose.

10/28/2011, 08:08 AM	#7
sqwat Registered Member. Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 653	allwaYS follow the one year rule.these lfs should be shut down or fined torturing animals to make a quick buck.if thety just told the customer the right way you make more money in the long run not just some right away they should have to go to a class and get licenced and equipment checked every 6 months to make sure they are using the proper stoff to keep there stock healthy.it makes me sick.not only is this guy out of money now he has a bad taste in his mouth on the hoby its just detrimental

10/28/2011, 09:19 AM	#8
garygb Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: los angeles Posts: 4,471	Having your own test kits for ph, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate is a good idea. Also, a good refractometer for measuring the specific gravity/salinity is important. The large hydrometers are good (e.g. Tropic Marin), but not that much cheaper than a refractometer and much more of a pain to fool with. Also, in terms of help, pics and tank info. (lighting, tank size, circulation, etc.) will lead to more helpful, useful information to you from RC members.