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Need advise: RBTA

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I found someone selling an RBTA 5-6" long, super healthy and amazing color. I don't want to miss this great deal...

My (29g) current tank has a mix of LPS, SPS, shrooms...

Also Im in the process of setting up a 40B and might take up to 6 weeks to get it ready and cycled.

I read a lot about BTA stinging, so what's my best bet?

- partition current tank and place him?
- just let it in my current setup and risk it?
- find a reefer who can help house it for 6weeks?

Thanks
 
Well if you absolutely want it, I'd partition your current tank, they have a tendency to wander and yeah it will sting everything in it's way, then it'll attach itself to a rock in such a way that you have to take the rock with it for the new tank.

If there's nothing unique about the anemone though, i.e. yellow tips, or something, I'd hold off on buying it, I mean RBTAs are hardly rare, hell I have enough of them to prove that. Plus it will make sure you have everything you need as far as lighting, flow, etc set up perfectly before getting one, I haven't been keeping up on your thread but last I remember your lights were not really up to snuff.
 
I tried RBTA and it's not worth it in my opinion haha.
I had 2 little ones in a 40g tank and in short they both committed suicide, I tried turning off power heads, I tried manually moving the anemones around but eventually they finally found their way into the powerhead & yeah I ended up with anemone salad for a day or two.
I probably could have covered my power heads etc. which is simply way too much headache plus lack of extra time to sit there and watch them constantly so I decided I won't attempt it again unless I have a much bigger tank.
 
Devon said:
I don't know how old your reef is. I usually recommend it being at least 6 months old.
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I'm 3 months in..

sfsuphysics said:
I haven't been keeping up on your thread but last I remember your lights were not really up to snuff.
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Got my Kessil A350W a little more than a week ago...

Question to everyone, how much is a RBTA? Like say 3-4inch big?

I looked it up and saw $120s for 1-2 inch... True? If so I'm getting 1/2 of that price for this 5-6" RBTA. Worth it?
 
Navdeep said:
I looked it up and saw $120s for 1-2 inch... True? If so I'm getting 1/2 of that price for this 5-6" RBTA. Worth it?
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Yeah, this is one those times (which doesn't occur that often) where the "online price" is not cheaper than locally sourced, online prices for anemones tend to be higher than normal couldn't say why but they are.

I often sell mine off for $20-40 depending upon size and difficulty to get off the rocks. Mine are typically 2-4" in size although I do have a few bigger ones, it really depends how happier than are at any one time.
 
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i haven't paid more than $40 for an rbta of medium size. i would agree with waiting a little longer before you get it.

it is in my opinion, that the earlier you get your rbta into your tank, the better. if your tank is lightly stocked, you can accommodate its moves by moving livestock/coral around. it gets much harder later when you have more livestock and the rbta decides one day to move... which has happened a few times to me already.

if it's in a place i don't want it, i usually block it with a piece of live rock/rubble or irritate it with my finger every so often until it moves.
 
Looking at your older posts it says you've been in the hobby two months now and tank cycled for about a month or so... Anemones are pretty tough to keep, especially in tanks under 6 months and your parameters are still swinging around a lot for a nem. Also I didn't notice phosphate levels in your other posts... Have you been monitoring that? And your ph?
 
Highly recommend the hanna phosphate checker.

Anemones are very sensitive and when they die, can nuke your whole tank (not pretty). Patience is the key to keeping them alive. Once you have an extremely stable tank, then it is time.

Which LFS do you regular?
 
I think its definitely smart to wait for at least a few months for the BTA. You'll have no problem finding a good deal from a member on here when you're ready. I know its hard to be patient in this hobby (I have the same issues sometimes), but it never pays to rush things with reef tanks. Its been just under 3 years since I started in the hobby and I just now got my first anemones. They're a bit harder to keep and have some different considerations from other corals. Its so awful to rush into getting something and then watch it die. Its a waste of money and then it can also effect the rest of your tank. Better to just have patience and wait until you have an established tank with stable water quality.

One idea for not having to worry about the BTA walking and stinging other coral is to stick it on an island. Since you're starting a new tank anyway, you could build a little rock island in your scape for the BTA you plan to get. That's how I handled it in my new scape. I've got an island with several inches of sand on all sides, so the BTAs can only walk around on that island and not bother any of the corals on the other parts of the scape.
 
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