Bubble Tip Anemones have an exotic appearance with gorgeous, eye-popping tentacles that make them flower-like. It is obvious why reefers want to have them in their tanks. Despite being a pleasing addition to the environment, a BTA provides visual wonder too.
But if you are a newcomer without much experience, you will not get the suggestion of getting a BTA. That is because bubble tip anemone placement is tricky. If you cannot do it right, you may end up killing them.
You have to place a bubble tip anemone carefully by putting its container in the tank or pouring a cup of tank water into the jar. The goal is to create an environment to help it adjust to the tank surrounding before actually placing it inside.
Plus, while doing that, you have to secure other factors relevant to your BTA’s care and maintenance. Keep reading to get all the deets.
What Should I Do Before Introducing A BTA To My Reef Tank?
The first things to take note of are about the BTA you purchase itself. When you get a bubble tip, see that it is not suffering from color loss, a crippled foot, or barfing oral cavities. In a nutshell, it has to be healthy and thriving.
When you are sure of it, you are good to go. Now, I want you to remember that handling the bubble tip placement is delicate because of what I will discuss next. The sensitive sea creature is exceptionally sensitive and asks for rigid water parameters. You cannot expect to throw it in your tank and start living there happily.
What Are The Factors To Scrutinize?
The most critical factor to scrutinize is your tank condition. Do not bring a bubble tip to your aquarium if it is not at least six months old. If you have got it for less than half a year, it is yet to have a balanced pH level and requires more time to be stable.
The other factor to observe with importance is the salinity level. Anemones possess a specific degree of salinity similar to their surroundings, being osmoconformers.
They regulate their own concentrations of ions, amino acids, and proteins to match the salinity of their environment. So, when you attempt to acclimate a BTA into your aquarium, be aware of this. If the salinity does not match, it will shock your anemone.
A Mistake To Avoid During The Bubble Tip Anemone Placement
Some reefers have this wrong idea that you need to pour tank water on your anemone before acclimating it. You might also agree to it, but it is not a good idea. It will only create more problems by causing harm to the anemone.
Drip acclimation exposes the anemone to the hectic process of experiencing increased pH fluctuation with polluted water changed into ammonia from ammonium.
Methods For Placing Bubble Tip Anemone
Two widely used methods work well for placing bubble tip anemones. One of them may be a little controversial, but that depends on how and from where you bring an anemone into your tank.
Testing The Water
Here you put the anemone container or bag against your tank around the heat. That way, it will get warm and habituated to the aquarium’s temperature.
Now test the container’s water temperature and evaluate how it stands against your tank condition.
Getting The Anemone In Your Tank
- Faster Method
If the temperatures fall within a neighboring range, place the jar inside the tank. By the way, be sure to keep the external surface neat beforehand. Otherwise, it might cause disruptions in water parameters or introduce foreign substances. Either of them could upset other corals, fish, and live rocks.
- Slower Yet Safer Method
If you are dubious about the first method, do not place the anemone jar in the tank. Instead, take a cup to fill it with tank water, and add it to the container. Do it twice or thrice within 15 minutes.
It is crucial to relieve the anemone of the stressful surroundings and get it in a better place as early as possible.
If you let the bag flow in the water, make some slits on its side within 5-10 minutes. It will let the anemone come out of its own accord, allowing the water to get mixed with the tank water.
Another Mistake To Avoid
You must be sure that the transition into your tank from the jar is smooth in both methods. There cannot be any mishap to cause damage to your anemone when it enters. Put every effort into keeping it protected and unharmed.
What Are The Water Parameter Ranges Suitable For A BTA?
Once the anemone becomes comfortable in its new environment, you should focus on keeping the water parameters stable.
You can make partial water changes regularly. Full water changes are almost never necessary.
I am giving a list demonstrating the exact requirements a BTA needs to stay alive in your tank. You must comply with them if you want to add them to your aqua space.
General Water Conditions
- Alkalinity Range – 8-12
- Gravity – 1.024 – 1.026
- pH Balance – 8.1 – 8.4
- Temperature – 78-degree F to 80-degree F
Chemistry
- Calcium – 350 – 450 PPM
- Ammonia – 0 ppm
- Iodine – 0.06 – 0.10 PPM
- Nitrite – 0
- Phosphate – <0.2 PPM
- Nitrate – <1.0 PPM
- Strontium – 8 – 14 PPM
- Magnesium – 1250 – 1350 PPM
- *PPM – Parts Per Million
What If My Anemone Does Not Stay At A Particular Spot?
When your anemone makes a home in your aquarium, it will attach its foot to some rock on its own. Notwithstanding that, the wise way to confirm their adherence to rocks is to place them in a particular spot around a rock when bringing them into the tank.
If it cannot stay there even after that, try putting more rocks around the anemones. They have a tendency to look for rock crevices and texture, tucking their limbs everywhere on the seafloor. So, when you recreate it for them, the chance of their sticking themselves to rock rockets up.
How Long Does A BTA Take To Settle?
It should not take that long for your BTA to make itself home in a spot. Most do it within half an hour of acclimation, while some take longer because of stress, age, and other issues. Another reason can be their discomfort with the rock you selected.
If it takes so long that you find it alarming, try other substrates or rocks for your anemone. You should also confirm that it has lots of nutrients and stays out of the high pressure of your tank water.
What Lighting Condition Does A Bubble Tip Anemone Prefer?
Lighting is an integral part of bubble tip anemone placement. It needs a medium to high lighting condition to stay healthy.
If the tank does not have as much light as a BTA needs, it will shift to the tank’s mid-region. If there is excessive light, it will change place and choose the area with the poorest lighting.
A lighting output falling between 220 PAR and 350 PAR is the most suitable condition for a bubble tip anemone.
Final Words
So now you know why expert reefers do not advise newbies to have a bubble tip anemone. The placement methods are not complex at all. But what makes it so is the sensitivity of this beautiful creature.
The core concern is to keep the water parameters stable and arrange adequate lighting in the tank. If you can create the environment, do not let lack of experience hold you back. As long as you avoid the mistakes and care for your buddies, they will reward you with a bewildering reefing journey.
