Feeding BTA

[carnophage]

Has anyone tried feeding their nems feeder goldfish?

[Victor1046]

no I use silversides frozen chopped up

also check out this website she is the expert
http://www.karensroseanemones.com/

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13359816#post13359816 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Victor1046
no I use silversides frozen chopped up

also check out this website she is the expert
http://www.karensroseanemones.com/

Silversides have the fish oils from their organs--very healthy to feed carnivores this---something they get on the real reef but alot of times missing in their diets

I chop up silver sides or blend them with alot of other sea food and feed them to all fish twice a week.

[fatdaddy]

DO NOT FEED THEM GOLDFISH! The reason is simple. Gold fish are fed grain (ie, chicken feed), so goldfish don't have the protein, oils, etc that a BTA needs. You need to feed them something from a marine source such as Shrimp, krill, silversides, etc. I found that mine love freeze dried anchovies, but they have a lot of oil so it's an occasional treat.

Find an oriental food store. They have lots of stuff for a few bucks. It kills me to buy frozen silversides for $8 from a pet store.

[carnophage]

I feed it silversides now, and midias shrimp. i was just wondering, since they are so cheap if it would be ok. Thanks

[puka]

to tell you the truth i have feed them feeders before but like the others said i rather feed them silversides

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13360423#post13360423 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by carnophage
I feed it silversides now, and midias shrimp. i was just wondering, since they are so cheap if it would be ok. Thanks

be careful--you can overfeed an anemone---watch after awhile --it could be spiting it out into the tank
I feed my anemone once a week at best--use to feed it twice a week--no difference
They rely on their photosynthetic algae for food also

[greenbean36191]

BTAs aren't piscivores. Beyond the fact that FW fish aren't appropriate food for marine species, fish of any kind aren't the most appropriate food for BTAs. They're primarily planktivores. Brine and mysid shrimp or cyclopeeze are natural for them. If you do feed silversides or seafood, it should be chopped into fine bits.

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13363310#post13363310 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by greenbean36191
BTAs aren't piscivores. Beyond the fact that FW fish aren't appropriate food for marine species, fish of any kind aren't the most appropriate food for BTAs. They're primarily planktivores. Brine and mysid shrimp or cyclopeeze are natural for them. If you do feed silversides or seafood, it should be chopped into fine bits.

which would mean that if you are feeding mysis shrimp to your tank then the anemomes are probably snacking???

[carnophage]

so, feeder goldfish will not hurt it, but it can not be a constant food source because of the lack of oils, ect.

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13367304#post13367304 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by carnophage
so, feeder goldfish will not hurt it, but it can not be a constant food source because of the lack of oils, ect.

I would recommend strongly that you follow Greenbean's advice;)

[returnofsid]

I think feeder goldfish could actually hurt your BTA. It's a very inappropriate food...very unhealthy and will cause a decline in health. The more unhealthy food anything eats, the less healthy food it can take in.

[fatdaddy]

+1 that goldfish will damage your BTA's health.

There are reasons why anemones have the reputation of being difficult to care for. They need good water quality, excellent lighting, and excellent food source.

btw, they are fast growing animals. If yours isn't growing well, then you should look into it. I started with a baby rose BTA that wasn't bigger then 2". I know have 2 splits bigger then the original and a 10" BTA. I think I've had it a year. (Note to self: keep a journal.)

My first BTA died because it was bleached to begin with, bad water quality, and bad lighting. It stopped eating shrimp and I didn't investigate other foods fast enough. It probably had a 50/50 shot even if I knew what to do with it.

[Attreui]

Agreed, i have 3.. started out with one.. you really dont have to feed them often at all. They get most of what they need from the lights and floating in the water... I will occasionally spray some brine or mysis at them when Im feeding but have no feeding regiment for them at all.

[ahullsb]

I feed mine maybe; once a week. I used to use silversides and krill, etc. Now I just use a chuck of formula 1 or 2, (whatever the red one is) or mysis shrimp occasionally. The smaller bits of food seem to do better than the silversides did. It seems to be less stressful on it.

If you have a "smart" clown pair, they will bring bits of food to it as well. My male clown just started doing that and it saves me the time and trouble of sticking my hand in the tank for feeding the anem!

[cloak]

I don't feed goldfish to my Oscars, let alone a BTA. Much better options out there.
Feeding the bay shrimp or scallops you can buy at the supermarket has worked well for me. Sometimes a cube of prime reef here & there. About once every ten days or so.

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13371600#post13371600 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ahullsb
I feed mine maybe; once a week. I used to use silversides and krill, etc. Now I just use a chuck of formula 1 or 2, (whatever the red one is) or mysis shrimp occasionally. The smaller bits of food seem to do better than the silversides did. It seems to be less stressful on it.

If you have a "smart" clown pair, they will bring bits of food to it as well. My male clown just started doing that and it saves me the time and trouble of sticking my hand in the tank for feeding the anem!

twice a week I feed a home made brew which I did in the blender.
There is lots of silversides in it---your fish ect need the oils that come from the cuts of fish for strong immunity systems
PaulB is a fan of this.

[Paul B]

DO NOT FEED THEM GOLDFISH! The reason is simple. Gold fish are fed grain (ie, chicken feed), so goldfish don't have the protein, oils, etc that a BTA needs

Actually goldfish are inapproproate to feed marine animals no matter what the goldfish are eating. Goldfish will never have the correct oils even if you feed them oil.
Anemones are wierd animals. If properly cared for they will live forever. I know of one which I believe was almost 100 years old. Unfortunately I don't remember what it was eating. Probably not goldfish.
Basically if an anemone has short stubby tentacles it eats fish and anemones with long thin tentacles eats plankton. All anemones will eat any fishy food it is offered but if you feed chunks to say a curlique anemone which has very long tentacles, in a few weeks the tentacles will become short. Try it.
I have even experimented feeding them with guppies.
I would inject the guppies with cod liver oil so I could get some of the oil into the anemone. I diden't notice any difference so I will not recommend it but I do sometimes do that to guppies if I am trying to get something into a carnivore like a lionfish or moray eel. I have used that method to give antibiotics to those fish.
Ill try anything, thats why it is a hobby.
Have a great day and save a goldfish

[Leandrae]

I virtually never intentionally feed my anemones. Every rare blue moon, I'll give them small pieces of krill, otherwise the only thing they get is what they catch when I feed the fish (mysis, formula one, Rod's, flake, whatever the food du jour is)

I have 8 anemones (1 BTA and 7 BTA clones of an unknown variety) My rose has tripled in size since Feb and the others have grown some 5 times larger. I do have some serious lighting on them though, which probably accounts for part of why they thrive without direct feeding.

I wish I could get some of the clones off the rocks...it's a proliferic splitter and soon I will have a 120 gallon anemone tank. They've already killed 2 of my 3 SPS I have in there. Wait, make that an anemone/xenia tank...they don't seem to mind touching each other and they are both exploding all over my tank :lol:

-Janel