What do you feed your BTA?

[bohlke]

Looking for suggestions on food choices for target feedings, what do you use? Right now I have been feeding the fish a variety of formula 1, formula 2, brine shrimp plus, and prime reef. Are any of those good choices to target feed the BTA or should I go with something specific?

[matttaylor]

silversides. It won't eat anything else

[Donkin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8249857#post8249857 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by matttaylor
silversides. It won't eat anything else

I 2nd the motion.

[bohlke]

They look big, do you feed them whole?

[Donkin]

Depends how big your BTA is. My RTBA is 7 inches in diameter so I feed em 2 whole silversides bi-weekly. You can cut em up to whatever size you need. Soak em in SELCON for some improved nutrient uptake for your BTA :)

[watchdr]

What are silver sides?

My local stores don't have anything by that name.

[Raibaru]

I dont know for sure, but when people say silversides I think they mean bait fish. They are small, schooling fish that kinda remind me of sardines, minnows or anchovies. I figure they buy them at like 7-11, High's or Bait and Tackle stores?

But I dont know for certain. I'm just now gearing up for my clowns. Still a bit off from an Anemone :)

[nlknight]

If you have a Petco or Petsmart close by your home they both carry a frozen bag of medium or large silversides. when i get them home i thaw them out cut them all into about 3-4 pieces ans keep them in a tupperware dish with a lid in the fridge. YUCK I KNOW :mixed: but it makes and keeps the bta's happy

[watchdr]

Ok, Found them at Marine Depot. Have to call to get them since it isn't on their site.

So do you feed them with your fingers or something else?

[bohlke]

I just turned off all of the filters/powerheads and dropped the filets (yeah I cut one fish up into bites) into the BTA. It grabbed them and ate them up. My wife is a little freaked out about the frozen school of fish in the freezer but I am sure she will get over it, right? :)

[Donkin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8253059#post8253059 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by watchdr
So do you feed them with your fingers or something else?

I hand feed mine. Just make sure that your hand are free of any soap :)

[reefer718]

silversides, and rod's food

[SuperNerd]

Mine love aqua yums clams the most for some reason. They also take chopped up krill, saltwater silversides and anything else with a meaty flavor.

[dragonladylea]

Silversides and Krill - My Clown feeds it I just drop it in the tank and the Clown catches it and takes it to the anemone.

[Talonstorm]

My rbta is about 6-7" across. I feed it 2 medium silversides cut in half and soaked in selcon about twice a week. I use a big pair of forceps to lower the food right down to the anemone, that way no one else in the tank tries to freeload a meal. :-)

Good luck,
Tina

[uclajay]

i feed mine shrimp- dont know if its the best thing to feed but i just grab some uncooked shrimp from my freezer. i drop it into my tank and my maroon clown grabs it and places it in the bta. i think my problem is more on the lighting side- i only have 55watt pcs and it seems like they're getting a little white. i've been looking into adding a 175 mh- do any of you think this will work enough for a 24" tall , or should i go with a 250watt.... i'm trying to not go too high with electric costs

[RobNJ]

a 175 will do much more then a 55w PC, but a 250 would be great for sps also if you have any.

[sarahkucera]

I feed my RBTA and my H Crispa silversides.
RBTA just split, so the little halves just got their first meal of silversides. I took a half inch fish and one RBTA got the head and the other got the tail. They will get fed those tiny pieces for a couple of weeks and then I will slowly increase the size of their pieces until they're getting one inch long sections of fish.
My H Crispa is huge, maybe 14 inches across or so, and she gets a whole silverside about two to three times a week.

I get my silversides from the freezer in the fish section of PetCo and Petsmart.

[SuperNerd]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8256972#post8256972 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by uclajay
i think my problem is more on the lighting side- i only have 55watt pcs and it seems like they're getting a little white. i've been looking into adding a 175 mh- do any of you think this will work enough for a 24" tall , or should i go with a 250watt....

Personally I'd go with 250s.