Hair filament from BTA

[Joseph_Joe]

Hi all,

I have a BTA since 1 week in my 6 month old tank.
I noticed that every 2 days, the anemone produces some filament like in this picture. I used to remove them (they were easily pulled) thinking it was some algae or a waste untill I realized that it looks like BTA is regularly doing that.
I don't have corals yet, some fishes and macroalgae. My parameters are good, with a 20 ppm nitrate but 2 ppm phosphate because I used to dose some phosphate to maintain macroalgae before having fishes so when I started feeding them, the phosphate somehow unbalanced but decreasing over time.
Is the BTA okay ? She didn't move from that chosen spot.
I give her a small portion of tuna every 3 days, she doesn't insta swallow it she seems to be processing it very slowly.
Lighting is mainly white and ON for 5 hours (picture Taken when light is off)

Thanks in advance.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Yup, that's normal. It's either expelling excess zooxanthellae or pooping. It looks very bleached... get your phosphates down immediately. What type of lights are you running?

 

[Joseph_Joe]

Yup, that's normal. It's either expelling excess zooxanthellae or pooping. It looks very bleached... get your phosphates down immediately. What type of lights are you running?

I am still a rookie, so is replying 118 W Led based light with channels running up to 35% is a correct answer ? I am not at full light as I don't have yet corals, my mangle seems to grow normaly and to avoid algae bloom.
Is the bleached aspect dangerous ?
I stopped dosing phosphate and am gradually doing frequent WC.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

I am still a rookie, so is replying 118 W Led based light with channels running up to 35% is a correct answer ? I am not at full light as I don't have yet corals, my mangle seems to grow normaly and to avoid algae bloom.
Is the bleached aspect dangerous ?
I stopped dosing phosphate and am gradually doing frequent WC.

Your lighting is not sufficient enough. You need to get a better light and from what you said it seems like this one is not designed for reef tanks. Is it for freshwater tanks? An easy way to tell is if you can turn the lights blue. But like I said look into getting the best light your budget allows. Also, if I am understanding correctly you are running the lights are 35%? Thats way too dark. Anemones have zooxanthellae in the which need light to photosynthesize. The bleached part is dangerous. While the anemone is not dead, all of the zooxanthellae is gone, which is vital to the anemone. Anemones form a symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae. Zooxanthellae is a type of algae. The zooxanthellae goes into the tissue of anemones (and coral) and they preform photosynthesis. The zooxanthellae provides the anemone with the byproducts from photosynthesis, so, zooxanthellae is the biggest food source for the anemone. To get it "un-bleached" you need to make the anemone happy by creating a good enviorment for it. This includes good water quality, stable parameters, sufficient light and flow, and lastly when and what you feed it. So, the first step is lowering your phosphates. How gradual are you doing it? You should be doing a 25+ percent WC a day. Next, you need to figure out your lighting. Have brighter light won't trigger an algae bloom right away. It's quite easy to get CUC. Research what lights will be best for your tank, and buy the best one your budget allows.

 

[Joseph_Joe]

Your lighting is not sufficient enough. You need to get a better light and from what you said it seems like this one is not designed for reef tanks. Is it for freshwater tanks? An easy way to tell is if you can turn the lights blue. But like I said look into getting the best light your budget allows. Also, if I am understanding correctly you are running the lights are 35%? Thats way too dark. Anemones have zooxanthellae in the which need light to photosynthesize. The bleached part is dangerous. While the anemone is not dead, all of the zooxanthellae is gone, which is vital to the anemone. Anemones form a symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae. Zooxanthellae is a type of algae. The zooxanthellae goes into the tissue of anemones (and coral) and they preform photosynthesis. The zooxanthellae provides the anemone with the byproducts from photosynthesis, so, zooxanthellae is the biggest food source for the anemone. To get it "un-bleached" you need to make the anemone happy by creating a good enviorment for it. This includes good water quality, stable parameters, sufficient light and flow, and lastly when and what you feed it. So, the first step is lowering your phosphates. How gradual are you doing it? You should be doing a 25+ percent WC a day. Next, you need to figure out your lighting. Have brighter light won't trigger an algae bloom right away. It's quite easy to get CUC. Research what lights will be best for your tank, and buy the best one your budget allows.

Thanks for the advice, I didn't know about the zooxanthellae.
I shifted up my light intensity up to 70% and added 1 hour.
My light is theoretically well sized, Its lumens are above the required lumen per gallon. I know that the sizing ref is the PAR, but I don't have that info neither a PARmeter.
I used to keep a low light time cause my tank is in the living room that is south-west exposed. Tank is directly exposed to sunlight half of the afternoon.
I will also perform a big water change tomorrow and I will see how it goes.
Thanks again.

 

[Joseph_Joe]

Your lighting is not sufficient enough. You need to get a better light and from what you said it seems like this one is not designed for reef tanks. Is it for freshwater tanks? An easy way to tell is if you can turn the lights blue. But like I said look into getting the best light your budget allows. Also, if I am understanding correctly you are running the lights are 35%? Thats way too dark. Anemones have zooxanthellae in the which need light to photosynthesize. The bleached part is dangerous. While the anemone is not dead, all of the zooxanthellae is gone, which is vital to the anemone. Anemones form a symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae. Zooxanthellae is a type of algae. The zooxanthellae goes into the tissue of anemones (and coral) and they preform photosynthesis. The zooxanthellae provides the anemone with the byproducts from photosynthesis, so, zooxanthellae is the biggest food source for the anemone. To get it "un-bleached" you need to make the anemone happy by creating a good enviorment for it. This includes good water quality, stable parameters, sufficient light and flow, and lastly when and what you feed it. So, the first step is lowering your phosphates. How gradual are you doing it? You should be doing a 25+ percent WC a day. Next, you need to figure out your lighting. Have brighter light won't trigger an algae bloom right away. It's quite easy to get CUC. Research what lights will be best for your tank, and buy the best one your budget allows.

Phosphate is down to 0.8 ppm, light up to 70% but now she is shrunk during day time. Tentacles are out but very thin and she is pooping some stuff.
When the light is Off and the afternoon comes, she get back to her normal size.
Is my light too strong now ?

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Phosphate is down to 0.8 ppm, light up to 70% but now she is shrunk during day time. Tentacles are out but very thin and she is pooping some stuff.
When the light is Off and the afternoon comes, she get back to her normal size.
Is my light too strong now ?

I am not familiar at all with that light, so I can't say for sure. It all depends on how big the tank is. How big is it? If it's very small then alot of light can bounce off the glass. I would try 50%, and see how it reacts to that. 30% to 70% is quite a big jump.

 

[Joseph_Joe]

I am not familiar at all with that light, so I can't say for sure. It all depends on how big the tank is. How big is it? If it's very small then alot of light can bounce off the glass. I would try 50%, and see how it reacts to that. 30% to 70% is quite a big jump.

The story finally comes to an end.
10 days after, she decided to change place for the first time by going down to the sand bed and settled in front of a cave. She was 75% open the first days but now she seems to be adapted to the light.
She stopped pooping all that hairy things the day she relocated. A good sign