rbta dying?

Ok so a while ago we had an rbta that was doing well and our clowns were hosting it. But then things in our tank started dying (I mentioned this in a previous thread) and the rbta was really affected. Right before things started dying, the rbta split into 2 smaller anemones. Now that everything is back t normal and healthy, the anemones are still very shriveled up and whitish ppink. The clowns are also still hosting them. What does this mean? Are they dying? They have been diong this for about 2 months. Wiill post pics

 

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this is one of the two the other is even more shrivled

 

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My RBTA is fading too and I'm curious what can be done so I'm gonna tag along for the ride.

 

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this was the rbta before the split and sickness

 

The anemone has expelled most of it's zooxanthellae. They do so when exposed to stress. Since the zooxanthellae provide the majority of the anemones nutrition via carbohydrates, the anemone becomes malnurished.

Providing routine weekly feedings with raw fish, clams, scallops will assist in helping the anemone to recover.

The stress can be related to having too large of clown fish reside in the anemone, lighting issues, water quality.

I have successfully kept BTA under PC lighting for years without issue, so unless your rock work is so far away from the light source, the bulbs very old or your using old type fluorescent lighting, lighting is usually not the issue.

It is always a good idea to try and match the size of the host anemone with smaller younger clowns. Large adult clowns can do physical injury to small BTA and prevent them from fully expanding. Unless they are fully inflating each day, they will not receive light for the zooxanthellae to provide nutrition.

Lastly, if you are having issues with nuisance algae, water quality might be questionable. While BTA are very hardy, like most marine creatures they will not tolerate the continued stress of elevated nitrate and phosphate levels, or inconsistent/swings/fluctuationing parameters.

 

That makes sense that the clowns are causing it
how do I stop the pairing until it gets bigger

 

You have to remove one or the other, sorry. Unless you divide the tank with egg crate or put the anemone in a container that has many holes (plastic basket) and can be placed from the rim of the tank or out of reach from the clowns, but it could take along time for the anemone to grow, months. :-X