BTA growing?

I have had a green BTA for 6 months. It has literally only moved once, which was the day i got it. It is home to a maroon clown. My maroon has grown quite a bit in the last 6 months however my BTA looks as though it has not grown at all.

Is this normal?
Can i help it grow? What should i do?

All params are in check; except i do not know my dKh but everything in the tank has been great.

 

How often do you feed the BTA?

 

I have never fed the BTA. it lives off of photosynthesis thus far. Should i be target feeding it? I dose the tank with phyto 1-2 times a week for other corals.

 

Phyto is plants. Cnidarians are predators, and would rather feed on zooplankton.

BTAs do photosynthesize, but they need to be fed. Whole foods preferable as they get minerals from internal organs. Don't feed them anything larger than their mouth. Try a small shrimp or a silverside - BTAs generally prefer shrimp or fish, but not both. Feed what it will readily take. If it expels partially digested food a couple of days later, you fed too much. Feeding a couple of times a week will help it grow, once it gets to a size you like once a month is good. Feed it too often, and it will clone itself, and one or both clones will wander across your tank. Which can be a problem. They can clone enough to completely take over your tank

 

Really, i never knew this. THanks for the information. I will be sure to try to feed it some mysis shrimp jsut after i eat.

Thanks a bunch.

 

I was thinking shrimp from the seafood counter at the supermarket, but mysis will do

 

Shrimp from the store, really?! That's super intense I would've never though that!...

 

What kind of shrimp do you think they eat in the wild? Where do you think we get our shrimp from?

 

I don't know if it's necessary, but when I fed mine shrimp from the grocery store, I removed the shell to make it easier for my BTA to digest. It never spat out remains when I did that.