Caring for these beautiful creatures

 

Feeding your BTA
(Please see the  page called
"You want me to eat that?)

A NOTE ABOUT RC.

There has been talk on REEF CENTRAL on a thread about not feeding Silversides to Anemones.

That they will spit them back up.

BALLONY IS ALL I CAN SAY

Where some people come up with this stuff is beyond me.

Also there are some people that swear they never feed their
Anemones. Ballony again.

There are no organisms on this planet that can survive without food of some sort.

These people swear that the lighting they get is the only food they need. (These people are just wrong)

Take what these people have to say with a grain of salt. (pun intended).

Not feeding Anemones is a death sentance for them  so be aware that there are people out there that

insist that no feeding is necessary.  ( When I see someone post that statement I no longer trust anything

they have to say)

 

And many more that go unanswered or the wrong advice given.

So be aware, there are people out there that  have no idea what they are talking about when it comes to

Anemones and will just post to get their post count up or look important.

So do your research and use common sense when it comes to the care or your Anemone's.

Now for the info you came for.

BTA's are meat eaters.

They love Silversides , the  tiny Minnow like fish that can be purchased at most Saltwater fish stores.

Here is what they look like.
(Side note.)
I have tried to feed them live mosquito fish from my pond, they refuse to eat them.
I thought it would work really well and I would be able to raise my own feeder fish but they
wouldn't  hear of it.
My next try will be to freeze the Mosquito fish live and then feed them  thawed to see if they will then
take them.
I will post back to this section if it works.
(Doesn't work, they won't eat them so that idea is out)

Below are two packages, one of large and one of small Silversides.
Depending on the size of the

Anemone, they get what is suitable for  them.

If your BTA is a small one  you will most likely have to cut a large one in half if all you have is the large size
over 2" in length.
They will eat the whole thing, head, tail and fins so there is no need to remove the head. Use tongs or any long feeding device to drop the fish onto the tentacles of the Anemone. If he is hungry he will grab it and take it to his mouth.

( Hint, break them up into small pieces when they are still frozen, saves having to cut them up)

A word of caution, never ever force the silverside into the Anemone's mouth, you will damage the inside.
If the Anemone won't take it, it is not hungry and will let it drop to the bottom of your tank where it should be removed.

Same Anemone below, just swallowed the Silverside above.

It is my recommendation that as soon as your new BTA is settled into it's new home that it be feed as it has probably not been feed for a few days.

I personally feed all of my Roses every three days.
They receive Mysis shrimp, bought frozen and then thawed in fresh water before feeding but I do not rely on it to keep the Anemones happy. It is sort of a treat for them, kind of like M&M's.
I also rinse the thawed Mysis in tapwater in a small net  to clean it more and remove any broken particles that will make the
water cloudy, then I put it back into a little cup of fresh water and then pour it into the tanks.
 

This however is not there regular diet and I do not rely on it to feed them well.

Only chunk food will do that.

So I feed them Silversides. 
Feed  Mysis with a syringe with an adapter of about 18 inches added for spot feeding.

 

They are feed this daily, not directly as I do not rely on Mysis for food for

the Anemones.

Every 3rd day they all receive their fill of Silversides.

Each will eat differently depending on the size of the Rose. So I always have some pieces of Silversides as well as whole ones for the larger Roses. Brine shrimp and other small plankton like food is fine for your fish and other things but is not enough food to keep a Rose happy and healthy so you must feed meaty foods to them.

If you have more then one Rose or plan on several in the future, all the better as they love to congregate together and will be very happy.

Here are the tongs I used to use  to feed Silversides to my Roses.
They are surgical tongs and made of heavy plastic.
They work ok to but are not very long.

I have found a new Tong made by PennPlex for feeding deep tanks.
It is about 20 inches long and does a great job.
Here is a picture of it. Got it at Petland.
It also works great for retrieving things from the bottom of the tank or placing things where you want them
keeping your hands out of the tank.

Adding some things about feeding.

Your Anemone may be very small, say around 4 inches or less so you would want to feed it small pieces of  Silversides.

Do not attempt to feed a large whole fish to a small Anemone as it will try to eat it and when it can't  it will just spit it out.

Cut(or break up) the fish into pieces of 1/4" for small BTA"s under 4".

I break the fish into pieces when it is still frozen so that the guts do not come out.

If they are larger, feed a half of a fish.

If it is spit out you have usually feed to large of a piece so try a smaller one,

also feed the head and all of the Silverside. No need to remove that.