Odd behavior from BTA

[fishgeeksrus]

We came home today to find our 55g tank cloudy. After watching for a minute or two, we notice the BTA releasing a cloud that resembled smoke. We have had the BTA for about 7 - 8 mths and never seen this behavior before.

Everything is normal. The only thing different is...we added a few pulsing xenia the other night from our other tank.

[Ninong]

It's a boy!


It's perfectly normal. They usually spawn around the equinox and I do believe we are only about six days past that right now.


P.S. -- I will ask our resident RBTA guru, zhenya, to confirm my "diagnosis" for you since he has loads of experience with RBTAs.

[zhenya]

Well,a boy it is.

If it was a girl and a boy you'd probably see some eggs released. My rose BTA's spawned last year, all 8 or 9 of them... all males... Not a pretty sight...
But, all in all, it does not present any problem to the tank if you act quickly.

[fishgeeksrus]

Wow, that is crazy. LOL, we weren't sure what was going on...

[Ninong]

Wow, that is crazy. LOL, we weren't sure what was going on...

Now you know that your particular RBTA is male. Host anemones have separate sexes. An individual is either male or female its entire life. If it were female, the eggs would appear as tiny dots and probably show some color. The color of the eggs varies from species to species.

[zhenya]

In addition to what Ninong has said, you have to expect your anemone to do this on a regular basis.

[fishgeeksrus]

okay, so I am assuming that it can not reproduce unless i introduce a female into the tank, right? I am also assuming that he must like his surroundings and is healthy???

After thinking about this and now knowing that this was normal, it was actually kind-of cool to see. How often is on a regular basis?

Hmm, it must have been that Bauw-chica-bauw-bauw music in the background!

I have a Boy!

[Ninong]

okay, so I am assuming that it can not reproduce unless i introduce a female into the tank, right?

Wrong! It can, and probably will, reproduce asexually by splitting longitudinally.

It is virtually impossible to get host anemones to reproduce sexually in captivity because of the difficulty in supporting viable larvae.

I am also assuming that he must like his surroundings and is healthy???

Not necessarily. Spawning is often induced by stress. The animal thinks it is about to die and the instinctive survival of the species mechanism is to spawn. For example, if you remove a Tridacna clam and place it out in the hot sun for an hour or two, it will very likely spawn once you return it to the aquarium.

In your particular case, as I pointed out in my previous post, it is very likely that your Entacmaea quadricolor is perfectly happy because it is spawning at it's natural time of year. According to Dr. Ron Shimek, E. quadricolor naturally spawn near the two equinoxes. The spring equinox was March 21st.

After thinking about this and now knowing that this was normal, it was actually kind-of cool to see. How often is on a regular basis?

That depends on whether you are asking about natural behavior or behavior that is observed in captivity. I have never kept any anemones but I believe zhenya's E-quads spawn at least twice a year, maybe more. I know for a fact that his anemones split (clone) on a regular basis and that he has a hard time keeping up with their reproduction. He keeps running out of space in his tank.

[zhenya]

That depends on whether you are asking about natural behavior or behavior that is observed in captivity. I have never kept any anemones but I believe zhenya's E-quads spawn at least twice a year, maybe more. I know for a fact that his anemones split (clone) on a regular basis and that he has a hard time keeping up with their reproduction. He keeps running out of space in his tank.

To be honest, my nine clones( at the time) all went at the same time last year, it was a horrific mess to deal with and I much more prefer that they would just continue their asexual reproduction behavior( of course, they forgot to ask me.. ). I have eleven right now and if they all decide to release sperm....I'm in for a big clean up duties. Everything gets cloged up, pumps, overflows, skimmer chambers...fish goes looney-tooney too. I was lucky that mine are males becouse in the even when females spawn they release eggs and it is much more strain on the fish if you don't act quickly and remove those eggs. People have lost fish to events like this before.

I am gearing up for another episode becouse of the spring equinox and just pray that mine won't "go" this time.