steveoutlaw November 4, 2007 November 4, 2007 My RBTA has taken up station where it is in direct flow of the closed loop and out of the light. It has been surviving there for months but has lost most of it's color and won't move. Can I cut the foot of it close to the rock to try to move it? I'm afraid if it stays there it's just going to waste away and die.
traveller7 November 4, 2007 November 4, 2007 My RBTA has taken up station where it is in direct flow of the closed loop and out of the light. It has been surviving there for months but has lost most of it's color and won't move. Can I cut the foot of it close to the rock to try to move it? I'm afraid if it stays there it's just going to waste away and die. BTAs can survive quite a bit of disection, when they are healthy at the start. In the situation described, I would not recommend that course of action. Is it attached to rock, glass, pipe, etc? Is it not getting light in that position, is it possible to move some rock/etc to allow light to reach it? Is it getting direct feeding? BTAs can survive in a bleached condition for years when directly fed. To get it to move, release, ice cubes at attachment point, powerhead pointed at the base of the column frequently triggers a move, putting a point light source right over it will likely trigger a move, etc.
davelin315 November 4, 2007 November 4, 2007 C'mon, Steve, you know that the solution is to just get a new tank. It's been, what, a couple of months since you last switched? It's time to move on! This tank is way too settled if the RBTA has been in one place for that long! Your wife has gotten over the trauma of the upsize/upsize/downsize/switch-out, so it's time to get her on her toes again!
treesprite November 4, 2007 November 4, 2007 Never mess with the foot of a nem. If the foot is damaged it can keep the nem from attatching to anything and rather than fall over sideways with half it's tentacles under it, it will stop extending and will starve. The last time I had a nem, the foot was damaged because the guy in the store used a credit card to nudge at its foot, and the result was what I just described.
steveoutlaw November 4, 2007 Author November 4, 2007 BTAs can survive quite a bit of disection, when they are healthy at the start. In the situation described, I would not recommend that course of action. Is it attached to rock, glass, pipe, etc? Is it not getting light in that position, is it possible to move some rock/etc to allow light to reach it? Is it getting direct feeding? BTAs can survive in a bleached condition for years when directly fed. To get it to move, release, ice cubes at attachment point, powerhead pointed at the base of the column frequently triggers a move, putting a point light source right over it will likely trigger a move, etc. It's attached to the bottom rock in the tank.......I'd have to remove all the rock to get it out. I would try pointing a powerhead at it but it is already in the direct flow of my closed loop......it's getting blown all over the place. I can't direct feed it because I have some shrimp stationed right by it and they attack any food that gets near it, as well as robbing any food the anemone gets it's tentacles on. C'mon, Steve, you know that the solution is to just get a new tank. It's been, what, a couple of months since you last switched? It's time to move on! This tank is way too settled if the RBTA has been in one place for that long! Your wife has gotten over the trauma of the upsize/upsize/downsize/switch-out, so it's time to get her on her toes again! I'm way ahead of you. I'm re-doing my basement into a game room for the kids and I think I have her convinced that we need a tank as a room divider. She actually liked the idea!!
traveller7 November 4, 2007 November 4, 2007 I'd have to remove all the rock to get it out. You did not really like that rock configuration did you? fwiw: If the shrimp are being predatory, long term does not bode well for a stressed anemone. Stressed anemones slime up(many shrimp seem attracted to this), don't eat quickly, lose the ability to generate stinging cells, lose symbiotic algae, etc., in a cycle of decline.
lanman November 4, 2007 November 4, 2007 You did not really like that rock configuration did you? fwiw: If the shrimp are being predatory, long term does not bode well for a stressed anemone. Stressed anemones slime up(many shrimp seem attracted to this), don't eat quickly, lose the ability to generate stinging cells, lose symbiotic algae, etc., in a cycle of decline. Steve - Have you tried giving the shrimp a big piece of silverside to chew on, while you feed the anemone? When I give my shrimp a big piece of food, they run off into the corner and try to protect it. I am completely amazed at how much food a stupid shrimp can eat - or at least gather up and 'hoard'. bob
PupChow November 4, 2007 November 4, 2007 I heard massaging the anemone's foot with ice helps... maybe somebody here who have actually tried it can chime in. Good luck!
steveoutlaw November 4, 2007 Author November 4, 2007 Steve - Have you tried giving the shrimp a big piece of silverside to chew on, while you feed the anemone? When I give my shrimp a big piece of food, they run off into the corner and try to protect it. I am completely amazed at how much food a stupid shrimp can eat - or at least gather up and 'hoard'. bob I've tried, but I have 2 cleaner shrimp and 1 fire shrimp and I can never seem to keep them occupied for long enough to get the anemone to eat. I can get food to it, but before it can close up to eat it one of my pain in the a$$ shrimp come and take the food from it. Looks like I'm going to have to make some sort of "cone of silence" that I can put over the anemone and shoot food into so the shrimp can't get it.
zotzer November 5, 2007 November 5, 2007 My cleaner shrimp *tries* to steal food from the anemone, but the clownfish are very vigilant protectors. Good luck and let us know how it goes!!! Tracy
davelin315 November 5, 2007 November 5, 2007 I think that being in high flow and having high flow directed at its foot are two different beasts. If you can blow the current at the very base of the foot where it's actually attaching it should cause it to lift up a bit. Once it's lifted up, the whole thing will peel off with no problem. It's like a suction cup, once you get it up a bit in the corner, the rest will come right off. Also, it doesn't take long. Just take a powerhead in your hand and blow it at the base of the foot for a couple of minutes. It doesn't even have to be a lot of flow, just enough to potentially get under the foot and detach it a tiny bit.
traveller7 November 5, 2007 November 5, 2007 Most will move if they flow is perpendicular to the column and actually making a small impression in the column. I use a minijet 404 for such duty. In this case, I would remove the rock because a slight move does not sound like much success.
Nitro Junkie November 5, 2007 November 5, 2007 Dont know if its worth a try but I have read about holding an ice cube close to the foot. The cold water will make him pick up and move
Rascal November 5, 2007 November 5, 2007 (edited) I heard massaging the anemone's foot with ice helps... maybe somebody here who have actually tried it can chime in. Good luck! I have had success with a variation of this method. I found that an ice cube in 80 deg water doesn't last very long -- big surprise huh? I ended up using some gel-type ice packs we have around for the kids. When one got warm I just switched it out for a cold one. I've done this two times and it took about 2-3 ice packs each time (10 - 15 minutes or so). Eventually it should lift up its foot on the side where the ice pack is touching it. If you wait too long it will just move and re-attach, so you have to get your finger under there once the opportunity presents itself. After that the key is just patience. In my experience sustained gentle pressure will get them to slowly release. Edited November 5, 2007 by Rascal
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now