Oh yer not going to believe this!

[Grav]

If you have been following the board you may know that the past week has been tough for me.

 

1st My BTA that had never left her rock started to wander... causing great concern.  She looked good with nice bubbles, but my fear of her getting caught in a powerhead, or just diying and poluting the tank kept me up at night.

 

Then we hosted 8 guests over the weekend and 8 more for easter dinner... topped off with a 4 year old dumping about 2 years worth of food into the tank.  Sunday and Monday spent doing water changes and last night I was SURE the BTA would be dead in a few days.  She would not eat for the 1st time ever and looked terrible.

 

So now it's Teusday... they happen in 3s tight?

 

My wife worked from home and was on BTA watch.  Updates were via IM:  

She looks bad

She was moving toward the green hard coral so I moved it

Will she go on the sand?

Now she is inbetween a rock and the glass

 

I came home expecting to find the worst.  When getting ready to do another 35% water change (still cleanup from the sunday disaster) I said: "boy she is moving around fast, she was way over there, 5 min ago... wait... that is another BTA.

 

I'm a DAD!!!  Thanks everyone that help me get past my natural (non-fraging) Marine reporductive event!

 

Cigars on me at the meeting.

[Guest tgallo]

congrats dad, whats her name.:D

[Grav]

That is funny.

 

My wife names everything. Some call it bad luck, but since our 1st fish was the 1st to get a name and is still with us 3 years later... we don't buy into that.

 

The old BTA was Annie... now my question for you.

 

Do each of the dotters get a new name? Did Annie cease to exsist and we now have Fannie and Manny?

[Grav]

That is funny.

 

My wife names everything. Some call it bad luck, but since our 1st fish was the 1st to get a name and is still with us 3 years later... we don't buy into that.

 

The old BTA was Annie... now my question for you.

 

Do each of the dotters get a new name? Did Annie cease to exsist and we now have Fannie and Manny?

[traveller7]

Hold off on the feeding for approx 7 days to allow the oral cavity to close.

 

Be prepared for them to settle down and monitor them for a move which will likely signify another upcoming split.  The event will likely be 3-9 months away depending on your level of feeding, lighting, etc.

 

Congrats on the new addition.

 

fwiw:  some of mine split and never move, but as I shared on your earlier thread, I have one colony that runs around prior to every split.  Go figure.

[OUsnakebyte]

Hmmm... good question.  I would think that since they are clones, you would have two Annies...  

 

Congrats!!!  

[SDBDRZ]

My BTA's usually split not long after a large water change.  Also they have been moved to different tanks on two occasions.  In both cases when I moved the BTA's one split within a few days.  If you do a search on some other boards you will see some people advocating large water changes to induce BTA's to split.  The large water changes likely induced the split.

[Gatortailale]

I seem to remember reading in the past, a long time ago, that people get all freaked when their anemone moves.  In effect, the anemone may be moving so it can split.  Perhaps yours started to walk so that it could find a happy place to split.  

 

The story I remember reading, talked about how the person ended up killing theirs cause they kept moving it back in light instead of letting it move to shade and split.  Most anemone experts say to let them move and they will find their own happy spot.  I think the story I'm thinking of is from Tullock's book - Natural reef aquariums - he has a anemone section in that book.

 

I have read many a posts that say anemone split after water change.  

 

Glad it all worked out, dad! :p

 

 

My BTA's usually split not long after a large water change.  

 

unless it's a forced split  :p  My rose clone from the split is doing well.  Looking awesome IMO.  Thanks for hooking me up bro.  [nana]

[Sph2sail]

Happy Father's Day!

[Grav]

Thanks for the comment on not feeding for a while.  Of the two, I see an oral opening on one for sure, the other I can't get a good look at.  Hold off on feeding both of them?  Took some pics last night, may be able to post some time.  

 

Interesting comment on the water change playing a role.  35% changes on consecutive days would be a big water change I guess.  I've also heard rumor that excesssive feeding can play a role, and that sure was the case!

 

Looking back, I'm 100% sure she was looking for a good hiding spot for the split.  Funny thing is, she found that same hiding spot 2 times... then was in it durring the water change.  Maybe next time (fingers crossed) when I see her moving I'll wait till she finds a well hidden location and do a big water change.

[traveller7]

Hold off on feeding both but try some "cube" sized pieces or smaller in about 7 days.

 

You may see the anemone grab the food, hold it for quite some time, then let it go 30mins to 1hr later.  That may be because the oral cavity is not ready yet.

 

Some splits may take up to 2 weeks, but I would expect less then 7 days for a natural split.

 

Good luck.