How to "encourage" an anenome to split?

Coralgurl · #1 12-12-2012, 11:20 PM

Is there a way to do this? My RBTA which is more like a long tentacle nem is MASSIVE! I've been told to overfeed it, pour cold water on it, neither is working! Its gone from the size of a small coffee mug, to well massive. Its in my 55 and taking up some good real estate, its tentacles are so long, I can't keep anything around it, so wouldn't mind it being smaller. I don't want to move it to the 180 as its hosting my clowns, and my rbta in my 180 is finally doing really well and coloring up nicely, don't want to switch things up.

Such a crappy problem to have I know....

intarsiabox · #2 12-12-2012, 11:27 PM

I have the exact opposite problem with my GBTA. It doesn't get all that big because it keeps splitting all the time. I don't do anything to encourage it that I know of. I typically don't directly feed it, maybe a reason?

toytech · #3 12-12-2012, 11:37 PM

Big knife , nuff said.But seriously google it , if you can get the nem off the rock you can manually split it by cutting .

Coralgurl · #4 12-12-2012, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by intarsiabox

I have the exact opposite problem with my GBTA. It doesn't get all that big because it keeps splitting all the time. I don't do anything to encourage it that I know of. I typically don't directly feed it, maybe a reason?

I don't direct feed either, but it catches more than enough food when I feed the fish.

Quote:

Originally Posted by toytech

Big knife , nuff said.But seriously google it , if you can get the nem off the rock you can manually split it by cutting .

Oh my, I don't think I could cut it. I'm not sure about getting it off the rock either, it hasn't moved in months and its foot is like 2" in diameter. I'll google tonight and see what I can find! Thanks

reefgirl189 · #5 12-13-2012, 12:12 AM

Could we just trade? Mine has split 6 times in the last 6 months and it's getting annoying. I want a one big one instead.

Seriak · #6 12-13-2012, 12:40 AM

I thought I read somewhere that it would split when stressed, but I never really could tell why my BTA's split or not. Mine recently moved to the back side of the tank and is hiding in a crevice so it may be looking at splitting again. We shall see.

mike31154 · #7 12-13-2012, 12:56 AM

Mysterious creatures, btas. My GBTA was tiny, bubbly & rather pale when purchased. It coloured up, lost the bubble tips & went through a cycle of splits. I've already passed on a couple of them but another split episode or two & I have 3 in my tank again. Getting quite large this time around & like yours, starting to destroy some coral that is too close after all 3 decided to make a minor move. Doubt that we'll ever figure out for sure what prompts a split & why some stay small, some large, bubble tips, no bubble tips. One of the clones I have suddendly decided a few weeks ago to sport some bubble tips again. Only a few tentacles though, most are still long & stringy. I switched to LED from MH/T5HO in April, they seem to like that change.

I'll add my + to the scalpel scenario if you really wish to downsize the critter. Playing the waiting game until it decides to split on it's own could take a while. I'm not too concerned about the coral, but if you have some high priced SPS that are getting taken out, knife!

Coralgurl · #8 12-13-2012, 01:45 AM

They are funny creatures, it's an awesome nem, reminds me of those big blow up people used for advertising the way it's tentacles move around!

There's no sps in the tank, just one coral that it can touch so I'll move it as that one is finally growing as well. I'll leave it, if it splits I'll keep the small one and sell the big one, already promised to someone

mike31154 · #9 12-13-2012, 03:27 PM

Good plan. I've found BTAs to be quite tough as well. I once tried to remove a clone to sell but it's foot was so well tucked into a deep crevice that I literally ended up tearing the thing in half before I realized it was so tenaciously anchored. The piece that remained in the tank, still deeply rooted in the crevice was only a scrap. Amazingly it recovered & is now larger than the original specimen. The larger piece that I got out & passed on to a fellow reefer in town unfortunately didn't make it. It looked much better than the piece left in the tank, but I suspect the change in water chemistry between my system & his may have been too much. Seemed ok when I delivered it, but I didn't take any cash for it since I wasn't sure whether it would make it. It ended up melting away on him.

whatcaneyedo · #10 12-13-2012, 05:48 PM

Even if you do get your bubble tip anemone to split on its own or you cut it yourself it will still grow back to the size that it is right now within a very short period of time. So aside from maybe making a few bucks selling the clone its not going to solve your problem.

Here are two pictures of a tank in town that used to have a lot of problems about five years ago. The bubble tip anemones stayed small and divided like crazy. There may have been as many as 20 around this time. Shortly after they all bleached and died.

Here are two more recent pictures from that same tank with two new bubble tip anemones. They no longer stay small and multiply, these two were added separately about three years ago after the problems with the tank were fixed. Its possible that one of them may have been related to the originals as some of the original clones were sold locally and this one did come from a local tank. But the other one was purchased from a retailer out of town.

I have a few theories but nothing concrete. On one hand it looks like they only divide when something is really bothering them but on the other it could just be that it depends on the individual specimen.