New RBTA - How do I get him to stick? [Archive] - Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board

Myka

03-21-2009, 10:04 PM

Hey guys! I have only have one anemone in my life, and that was a Condy back in ....oh.... about 92 ish. So I'm no anemone expert, albeit I know pretty much everything about them that you can read. :lol:

Anyway, I got this RBTA yesterday, and the guy at the LFS couldn't get him off the rock, so I bought the rock too. I drip acclimated the RBTA and put him in the tank on his rock. He puffed up and looked good within 15 minutes. I guess he decided he didn't like the spot I chose for him, so he let go of his rock after about 1 hour. The problem with this is that my tank is chock full of corals that I don't want him to sting. So, how can I get him to stick somewhere? He's floating in a plastic trap right now looking happy as a clam. Go figure... :lol:

MitchM

03-21-2009, 10:14 PM

When I had "rogue" anemones, I would corral them in a corner with some smaller pieces of LR.
They would eventually get the idea.
Then I would move them to a more ideal place.
If it let go again, I would just repeat and choose a different "ideal" spot.

Mitch

Myka

03-21-2009, 10:16 PM

That sounds like a good idea. Provided he also likes me choice of rock for him to stick to. I don't have much for loose rock though it all has corals stuck to it. Thanks!

Madreefer

03-21-2009, 10:56 PM

I have put my anemone through 4 tank changes over 8 years and he has stayed in the same spot everytime. I dig a hole in the sand (with my hand) about the size of the foot, placed him in hole and kind of filled in the rest of the hole. Than I put some rocks around it. He did stick to one certain rock the very first time I stuck him in. I use that same rock every tank move. May sound strange but try using the rock he came with, could be some kind of "bonding" thing.

Myka

03-22-2009, 12:28 AM

I have to take his rock back to the store. I don't want it anyway because it is a man made rock, and doesn't blend in very well. :lol: Is yours a BTA?

I just cleared off a rock for him, and set him on it, and put a plastic breeding trap over top so he can't wander away. Hopefully he will stick down on there. Do you guys find BTAs like certain surfaces? Smooth? Bumpy? Clean? Horizontal? Vertical? Tucked away in a corner?

If that doesn't work I will try digging a hole in the sand and placing him at the base of my live rock.

GreenSpottedPuffer

03-22-2009, 12:35 AM

Mine will move until it finds a hole in a rock to put its foot and then it stays.

I just put it on a rock in the corner of the tank when I got it and turned off the powerheads for an hour. He attached right away and then I moved the rock where I wanted it. He has stayed.

Might just be lucky though, I don't have a lot of anemone experience.

MitchM

03-22-2009, 12:38 AM

My GBTA's (I stopped counting after 30:lol:) seemed to prefer holes in LR, thereby making it impossible for any future removal. Of course.

Mitch

Myka

03-22-2009, 12:59 AM

GreenSpottedPuffer

03-22-2009, 01:29 AM

Ya, he's not liking where I put him. I think I will try to move him down near the sand and he can pick a hole there. I knew he'd be a pain in the butt! :lol: I'm all stressing about him stinging my corals too!

What kind of corals? Mine was sharing a rock with a leather and actually climbed right on the leather at one point and never stung it.

I don't trust the thing around sps though.

I don't think they can move across sand, mine never has wanted to, so if you put it on an island rock, they can't really go anywhere. Mine is on an island and used to move all over the rock constantly. Maybe it realized it has no where to go and finally stayed put :)

Myka

03-22-2009, 01:33 AM

Haha! That's funny about stranding him on an island! :lol: All my corals are LPS, and some are quite pricey...i would not be happy with Mr RBTA if he damaged them.

fishytime

03-22-2009, 02:58 AM

Can I just start off by saying....nems is evil:twised:(if you've read my tank thread you will understand)....:biggrin: From what I understand they really love to wedge their foot into a hole like GSP said earlier. The island may work but they will often just "let go" if they cant "walk" to where they want to go.

Myka

03-22-2009, 03:07 AM

Can I just start off by saying....nems is evil:twised:(if you've read my tank thread you will understand)....:biggrin:

Oh I know they are!!! But...but...but...

I will read your tank thread...and probably freak myself out and ban the RBTA to the breeding trap again! :lol: Which thread is it in? What pages? I see your tank journal have a lot of pages! :D

Myka

03-22-2009, 07:00 PM

Ok, so I dug a bit of a hollow in the sand against the base of my live rock, and put the nem there. He crawled up on the base of the rocks, and looked happy for a few hours. When I went to bed he looked like he was getting ready to move. He did get an itchy foot and decided to go hiking around the tank. Luckily he stuck to the right side of the tank as I moved all my corals over to the left side of the tank. He was resting on a rock of GSP against the glass in he middle of the night when I got up to check. Then this morning he has moved again to the base of the live rock on the far right side against the back glass. He was looking happy there this morning, but is now looking like he might be getting ready to move...AGAIN!! How long does it normally take for them to find their perfect spot? He's stressing me out! :eek:

new but handy

03-22-2009, 07:28 PM

Mine went into the back corner of my tank and hasn't moved for 2 months. It sort of sucks because I can't see it, or feed it. I figured if I didn't feed it it would move but no such luck. My lta decided to move on fri night. It moved into the other corner from the bta. Now I have two nems that I can't see or feed:sad:. I recently added a new skimmer and I had a lot of bubbles flowing into the display. I'm fairly sure this is why the lta moved. The bubbles flowed straight onto it. Now that I haved fixed the bubble problem my next mission is to get the nems where I want them. Or as close as they will allow me to.
Oh the lta stayed where I put it for 3-4 months before it's recent move.

pastout

03-22-2009, 07:35 PM

i had one when i got my first tank and i hasd a hang on coral life skimmer and it moved all the way across the tank and got sucked into the skimmer and blendid up, now if you want to nuke an entire tank that is how you do it it was one of my worst days of reefkeeping

Myka

03-22-2009, 08:06 PM

My powerheads and intakes all have screening on them, so hopefully the nem shouldn't get sucked up.

Koresample

03-23-2009, 05:46 AM

i put my LTA on the sand right next to my rock 'mountain' and he attached himself almost immediately and stayed there for a month or so, then, after my clown that was hosting it died, he moved to the back of the tank into an impossible-to-feed position. We went away for the weekend,and when we got home he had moved around the side of the rock and was facing the side of the tank in an easy to feed position (yeah), then 30 minutes later moved back into an even worse position...sigh. i want to add another clown soon, but I'm afraid that the nem will stay in the back and once the clown hosts, i wont ever see it either....I read all the cool things about these animals beforehand, but i don't recall seeing anyone write about the ulcers they cause their keepers!

Myka

03-23-2009, 06:18 AM

I read all the cool things about these animals beforehand, but i don't recall seeing anyone write about the ulcers they cause their keepers!

Oh I know!!! :eek:

My RBTA has stayed in the same spot for at least 14 hours now, so I'm hoping he has chosen this as his spot. It isn't the most ideal spot, but at least he's in plain view! :D

On the other hand, my wild caught True Percula has paid ZERO attention to his (supposed to be) new buddy!! I am not surprised though as my Perc has been out of the wild for about 2 years...he has probably forgotten what an anemone is!! :lol: I'm hoping that when I finally find a second Perc buddy for him that the new Perc will go straight to the RBTA and entice the old Perc over. *fingers crossed*

urbanhellfire

03-23-2009, 01:47 PM

My GBTA wandered around the tank untill i placed him right beside a big hole in the rock. He crawled over and placed his foot into the hole and has been there for three days now.

I woke up this am and I see he is in the middle of splitting.

didn't want to hijack just wanted to give you something more to look forward to.
:mrgreen:

fishytime

03-23-2009, 02:12 PM

I will read your tank thread...and probably freak myself out and ban the RBTA to the breeding trap again! :lol: Which thread is it in? What pages? I see your tank journal have a lot of pages! :D

Here you go Myka http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=40669&page=11 ....The saga starts here.

levi1803

03-23-2009, 02:22 PM

I was lucky at first, put my RBTA in the tank and it moved about an inch and stayed there for the past 4 months, then about a week ago I moved the rock it was on about an inch and now the thing decided to wonder around all over the place, I finally moved the rock it was on (to close to a few other things) to the other side of the tank and so far it hasn't moved in two days, so I'm hoping it stays there.

Myka

03-23-2009, 06:57 PM

RBTA is looking fantastic this morning!! I will try feeding it today, I know he didn't have any stickiness left after being handled so much, so I don't know if he has rebuilt some sticky or not. Very compact and bubbly this morning, and STAYED where he was!! :D He really stretches out when the lights are off though.

My GBTA wandered around the tank untill i placed him right beside a big hole in the rock. He crawled over and placed his foot into the hole and has been there for three days now.

I woke up this am and I see he is in the middle of splitting.

didn't want to hijack just wanted to give you something more to look forward to.
:mrgreen:

I hope mine turns out to be one of the ones that splits a lot instead of the ones out there that just get huge and never split. I don't want it to turn into a giant, but I will deal if it happens.

Here you go Myka http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=40669&page=11 ....The saga starts here.

Omg should I read it??? I'm scared! Maybe I shouldn't!! :lol: Ok I'll go read it...