Question re: my Bubble Tip Anemone

[newreefer_59]

Have had my BTA for over a year now and had progressively gotten BIG. Question: is this too big? My tank is 150 gallons and is 5 ' across in this pic. It kills my montiporia as it moves around the tank, but has anchored itself in this spot for several months now. Is it possible to frag it off wih zapping me or killing it? It is very cool as the one resident Clown fish will not leave it for anything.

Anyway, just asking for opinions.

[reefwars]

you can try to force a split by letting your water quality go down and raise the temp slightly(1 or 2 degrees) then do a massive water change cant frag a bubble tip it splits when it sees fit. another way is to do multiple feedings and then it splits sometimes but none of this is a guarantee its just what we have learned over time.it is getting big possibly consider selling it and just buying a smaller one again:):)

[reefwars]

it wont zap you or kill you lol i think your safe there unless your highly skin sensitive or allergic :):)

[Karen Marlin]

I found that when I didn't feed it my anemone got huge, after i fed...it was more contained....

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

you can try to force a split by letting your water quality go down and raise the temp slightly(1 or 2 degrees) then do a massive water change

Worked for me:wink::redface::razz:

[Money pit]

I found that when I didn't feed it my anemone got huge, after i fed...it was more contained....

This is because the nem is relying on the lights for its nourishment. It will expand itself to create more surface area to absorb the light. When you feed it, it seems smaller because it doesn't need to reach for as much light.

Newreefer, the clownfish is likely to cause you more harm to you than the nem. A good healthy BTA feels sort of sticky, thats about it.

[lee9]

I saw this video in a BRS email. Not sure if it would work on a large one... or even if a person would want to chance trying it but I thought I would post it.

Coral propagation -- Episode 1: Propagating the rose bubble tip anemone RBTA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HeNy9aWm6I&feature=channel_video_title)
In our first episode of the coral propagation series we going to show how to propagate the RBTA rose bubbletip anemone rather than an actual coral. This can not only be a profitable endeavor but you can also help reduce reliance on wild caught anemones and reduction of clownfish habitat. It is possible to use your saltwater reef aquarium to do this at home

http://youtu.be/9HeNy9aWm6I

[Money pit]

Back when I had anemone tanks I used to cut them once every 6 weeks or so. These were in dedicated tanks, with only clones of the same nem, and were feed daily. Still in the beginning my success rate was a little better than 50%. in the beginning. If I spit 50 nems, I would end up with about 60-70. Later the average went up, I was maybe getting around 80. What Im saying is that even being raised in a friendly atmosphere my success rate was less than optimal. Cutting it might be a good option, but just be aware that there is a risk involved. With only one, you may end up with 2 or only 1 or worst case 0.

[apexifd]

salinity change, stress, threat, and etc can all cause split. natural split is alway better. but, cutting them also works too. always make sure it's a clean cut through the mouth.

[reefwars]

I saw this video in a BRS email. Not sure if it would work on a large one... or even if a person would want to chance trying it but I thought I would post it.

Coral propagation -- Episode 1: Propagating the rose bubble tip anemone RBTA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HeNy9aWm6I&feature=channel_video_title)
In our first episode of the coral propagation series we going to show how to propagate the RBTA rose bubbletip anemone rather than an actual coral. This can not only be a profitable endeavor but you can also help reduce reliance on wild caught anemones and reduction of clownfish habitat. It is possible to use your saltwater reef aquarium to do this at home

http://youtu.be/9HeNy9aWm6I



cool vid ive seen piles of brs vids but not that one...dont think i would try and cut a anemone this size though, youd need like a machete or something lol :):)

[newreefer_59]

yes, was feeding the nem a small piece of raw shrimp once a week. Would anyone recommend a different meal, or should I step up and feed it twice a week or even more?

[Money pit]

Sort of a rule of thumb, the less light they receive, the more they need to be fed. Some people have never directly feed their nems, but still have large beautiful specimens. Keep in mind when you feed your tank the nem will inevitably get some food also.
Since BTAs come from such a wide variety of locations, its difficult to know for sure what any one BTA will recognize as food. So feeding a shrimp to one BTA may have good results, feeding it to another from a different location may result in it spitting it out later when you don't notice. All along you think your feeding it, but in reality, its somewhere in you tank being eaten by your clean up crew. A better idea would to get a few different ingredients, shrimp, mysis, silversides oyster eggs ect. ( no squid for BTAs as far as I know they always spit this out) Blend them together, and put the mush into a freezer bag and flatten it. Freeze it and when you want to feed, just break off a piece, thaw and feed it.