Fragging bubble tip anemone?

[Clown]

Well i'v got a pretty large bubble tip anemone and just wondering if theres anyway to split/frag it?

[digital-audiophile]

I got my BTA to split by feeding it a good chunck of silversides everyday. Maybe just luck of the draw though.

[untamed]

I'm begging my green carpet to split. It tends to get a lot of assorted food bits in it's present location and has rapidly grown. I bet it is nearly 2 feet across when fully extended now!

[Myka]

Can't frag an anemone. It will split on its own or not at all.

[Delphinus]

Ehhhh, hummmm, hrmmmm ... I'm sort of debating whether to stay silent or not.

You can *sort of* frag an anemone. Personally, I think the practise is a little barbaric however. Nevertheless some people do literally slice their RBTA's in half. It is luck of the draw though whether they survive - I mean it's pretty invasive - don't be surprised if either half (or neither half) survives. So although I'm saying "it can be done", I'll add that I think "it shouldn't be done". (Some caveats to that I suppose, there's a bit of a philosophical debate behind this. Calfo would tell you "you should frag it and frag it lots!" whereas Fautin would recoil in horror at the suggestion.)

BTA's almost always split eventually. It's pretty rare that they "never" split. There are some strains that don't (ever), but, most do. Some are just more stubborn, but still will eventually split. How often and when can be dependent on many different variables such as feeding, temperature, other parameter fluctuations ... hard to say.

Untamed, unfortunately, you'll be waiting a long time. Of the hosting anemone species only E. quadricolor and to a lesser degree H. magnifica can be relied upon to divide by fission. The others are thought to be sexually dimorphic (I hope I use the term correct) - ie., there is a male gender, and a female gender, and you need one of each and they only seem to reproduce sexually as opposed to asexually. (Although there are some spotty reports of the occasional "budding" - but I don't think I've heard of anyone successfully witnessing a "bud" turn into a fully formed and distinct adult.)

[Kronk]

There is another way to get them to split so i have been told. give them a 100% water change every day same SG same Temp of course. They split for two reasons they get really comfortable or they get really stressed out. I think the 100% water change stresses them out but not in a dangerous way. Best of luck.

[justinl]

purely speculation here, but could you "encourage" a split? kinda the same way some people split shrooms. get an elastic and tie it around the nem so it bisects it down the middle; it should be tight enough that the nem cant escape, but not so tight that it causes damage. just a thought. i dont confess to know if it would work or not. it seems much more gentle than slicing the thing in half with a cleaver (which is something i wouldn't do either tony)!

[EmilyB]

50% water change done twice.

[untamed]

What if I just trimmed it back by 6 or 7 inches...? (I'm kidding...)

[Clown]

I'v Noticed that the anemone has two mouth openings
is this normal or?