Anemone too large want to splice it...help?

[jmchzn123]

I think I have the largest BTA in captivity. I started a business 3 months ago at the same time this guy split. The split was so huge I got 100.00 at the LFS. I haven't really been paying attention and my wife has been on tank duty and by the time I get home it's so late the lights are out. I noticed everything wilting and dying around the anemone rock. Today I saw him in all his glory. I have a 90gal tank which is now 1/2 consumed by the BTA. The two clowns are having a field day. I saw a YOU TUBE vid where they take the anemone out of the water and surgically with a scalpel cut it in 1/4's right from the feet through the center of the mouth. The first cut is down the middle then the halves are cut again down the middle. Has anyone ever done this?

 

[HippieSmell]

You start a thread about the largest BTA in captivity, and you don't post a pic? Shame on you. No help until you post a pic.

 

[elegance coral]

Even with a BTA, there's a very high likelihood that the anemone will die if you cut it in half. The likelihood is even greater that at least one of the halves will die. You may get lucky with a BTA and have both halves survive, but why risk it? I'd just start feeding it like crazy, and it will probably split on its own, when its ready. I surely would not attempt to cut it in four pieces.

If you're talking about the youtube video where the guy cuts a green carpet in four pieces, you can rest assured every one of those pieces died. In every other video, they show the anemone getting cut in half, but none of them show if the anemone survived or not. Anyone can cut an anemone in half. I could cut my dog in half. That doesn't mean I can get him to survive afterwords though.

 

[rssjsb]

I could cut my dog in half. That doesn't mean I can get him to survive afterwords though.

Plus, it makes them really cranky.

 

[jimmy frag]

hi elegance. are you speaking from experiance on cutting bubble anemones. i always thought it was common to cut a nem in half, carpet or bubble tip. jimmy

 

[jimmy frag]

also shrooms

 

[rssjsb]

I'm not speaking for EC, but it's not common. BTAs often split on their own, but some just get bigger and bigger and never split.

Every so often you see a post by someone who claims to have split a carpet nem, but the poster mostly disappears before they can confirm long-term success. Mushrooms are far less complex animals than anemones.

To the OP, you may just need to sell the nem and start over with a smaller one.

 

[Gill_bucket]

I don't think you should cut it. I read an article about it and it can definitely be done; however the recovery process required a lot of care and attention. With the new business it sounds like spending a lot of your time tinkering with a recovering nem is not high on your list of priorities.

P.S. the article said not to cut the nem into more than two pieces

 

[Toddrtrex]

hi elegance. are you speaking from experiance on cutting bubble anemones. i always thought it was common to cut a nem in half, carpet or bubble tip. jimmy

E. quadricolors naturally split.

None of the 3 hosting "carpet" anemones naturally split. Some "experts" have claimed to have cut them successfully, but they somehow can not produce pictures of them after the fact. Suggesting cutting a "carpet" anemone is a very very poor idea.

 

[davocean]

A much safer way to get a BTA to split is to over feed it, that usually stresses the nem and induces splitting.
Only thing is it seems to me splits often regain size quickly, so even splitting that nem in any way is going to be a short term solution.

 

[reefstew]

I have done it 3 times spliting it in half & only 1 time 1 half did not make it. I made a thread on it a year ago. Spliting as anemone & selling it.

 

[davocean]

^^ Well there ya go, if you consider 2 out of 3 good odds...
So much of nems are water, IME it takes hardly any time at all before what you split is back to it's original size.

 

[elegance coral]

hi elegance. are you speaking from experiance on cutting bubble anemones. i always thought it was common to cut a nem in half, carpet or bubble tip. jimmy

I've never cut an anemone in half, and I never will. My statements are based on ~25 years of studying these animals. "Carpet" anemones do not split naturally. They do not possess the powers of regeneration strong enough to survive this treatment with enough regularity to be considered propagation. If someone starts cutting these anemone, they will not be propagating them, they will be killing them.

I have done it 3 times spliting it in half & only 1 time 1 half did not make it. I made a thread on it a year ago. Spliting as anemone & selling it.

I assume you're referring to E. quadricolor???? It's been shown that cutting quadricolor in half can be done successfully. It also carries a level of risk. Your track record is probably much better than most.

 

[elegance coral]

I don't think you should cut it. I read an article about it and it can definitely be done; however the recovery process required a lot of care and attention. With the new business it sounds like spending a lot of your time tinkering with a recovering nem is not high on your list of priorities.

P.S. the article said not to cut the nem into more than two pieces

By chance was this article written by Anthony Calfo? Do you have a link for this article?

 

[reefstew]

The anemone was a RBTA

 

[T Diddy]

This may sound strange (or not), but a buddy of mine accidentally squirted some aiptasia-x on his large RBTA. It ended up moving and hiding in the rock work, splitting, and emerging as two seemingly healthy specimens. :beer:

 

[davocean]

^^ More common than not BTA's split due to stress of some kind, often a new tank alone will give you a split.
The apt X probably stressed it.
Bumping the spot feed up is the safest way to induce a split IMO.

 

[OrionN]

You don't really have to take it out of the tank and cut it completely in half. You can make a significant cut in a healthy BTA and it will start to split. This certainly happened enough accidentally and some intentionally.
This is a much less troublesome, easier and likely less stress on the anemone. You can also stress it by do a large water change. Some of the time this will also do it.

 

[jwoyshnar]

You start a thread about the largest BTA in captivity, and you don't post a pic? Shame on you. No help until you post a pic.

+1!!! Lol.

 

[brycerb]

You anemone is trying to tell you something "GET ME A BIGGER TANK!" (plant in little shop of horrors voice.)