Best way to remove carpet nem

[CoralReeferGal]

Our carpet (S. Haddoni sp?) has been in the same spot for about 6 months now, and is buried under the sand and stick to the glass on the bottom of the tank. I'm betting he is the culprit for the disappearances of most of our fish, and I want him gone. What's the best way to get him out of the tank??

 

[OrionN]

you can move all the sand away from the foot and use a creditcard to get the anemone off of the glass bottom of the tank.

 

[reefer999]

You can try using a powerhead, but since you have sand you'll make a mess so just go with the creditcard idea.

 

[CoralReeferGal]

Thanks! That's what I was thinking (the credit card), but wasn't sure it would be safe for the nem.

 

[CoralReeferGal]

Thanks reefer; that was my first thought, I knew I read on here several times about the power heads, but wasn't thrilled about blowing sand everywhere. Especially with the amount of corals close by.

 

[Tony B (UK)]

Prepare yourself for a long slog, allow a good hour or more. Removing them too quickly will likely result in damaging the nem.

I found a metal desert spoon worked well, make sure you use one with very smooth edges. I read they dislike the metal feel and I believe it's true, it speeds up the lengthy job. But it's still not quick.

 

[OrionN]

Once the foot is partially exposed, you can remove it from glass in a few minutes. You may want to move a lot of the coral and rock out of the tank so you can shift the sand around. Try not to touch the tentacles because the tentacles will stick to your skin enough to rip off of the anemone.

 

[CoralReeferGal]

awesome, thanks everyone! I figured it would be a few hours to fully get him out. Thankfully, by accidental experience, my fiance isn't affected by the sting, so he may be able to do this barehanded. Last week the nem grabbed ahold of his thumb, and though it took a minute to get detached, he had no pain, no irritation or anything. Said it just felt really sticky!

 

[dalilgriffith]

Ugh, can i have the carpet? I'm in Lancaster

 

[CoralReeferGal]

Sending you a PM now.