Cutting a RBTA in half?
- Thread starter heuerfan
- Start date
phender
Active member
For some people it is that easy, for others things sometimes go wrong.
The anemone will produce a lot of slime before, during and after the cut. You will want to rinse as much of it off as possible and hold it in a bucket until it stablizes before you put it back into the tank. Ideally, you would have a seperate tank on the same system in which to hold the cut anemones away from things than might pick at/eat any exposed parts, until they heal.
Medium sized BTAs (5-6") are easier to deal with than larger BTAs. It becomes difficult to get a clean, equal cut when the anemone is large.
I have never tried a BTA personally. (I tried a carpet with a little success, sort of)
Many people will say, " oh yeah, I do it all the time" and they probably do, but I have also talked to a few experienced anemone keepers who have lost both halves of their BTA for unknown reasons.
The anemone will produce a lot of slime before, during and after the cut. You will want to rinse as much of it off as possible and hold it in a bucket until it stablizes before you put it back into the tank. Ideally, you would have a seperate tank on the same system in which to hold the cut anemones away from things than might pick at/eat any exposed parts, until they heal.
Medium sized BTAs (5-6") are easier to deal with than larger BTAs. It becomes difficult to get a clean, equal cut when the anemone is large.
I have never tried a BTA personally. (I tried a carpet with a little success, sort of)
Many people will say, " oh yeah, I do it all the time" and they probably do, but I have also talked to a few experienced anemone keepers who have lost both halves of their BTA for unknown reasons.
phender
Active member
If you followed the story, the first half died after about a month (probably my fault). The other half healed but never did return to a full circle, more like a 2D apple shape. It never was as robust as the original anemone. I was always having to baby it back from something. After a little over a year, it deflated after eating a silverside, and I wasn't able to get it back.
I wasn't basing my advice on my carpet experience. You can't really compare a Merten's carpet with a BTA. Carpets do sometimes split in nature, but it takes months, not a few hours like a BTA. BTAs are easier to propagate, but its still not foolproof.
Sorry for the loss phender. I didn't know about the story since I've only been on this forum for < a week.
I heard awhile ago about Anthony Calfo going to someone's lfs and having this presentation where he cut a Sebae into 1/4's and it healed within 30 mins. Could be a different person I'm not sure but I've heard several of these stories.
I heard awhile ago about Anthony Calfo going to someone's lfs and having this presentation where he cut a Sebae into 1/4's and it healed within 30 mins. Could be a different person I'm not sure but I've heard several of these stories.
Slakker
Premium Member
Jeez...I must have missed the end of the story, Phil...I thought the anemone was still around. Very sorry to hear of its passing...
Heuerfan, there was a woman on the boards that did a great deal of anemone propagation, though I haven't seen her for a while. I believe her alias here on ReefCentral was/is RedSonja, perhaps if you drop her a PM she could be of some help.
Heuerfan, there was a woman on the boards that did a great deal of anemone propagation, though I haven't seen her for a while. I believe her alias here on ReefCentral was/is RedSonja, perhaps if you drop her a PM she could be of some help.
Rod Buehler
New member
I have cut a few BTAs (quite a few) but I dont like to recommend it for fear that every newbie will be propagating their anemones to "re-coup their costs", and end up killing anemones.. Not that I have a lot of anemone experience, but I believe that only experienced hobbyists should attempt this.
they anemone needs to be very healthy to begin with, and needs to go into a very stable/healthy system after the cut.
Phil's post is dead on. If they are too large, they are hard to deal with.
If you have to peel the anemone off of the rock, you are starting the stress levels before you even cut, which IMO decreases you chances of success. If you can get to the anemone easily, then the chances are much much better.
I like to use a shallow container filled with tank water.. I use a 4" razor to cut directly across the mouth. After the cut, a few 100% water changes into the container over a period of time, discarding the old water and using water from the tank where the anemone came from. As Phil said, its best to have another system to put the anemone into, but NOT a NEWLY set up system . The system needs to be stable/established. I am sure that there are vids of Mr Calfo cutting anemones floating around out there somewhere..
The only anemone I would ever attempt to cut is a BTA. although I do give props to Phil for trying and sharing his efforts with the mert.
( BTW, I picked up./rescued another gigantea. It was bleached but seems to be doing very well. My purple has grown tremendously.. almost the size of my 14 year old male. The newest is olny about 5", the purple is about 16 and the old male is about 20")
they anemone needs to be very healthy to begin with, and needs to go into a very stable/healthy system after the cut.
Phil's post is dead on. If they are too large, they are hard to deal with.
If you have to peel the anemone off of the rock, you are starting the stress levels before you even cut, which IMO decreases you chances of success. If you can get to the anemone easily, then the chances are much much better.
I like to use a shallow container filled with tank water.. I use a 4" razor to cut directly across the mouth. After the cut, a few 100% water changes into the container over a period of time, discarding the old water and using water from the tank where the anemone came from. As Phil said, its best to have another system to put the anemone into, but NOT a NEWLY set up system . The system needs to be stable/established. I am sure that there are vids of Mr Calfo cutting anemones floating around out there somewhere..
The only anemone I would ever attempt to cut is a BTA. although I do give props to Phil for trying and sharing his efforts with the mert.
( BTW, I picked up./rescued another gigantea. It was bleached but seems to be doing very well. My purple has grown tremendously.. almost the size of my 14 year old male. The newest is olny about 5", the purple is about 16 and the old male is about 20")
An easier way to get the same end results with less risk would be having the anemone split on its own. I've read, but not done this yet, that feeding daily for several weeks then a very large pwc >50% will cause the bta to split. Then resume to regular care as to not stress it anymore.
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