Dyed BTA's

[goofball310]

While on one of my extended business trips I decided to check out a LFS in the area. While there I spoke with the owner and he claimed to know how to make Rainbow BTA's out of regular Rose's. They showed me one of their Rainbow's and I was also able to contact a purchaser of their clone. The purchaser said he has had his clone now for 4 months and it hasn't lost any of its color and is now 4"+ when fully opened. I asked the owner what he did to change the BTA and he said at first he had forgotted he had it in his tank and the rest was a secret. The Rainbow that I was shown had a green base, pink lower tenticles, rose towards the end, and purple tips.

He also had a few more Rose's in a small display tank which he wasn't selling. The Rose's were in a small shaded container in the tank and he said he was going to turn those rose's into rainbow's. He claimed that they had been sitting in the container for 2 months but the change process takes a total of 6 months.

I understand that he's currently trying to bleach the anemone's, but is it possible to permanently change the color of an anemone?

He said he would guarantee his Rainbow's from changing back into a regular Rose.

 

[WDLV]

is it possible to permanently change the color of an anemone?

He said he would guarantee his Rainbow's from changing back into a regular Rose.

Sounds like poo to me. Most organisms will reject foreign substances. I think that a guarantee is an excellent gamble on his part. Most hobbyists are likely to have it die before it would ever lose it's color. The color might be long lived but is unlikely to be permanent.
The only way I can imagine it might be able to become permanent is to somehow remove pigments from an anemone of a different color and inject them into the second anemone. I'd still tend to think it would be rejected as a foreign body.

 

[Reefvette]

These rainbow BTAS are not that uncommon and dont warrant a 200 price tag like some people sell them for.

 

[goofball310]

These rainbow BTAS are not that uncommon and dont warrant a 200 price tag like some people sell them for.

I wish I saw more of them, but it is quite the opposite. I rarely see Rainbow, Flame, & Lemon Drop nems. for sale. I've always been fasinated with BTA's and just recently started a nem/zoa tank. I'm trying to collect different color BTA's but find them locally or online is really turning into a task all by itself.

I actually seen a Rainbow for sale on R2R the other day and the seller was selling it as a regular rose for $60 for a med size clone. Unfortunately the two clones he had sold quickly and I'm stuck on another waiting list.

 

[WDLV]

I'm working on a nem tank myself.... I would advise against adding any zoos you care about.

 

[goofball310]

Thanks for the advice but I plan on keeping all my zoa's on the sand. If the nems decided to get adventurous I can move the zoa's around.

 

[BonsaiNut]

It all depends on the species.

If you get a rock anemone, and keep your zoos on the sand, you'll be fine.

Likewise, if you get a sand anemone, and want to grow SPS, you'll be fine.

It's when anemones mix with other critters that you have a problem...