Fragging a BTA

[BcAquatics]

How safe is it to frag a BTA, will it heal fast?

it is a BTA that is about 6-7 inches across. Im assuming that i just cut it straight through the middle?

 

[NeptunesGhost]

I know that some people have done it, but I am totally against it. Remember, you frag a coral by breaking away part of the skeleton and the colonies stay with the piece.

You are not "fragging" the anemone. You are inflicting a serious injury that it will have to recover from. You could end up with two anemones, or you could end up with none!

 

[BcAquatics]

Thats what i was thinking, you think it is best to keep it as awhole and let it divide naturally?

 

[NeptunesGhost]

Absolutely.

A wise man once told me that "patience is the key, the only thing that happens fast is catastrophe!"

 

[logankolby]

BTA splitting naturally is fine. You can split them. I have done it, and it worked fine. Cut completely through the center, splitting the mouth in two parts. It will take a while for both halves to heal, but you will end up with two anemones.

 

[NeptunesGhost]

if they don't die

 

[ginger7286]

I have one BTA that has reproduced twice in the last 8 months. Please do not cut it. If the cut is not right both halves die. Let Mother Nature do her work.

 

[shabreeson]

it isn't hard, just have to make sure that when u cut the anemone you are cutting down the center of mouth and stomach of the anemone. if the column is sagging at an angle you could be giving one anemone the entire digestive track while leaving one with just half a mouth and no stomach.

its more likely that one would die and one would live in that case anyway. and what these guys are not telling u is that some bta's get really big, some a foot or more.

if you do decide to do it, make sure not to feed it for a few days

 

[NeptunesGhost]

So, you are suggesting to injur the anemone to prevent it from growing?????

If a tank isn't big enough to house an animal in its adult form, it shouldn't be in there in the first place!

I wish people wouldn't say "frag the anemone". It is wrong. You are not fragging it, you are injuring it, almost like cutting a starfish in half, so you can have two!

Anemones can have the ability to regenerate, but forcing the issue is completely irresponsible reefkeeping. Forcing the issue to prevent it from overgrowing an undersized tank is even worse.

An Anemone isn't a colonial group. It is a single animal. You wouldn't frag your dog, or a horse or a fish...why try to cut an anemone in half? To save money? To try to sell one and make money? Because it doesn't fit in an undersized tank?

 

[Diver Dan SD]

You wouldn't frag your dog, or a horse or a fish...

Im not sure on this one, but i dont think a dog, a horse, or a fish reporduces in a sort of meiosis through asexual reproduction. It is not the same. An anemone buds or splits naturally and produces sexually only in some instances.

A healthy, happy nem may never split. It needs to be forced into stress somehow. And this is not always done to "try to sell one and make money..." it may be because you want to stop the collection of anemones in the ocean and instead aquaculture them to share with everyone. I think this is a reasonable excuse for having an anemone do something it does naturally on its own.

But if you want everyone to follow you in the dont stress stance then you should tell microbiologists to stop heating up pitri dishes full of cells as it makes cells divide quicker, even though what they are doing may save lives, you wouldnt want to stress out a single celled organism.

BcAquatics- Just feed your nem a lot, it will stress it out just enough so that it will split. Give the clone to someone with a sutiable tank and share!

NeptunesGhost-stop being so confrontational its only your 22nd post... just chill...

Trever

 

[tufacody]

Gotta say I'm shocked by these responses. BTA fragging is very common, and while not foolproof generally results in 2 healthy anemones if allowed to heal properly. I fully support propogation in this way.

 

[landy]

Done it plenty of times. I use a VERY sharp knife, rocking from the tip of the blade to the back. Cut clean through in one motion. 100% success rate. I have even cut larger nems into thirds and fourths

On a side note, if it were possible to frag your cat or dog, I’m sure some people would be all over that

landy

 

[landy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14799112#post14799112 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NeptunesGhost
An Anemone isn't a colonial group. It is a single animal.

not when I’m done with them

 

[Haddonisreef]

I agree w/ Diver Dan SD cutting anemones is a way of captive propagation! When i cut my sunburst i cut from the middle out then cut the other side middle out also 100% survival rate. Just be sure to cut a anemone that is not to small cause it will take some time to heal. I also dose Iodine while the anemones are healing!

 

[logankolby]

I've had BTA's for years. Most of the time I let them split on their own. I have had to "FRAG" them by cutting them on occassion. If they get to big I have to frag them and usually sell one half to a lfs. Some of my roses have gotten 15" in diameter. I have other corals and polyps they disturb so I have to "clean house" every so often.

As for the ones who say we are hurting a living animal by cutting it. Does the anemone feel no pain when it splits naturally?? I guess we should stop propagating and bleed the oceans dry of sea life.

Back to the original post: Cut the anemone if you feel it's to big for your tank. I usually don't until they reach 15 inches.