How to get an LTA to settle somewhere?

Sn8kbyt

New member
I have had an LTA for about 2 weeks now and it is all over the tank. I have tried digging out an impression near the glass, in the middle of the sand bed, near the rock work, and under rocks near the glass and nothing is working.

Any ideas?
 
It never really burrows, it just kind of sits in the impression and opens up. I have fed it and it eats and then for no apparent reason it is water borne. Most times it ends upside down somewhere and shrivels up.

I have placed it in a few very low flow areas and the same thing happens.
 
Here is what has worked for me:

Find a place in your tank with medium to good light ("good" defined as SPS level), medium variable flow, and a concave section of rock. Dig down, next to the rock, into the sand a couple of inches (I assume you have 3" or more sand). Place the LTA with its foot in this depression. If it is healthy, your tank provides a suitable environment, and you chose well, the LTA should settle down and work to attach its foot to the bottom glass of your tank. If you have provided a good environment, it should stay put for years. Mine hasn't moved in 17 years!

What size sand are you using? How deep is the sand bed? Consider posting a picture of the anemone for some of the experts here to look at. Maybe it is not well.
 
Here is the best picture I could take of the LTA with my phone. Hope this helps!
 

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Here is what has worked for me:

Find a place in your tank with medium to good light ("good" defined as SPS level), medium variable flow, and a concave section of rock. Dig down, next to the rock, into the sand a couple of inches (I assume you have 3" or more sand). Place the LTA with its foot in this depression. If it is healthy, your tank provides a suitable environment, and you chose well, the LTA should settle down and work to attach its foot to the bottom glass of your tank. If you have provided a good environment, it should stay put for years. Mine hasn't moved in 17 years!

What size sand are you using? How deep is the sand bed? Consider posting a picture of the anemone for some of the experts here to look at. Maybe it is not well.


Sand is fine about sugar grain, sand bed is anywhere from 2-5 inches depending on the spot on the tank with an average of 3"+. I have a tube anemone and that thing settled right in.
 
Let the true experts weigh in here... OrionN or davocean or one of the other experts should be able to help you more

The LTA seems healthy to me. Where you have placed him/her is a fairly typical place for them to settle in. Sand size is fine. Real coarse sand sometimes is a problem. Everything looks good to me. Flow and light levels you will have to assess yourself.
 
Let the true experts weigh in here... OrionN or davocean or one of the other experts should be able to help you more

The LTA seems healthy to me. Where you have placed him/her is a fairly typical place for them to settle in. Sand size is fine. Real coarse sand sometimes is a problem. Everything looks good to me. Flow and light levels you will have to assess yourself.

6 bulb T5 with 3 ATI blue+ 2 ATI coral plus 1 ATI atnic and night LED's not the best SPS lights but I do have some nice acans that do good at about 3" off the bottom. Tank is 48x24x24.

Flow is low-moderate (bottom) and moderate high from about midway to the top. All power heads on wave makers so it is variable.

I fed it right after taking that picture and it took the food right in. I have a small piece of rubble rock in front of it (removed for the picture) to keep it in place. I already woke up on day to it stuck to the side of a power head so that helps me sleep better.
 
If it was mine, I wouldn't feed it until it was well settled. Then, people grade frozen sea food is safest.

Have you tried to make a little circle out of little live rock rubble? Like a camp fire? In an attempt to keep it in one place? Lower the flow maybe, until it starts to dig? Anemone's can be fickle sometimes. Sometimes light can make them move, sometimes flow, sometimes .... could be female.... (no offense, I kid!) who knows....

One time, I made a box out of light diffuser, zip tied, and put it over an LTA, and pushed into the sand to keep it in a 10x10 area, until it decided to take hold. Screened the light a little too. Maybe try that? Atleast that will keep it from those pump intakes, and hopefully get it to take hold in the general area you want it. Best of luck to you. :)
 
Feeding it or not feeding it will have no effect on getting it to stay in one place.

Covering it up with anything is just asking for trouble.
 
I have the rock rubble "campfire" thing going now and it has stayed for the last almost 2 days.

My thought on feeding was that if it was getting fed it would be more prone to settle in thinking there was a food source available there.

My RBTA and tube anemone were no where near a PITA as this thing.
 
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