My RBTA split!

[ssick92]

Hey everyone,

Just thought I'd share the pictures of my new anemone. This RBTA was in my tank for about 6 months and always seemed very healthy. He was about 4" fully extended when he split. He moved into a crevice and in the morning I noticed 2 separate nems. The 2 nems are now finding their new spots and hopefully will land in a good spot. Does this mean they are comfortable in the tank? I have always had very stable parameters however I do have some dinoflagellates right now so I was about to do a 72 hour light off cycle but now I won't in order to keep the nems healthy and happy. Should I keep feeding them? I used to feed my RBTA about 2-3 times a week, but I'm going to reduce feeding for now.

Here are the pictures:

RBTA Fire Ice by JHelmuthPhoto, on Flickr


Split by JHelmuthPhoto, on Flickr


RBTA Split 1 by JHelmuthPhoto, on Flickr


RBTA Split 2 by JHelmuthPhoto, on Flickr

 

[Mcsommerfeld]

Mine did the same thing today! Does anyone know what causes this? Is it stress related or is it a good thing?

 

[kretzkiller]

Mine did the same thing today! Does anyone know what causes this? Is it stress related or is it a good thing?

So many theories on it, stress being one of them. It seems like most rbtas split only once and you end up with two large ones or stay smaller and multiply more often. I don't think it's a problem either way.

 

[kretzkiller]

Oh ya, bad *** by the way.

 

[Mcsommerfeld]

Cool, can't complain about 2 for the price of one!

 

[ssick92]

Hopefully my tank is big enough to support 2... It is only 30 gallons and I have a lot of corals in there. I'll have to see where they end up

 

[Ebisan]

I started with 1 bta back in 2006 and now have around 35 today all from splits (might be more, couldn't count the ones in the very back.). Not sure if it's stress or not. Though, I never see my bta's get bigger than 6-8" across.

 

[bshow24]

I have heard two different things when it comes to splitting anemones:
1) survival: there could be something worrying the nem, parameters arent great, sick, etc. The anemone then splits in order to increase its chances of survival.
2) perfect conditions: the anemone is comfortable and is growing large and splits because of this. I honestly feel like most of the time, this is what happens, especially after 3 or 4 years of varying times that I have had BTAs. If it happened to be survival, I think I would have 10 or 12 by now the way my luck with my first 5 or 6 was!

 

[JasonMHorn]

I was curious about the current status of your RBTA because mine split tonight.

 

[ssick92]

I was curious about the current status of your RBTA because mine split tonight.

Well over the past year or so it has split a few more times. So far I think I have had a total of 5 rbtas. I had to sell/give away a few but the ones that are still in my tank are very healthy and happy.

As long as the nem looks healthy, it most likely is and there is nothing to worry about. But if it looks like it is struggling and then it splits, it might be a cause of concern.

 

[JasonMHorn]

I appreciate the response.

Get this.....today I look in the tank and the one that split to two has now become a total of 3.

 

[bboyvital]

congrats on the new nems. can i just say those pictures are super clean.

 

[nemmy]

My first split was a 3-way. I had to set up a qt tank with very minimal flow because one barely had any foot on it. It pulled through and grew just like the rest though. Mine never made it past the 8inch mark before splitting. They always acted like they just split at a certain size none ever split being smaller.

 

[JasonMHorn]

How soon after the split did they eat?