New LTA - what is it doing! LOL

[kimsie]

So - I brought home a new LTA today for one of my tanks... And after acclimating it and introducing it to the tank - it was just hanging out... getting used to things - and I had to leave...

Well - I come home a few hours later - and it's fully inflated - but it's crawled inside the cave made by the four rocks!!! You've got to see this... I walk in and all I see is NEM foot!

I have a big problem posting pics here - can't figure out why - but I'm going to try... Best I can seem to do is link them - from another site. If anyone can chime in on how to actually just copy them in - that would be great...

Here it is looking at the front of the tank...


And here it is looking at the side...


They'll get bigger if you click on them - but it takes you to another site...



My thought is to leave it - let it come out when it's ready - but if anyone disagrees... I'd love to hear about it.

 

[wicked_NaCl_h2o]

I use www.imageshack.us I gave you instructions on how to use it in the pm I sent ya




How did it get there..you had your powerheads off right? :lol:

 

[Sula]

So basically your anemone is....mooning you??
How Rude!!!! :lol:

 

[kimsie]

Thanks Christina - I didn't understand the instructions... I need to try again!!! Yeah - I did have them off - it crawled right up in there!

And yes Sula it's mooning me! It's cracking me up!!!

 

[lancer99]

Since an anemone's mouth is also its anus, I don't think it's mooning you

I would leave it where it is....BUT hopefully you know that LTAs root in the sand, not in the rocks, so if your sandbed is shallow, it might not be happy.....

-R

 

[kimsie]

Thanks lancer99 - yeah - I placed it on the sand - it climbed into the rocks! My sand bed is about 3 inches - which I've read they like at least 2... Hopefully it's enough - or I'll be getting more sand!

 

[chrisstie]

Did you try digging out a little cubbyhole in the sand and letting it set down into the groove? Sometimes it helps for it to get almost down near the glass or a rock to settle in and they can have a small part of the foot buried.

Good luck having it settle in and uh, convincin it to turn around

 

[kimsie]

I didn't - only because I didn't know 'where' in the tank it would like to be... Do you think it would like to be close to the rocks - or close to the glass? If it comes out and starts wandering - I can try that - but I want to try to wait for it to come out on it's own if I can. I'd rather not bother it unless I have to.

 

[lloydkeller]

it will move if unhappy they never seem to stay where they look best mine moves about every 4-6 weeks hes only stayed in the front of the tank once he preffers the back hard to see

 

[garygb]

The only way I found to keep an LTA stationary for years was to fill a PVC with fine aragonite. The PVC pipe was sealed on the bottom and was about 6 inches in diameter. Before I sealed it on the bottom, it would dig in to the PVC, then attach to the bottom of the aquarium and then move the whole PVC pipe. I think the key is having the PVC completely sealed at the bottom. You can put liverock around the PVC to conceal the ugly white pipe.

 

[garygb]

I just read more of the thread, 2 inches of sand might be enough for a small LTA, but not a large one. 6 inches would be more appropo.

 

[kimsie]

Thanks Gary for that great idea! I may have to go get some PVC!

Once you sealed the end - did you put sand in the pipe? or just put the Nem directly in there?

 

[kimsie]

Oh and it did crawl out of the rocks... Found a place where it stayed yesteday - but was on the move this morning...

 

[wicked_NaCl_h2o]

Thats good to hear kim..try digging a hole in the sand near rocks or glass and place it there. Mine haven't moved yet and it doesn't have a pvc pipe. Have you tried feeding it yet? Most LTAs will eat some shrimp or silversides the first day or within a few days after adding the lta to the tank. Even when they are not attached to anything they will eat if healthy enough. When my lta was smaller I would feed it once a week pieces of silversides. Now I feed it a whole small silverside once a week.

 

[wicked_NaCl_h2o]

Thought of some good spots where it might like to put its foot... The place in the middle might be ideal but it really depends on how much water flow you have in the tank. If there is too much water movement the lta might move. These anemones are the happiest with moderate to low water movement.

 

[OranguTang]

I have an LTA (on the rock) in a high turnover tank...hasnt moved. Good tips on the PVC, I would give that a try if it were ever to move.

 

[garygb]

I put sand in the PVC about half way, let the anemone dig in, then added the rest to the top of the pipe. I had 4 to 5 inches in the aquarium before I did the PVC trick, and it would stay put for maybe a month or so, then move. Once it was in the PVC, it never moved.

 

[kimsie]

Thanks Christina! When it came out I tried the middle spot first - but with the flow in it blew it around and it wasn't attaching itself there...

Then I tried the spot on the right - which seemed to be the perfect spot - it stayed put there and all was well - all yesterday afternoon and then sometime throughout the night it came out... it was kind of hanging around - so I'm anxious to see where it is when I get home...

I'll try to feed it tonight. I tried a piece of krill yesterday - but it wasn't interested.

I may have to try the PVC trick Gary mentioned... If it would make it happy - it might be a good idea - and I could build the rocks around it.