Placing LTA

[Joshua1023]

I just got a beautiful powder blue LTA. I'm having a problem w/ trying to keep it in the sandbed. I have about six inches of sand so that is not a problem, but I cant seem to get it to settle down. I keep finding it in different spots. I've kept LTA's before and never had a problem. I was just wondering if there are any tricks to placing these besides just sort of digging a hole and piling sand around them. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I know it will settle eventually, but I don't want to have it behind my live rock or something, as in my experience once they settle in they rarely move.

 

[Slakker]

Not much you can do but wait him out and let him find a spot...maybe adjust some of your powerheads and change up the flow pattern ever so slightly to see if that makes him want to chill out and park it.

 

[davocean]

I just scooped sand and tucked in between a couple rocks to block flow a little.
Mine has a shallow cave area, pulls in or stretches out as it pleases for light/flow.
My LTA seems much more sensitive about light/flow than my sebae, which is always stretched out for max light.

 

[kylesmoney]

my experience is that he will just chill out with time

 

[wicked_NaCl_h2o]

A blue LTA? I would like to see pictures of that. Do you have pink skunks or any clowns that use the LTA as a natural host? My pink skunks really helped my purple lta settle in quickly.

 

[Joshua1023]

Well I guess I don't have to worry about it now. I just came home to find it sucked into a powerhead. I should have known better. I feel like a total jackass because I do know better than to leave those running like that before the LTA settles in. I think I caught it only about an hour after it got stuck to the intake and it looks as if it may have a chance at survival. I'm not holding my breath though. I do have a pair of Saddleback Clowns. Their constant pestering is why I think it hasn't settled in after the first two days.

 

[davocean]

I'm one of many nem keepers that have had theirs stretch out unexpectedly and get sucked in as well, welcome to the club!
But to my surprise and many others as well, it's amazing how they can get seriously chewed up and still survive.
Seems like the main concern is as long as foot isn't torn, they can recover, hopefully yours does as well.
Clowns pestering the heck out of it is common, maybe try a strawberry basket or something to isolate until it does.
Good luck.

 

[Joshua1023]

Here it is one hour after I turned off the power head. I should have taken a pic of it while it was still on, but I didn't think of it. It actually looks alot better now. I'll update w/ another pic tomorrow for those who are interested.

 

[Slakker]

Anemone looks bleached (in addition to the obvious physical damage)...it's going to need some good care and good water quality. Best of luck!

 

[davocean]

I've seen much worse pull through, I'm sure yours will.
I think Toddrtrex has the winning pic of mangled nems, and that one pulled through.

 

[Joshua1023]

Slakker: I thought it looked a little bleached when I picked it up from That Fish Place. I've only ever seen one of these before this (blue) and I was hoping that the blue would become even more intense w/ time. Last time I saw a blue one, the lfs wanted 140 bucks for it. I scooped this one up for $45 in w/ a group of brown LTA's labeled large LTA. I really hope it makes out as I don't think I'll ever find a deal like that again.

 

[Apercula]

I bought this one small and bleached, it attached quickly then after a couple days decided to start wandering, on three separate occasions it was attached when I left and in a powerhead when I got back.
After 2 months of wandering around the tank it was smaller than my thumb fully inflated and it disappeared into my rockwork and I thought it had died.
After being assumed dead for 3 months it suddenly reappeared and in the last month and a half has tripled in size and is regaining color, (if ugly brown is a color). Its now opening over 4inch across the oral disc and has a very strong feeding response.
It also has chosen to attach itself in the rockwork, not in the sand as is normal for a LTA.

 

[Waterlily163]

I'd had my LTA for a week and it still hadn't attached in the sand, so I put a PVC coupling in there, scooped out all the sand, and put the anem in the coupling. Three days later she bounced herself out of the coupling and attached to the base of a rock about 6 inches away. Apparently she just didn't like the spot I had put her in. She's since moved to another spot, but has reattached and is her normal hungry self. I had a second LTA the did the exact same thing.

You can try the PVC trick and see if that helps. If nothing else it makes it harder for them to get knocked around in the current. In my experience, they'll find a spot they like and attach there. We don't seem to have a lot of say in it.

 

[Joshua1023]

This thread is the most I've ever heard of LTA's attaching to the rock. That is unless there are several people who think they have LTA's when they really have a deflated BTA. Besides the brightly colored body, what are the characteristics that seperate the BTA that is not "bubbled" from a LTA?

Edit: Waterlily, I looked at the pics in your gallery. I don't doubt that the picture that you have labeled LTA is accurate. Thanks for the input, and I like the idea of the PVC coupler. I think I'll give it a try. I may even have one handy somewhere from a diy project I was working on a while back.

 

[Waterlily163]

Give it a try Joshua, my LTA didn't actually attach where I had the coupler, but it kept her from being bumped around in the current. Plus, it seemed to motivate her to attach, or at least it prompted her to work really hard at getting out of the coupler and finding a place to attach!

BTW, thanks for checking the pics, I was quite certain that Audrey was an LTA. She always attaches to the base of a rock, which is rather odd for an LTA. Oh well, as long as she's happy.

 

[dragonette]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12719478#post12719478 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Joshua1023
This thread is the most I've ever heard of LTA's attaching to the rock. That is unless there are several people who think they have LTA's when they really have a deflated BTA. Besides the brightly colored body, what are the characteristics that seperate the BTA that is not "bubbled" from a LTA?

Edit: Waterlily, I looked at the pics in your gallery. I don't doubt that the picture that you have labeled LTA is accurate. Thanks for the input, and I like the idea of the PVC coupler. I think I'll give it a try. I may even have one handy somewhere from a diy project I was working on a while back.

When I had my LTA (before I got scared and returned him lol) he was buried in the sand but all the way under he was still attached to rock under the sandbed. I think they still anchor themself to the rock even though they prefer a sandbed location. anemones work in mysterious ways...
Jess