RBTA safe removal from rock

[sbeason]

Hello everyone. My big RBTA cloned now to 4 of them and I need to know how to safely remove them from the rock.

Do I use gloves and exactly how do I go about removing them?

I plan on selling one of them to a fellow reefer here in St. Louis and/or trade another or two for SPS.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Steve

 

[Biocubist]

I would not use gloves because you will loose the tactile feel of how much pressure you are putting on it's foot. Use bare fingers and find a part of it's foot that you can work off the rock. Once you get a portion of the foot off keep working that portion until the entire foot is free. Keep in mind that this is a slow and gentle process.

 

[reefman13]

The day before, try pointing a powerhead at it, getting it to move. They are much easier to get off rocks if they are moving.

 

[sbeason]

I just got my first one off as he was moving up the rock. The foot was only about half attached and it still took about 10 minutes to remove him.
Thanks for the help and instructions. -Steve

 

[showey]

I had one that doubled in size in a matter of months. He was about 18" in diameter in a 40 gallon tank. I lifted the rock he was on slightly out of the water and back in again in a slow dipping fashon. Then I used the edge of a credit card to get the foot started. Worked like a charm although slow and tedious. When I walked into the LFS to sell him back another patron jumped on it and bought him right then and there. Now he's in a 250g and doing great!