removing anemone from crack in rock

[ouling]

I have this beautiful Orange bubble tip green body white speckled anemone that I just want out of the tank or dead. I purchased the rock with the guy on it and it seemed like a good idea at the time. However, it has grown substantially and it's tentacles is getting too close to my corals.:headwally:

The problem is that it has wedged itself inside a crevice that is over 3'' deep, 3'' long, and only less than .5'' wide! It obviously likes everything about that place as it have never moved. I tried using a chop stick and tried kindly scraping it out. But this does not work as I cannot see/get to it's footing. Changing the flow doesn't move him. I can't change the lighting or the coral in that area will suffer. Plus, the rock is too large and there are countless corals attached to it so I can't break it or remove it from the tank.

Question for those with much more expertise:
1. What's the best way to remove this guy?
2. Can I use a razor to cut the thing and hope it split? And pray that the split portion move elsewhere, mercifully to a place where I can nab the guy? Thus effectively reducing the size of the anemone by half?
3. Kill it?:uzi:

Thank You!

 

[justinky]

I personally would take some ice put it in a ziplock bag and hold it against the bubble tips foot if you can touch any part of it, hold it there until it starts releasing then help it along by peeling myself. Then if I wanted to split it go from there. The stress from the move alone may cause it to naturally split, especially if it moved to another tank with different water parameters directly after getting it loose from the rock work.

 

[Titans_Reef]

You can place a PH pointing to the nem so the increase of flow make it mad and it can detach itself.

 

[Butchhe]

I have one that I was trying to move that turned out to be very stubborn. It had his foot buried in the center of a rock on the bottom of a rock pile. The PH didnt work, didn't know about the ice trick (thanks justinky) but shading him out did work. It took a combo of PVC and rocks to do it. Once he climbed on a small rock, I put him in a strawberry basket...and it climbed down to the very same spot as it was earlier while I slept that night!

He’s still in his original spot several weeks later!

 

[taylor t]

Sell it with the rock? Rock's cheap. You could sell it with the rock, buy more rock than you gave with the BTA.

IMO, anemone is worth much more than a rock.

 

[OrionN]

See it back to the LFS for a piece of rock of comparable size of your choosing plus the money for the anemone. That is what I do for my unwanted anemones. Tell them that so they won't ask you for 1/2 price for the rock. My LFS want to buy things about 1/2 the price they will sell for which is reasonable IMO.
You can also sell both to another reefer and then buy a new rock. You will not be able to remove the anemone without breaking the rock.

 

[Butchhe]

Selling the rock is a good idea too. Too bad it means I would have to tear down my aquascape since it sits on the bottom of the tank with the rest of the rocks puttied on top of it. This nem doesn't light bright light.

 

[OrionN]

BTA move when the divide. Fee him a lot, when he divide, get both out.

 

[ouling]

Sounds like a plan.

Thanks

 

[OrionN]

Let us know how this work out. I have never feed BTA to get them to move. I just know that they move when they divide at least a little to rip themselves apart.

 

[CoralsAddiction]

See it back to the LFS for a piece of rock of comparable size of your choosing plus the money for the anemone.

I've done this in the past. Got store credit for anemone and a similar size piece of rock.

 

[cichlidconvert]

I've removed BTA's by suspending them over the water with just the tips touching water. It takes patience but I've had nems stuck like that release they prefer the water. To make it easy you can lay a couple sticks down over a bucket of water after a water change to hold the rock

 

[ouling]

I had it. I took a clean razor blade and sliced it from the foot and up to 50% of the body. I don't think I got the mouth in half.

What's the chances of the thing surviving? The part where it had the mouth is still inflated.

Thanks

 

[OrionN]

You obviously hell-bend to get him out. It is too bad. I suggest that you inject this poor anemone full of Kalk if he survived what you did to him since it is obviously you in the mindset of out or death. This will do him in for sure. They don't have anywhere near the regenerative power of Aptasia.

 

[ouling]

OMG. After I sliced it an hour or two ago, this thing is now in two (even tho one does not have a mouth) pieces and is moving apart. Its reign of terror have expanded to 1/4 of my tank with the two of them. CRAP!!!!!!!!! I'm afraid if I slice it more then it'll just be more of them...

 

[alb_56]

:facepalm:

 

[santanzchild]

.... The entire second half of this thread has just gotten worse with every post... Are you going to take a razor blade and bottle of bleach to the dog thats getting to big for your apartment next?

 

[OrionN]

Do whatever you want to kill him. Just don't inform us here. This is not a place to come to to tell us how you kill an animal because it got too big

 

[ouling]

I'm not trying to kill him. The point of the razor was to reduce its size. Which is why I didn't slice the mouth in hopes that the other no mouth portion would die off.

 

[Silvergryphon]

[flamealert]~dc