Think I lost a BTA....

[kozmic]

One of my circulation powerheads died two days ago, so I ordered a replacement, but I guess one of my BTA's didn't like the change in flow (or new lack thereof...), decided to move, and ended up stuck in the fins of my overflow box.

Found most of him in hanging in the fins and a small piece of him in the filter sock in the sump... Recovery looks like a pretty bleak option, but I placed both parts of him in a bowl and will monitor for any signs of life or movement.

The attached pic is right after pulling him out.

 

[kozmic]

So I don't know how long he was stuck in the fins... I do know that he appeared to be a happy nem before lights went out last night at 9:30pm, and I found him stuck in the overflow at 8:00am this morning... Here's a shot 45 minutes after pulling him out. There is a bit of signs of him trying to hang on...

 

[Ebisan]

I have had two btas get stuck in my vortechs. Got them unstuck and both survived.

 

[kozmic]

Three hours in... Hopes are getting a bit higher...

 

[kozmic]

Anyone have any guidance for how often and how much water I should change in the holding bowl as the nem recovers? 50% per day? 100%?

(assume I should keep him isolated and out of my DT until he looks somewhat pretty healthy again)

 

[lifeoffaith]

Looks like you have two anemones now. I can't give you any guidance on how often to change water or if you should treat. Hopefully someone will come along soon who can be of more assistance.

 

[kozmic]

Looks like you have two anemones now. I can't give you any guidance on how often to change water or if you should treat. Hopefully someone will come along soon who can be of more assistance.

Yeah... not too sure about the small part healing... jury's still out on that one... it is basically a small portion torn off the side of the main nem, but I have moved that piece to another container and will monitor separately... but yeah, might have a baby BTA too...

 

[kozmic]

Six hours in... The main nem seems to be trying to heal itself, and has inflated. The smaller portion that was torn off by the trauma of being sucked through the overflow fins is still somewhat bleak looking; however, I do seem to see some change in it too... but I moved the torn off section to a separate container to prevent it from killing the main nem if it is in fact dead an starts to sour/decay.

Am I evil for contemplating feeding the small portion to the main nem to ensure it keeps its zoo? (<--- kidding here, I know not to feed anything to a healing nem)

 

[kozmic]

Here are a few pics of the same nem, prior to this morning's carnage... under couple different lighting conditions.

 

[kozmic]

Just a quick update... Looks like the main part of the BTA will make it... Looking pretty healthy, and back in the DT as of yesterday. Turned pumps off for about 30mins, placed him on a rock, and he immediately grabbed a hole in the rock. Over night he moved a bit to get more light and is inflated pretty good and stable looking today.

The small piece that tore off, I still have in a separate holding container. It has not dissolved, but I'm keeping an eye on him, changing the water daily about 75%. Here's a current pic of him... Not sure if the white area is him trying to heal, or if he is slowly going away... I'm sure the next few days will tell, one way or the other...

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

could you drill some small holes and place/mount the container in your dt,that way it will get some circulation and dt water.

 

[kozmic]

Actually wanted to keep this small piece out of my DT, just incase it does not make it and dissolves into goo... But after reading your comment, I added an open-ended airline hooked to a small air pump to circulate the the water a bit. Thanks :thumbsup:

 

[kozmic]

1-week update...

- The main nem seems to be doing very well back in the DT. He definitely chose a spot that is a bit more secluded than before 'the incident', and I can definitely see where the tear occurred, but over all looks to be on the road of full recovery.

- The small torn off portion that is still isolated seems to also be trying to recover. it is about 1.5" in diameter as shown (for some perspective, that is airline next to it), and is somewhat inflated. I noticed yesterday that the small section of the foot that tore off with it, is now grabbing the bottom of the container, which I would think is a fairly good indicator (perhaps because a small piece of the foot came off with it, that will help it survive). Also noticed it trying to form back into a circular form (was just a flat section as you can imagine the edge of a nem being torn off, when I first pulled it out of the filter sock). I have noticed a tent or two being dropped every other day, that come out with the daily water change, but perhaps this is to be expected as it heals that section of itself. Fingers crossed for this little guy! :thumbsup:

 

[lifeoffaith]

Looking good, I'd be throwing that little guy back in, but that's just me. I'm no expert either.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

x2 to putting the little one back in your DT. I think it would recover a lot faster. Just put it on a small rock in the sand away from your main rock so it doesn't walk onto a large piece of rock that would be harder to remove just in case you needed to.

 

[kozmic]

Thanks LoF and Dk.

I have placed the small guy back in the tank today. I first put a small piece of LR rubble in his isolation container, then encouraged him to attach to it, which he did. Then I moved the rock with him on it to the tank, and built a small holding cell with egg crate in a corner (no delusions that he couldn't squeeze through if he wanted, given his size, but it does three things - limits flow, provides shade, and will help me sleep at night that he does not float around the tank if he decides to completely let go). He immediately migrated off the rock to the sand, so I will keep an eye on him for the next hour or so to see what he does.

(sry in advance for the poor photo quality... close ups with the iPad...)

 

[Squibege]

Interested to see how this plays out. Impressive with how the main portion healed up!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kozmic]

Quick update from yesterday... as mentioned, when I re-added the small part to the tank, it immediately left the LR rubble and was laying on the sand bed. It pretty much stayed in that one spot for the evening. Over night, he seems to have moved a few inches over to the glass, and appears to be slightly attached to the glass at the base of the tank corner (hard to photo, given location behind old silicone and its size, so again apologies for the crappy pic).

Also, it seems to have turned a bit, facing downward (meaning, all of its tentacles are under the, or what will become, the foot). (Pic is of the attached foot)

It has been ten days now, and it has not dissolved yet... Still waiting to see if this little part of the original becomes a new nem (since this wasn't half of the original, and included no part of the mouth...), but I am becoming more and more amazed at the resiliency of these guys!

:beer:

 

[kozmic]

A little more movement today... been at work all day, and when I got home, I see that the little guy has moved from the glass back over to the LR rubble and re-attached its small piece of foot.

Still pointing its tentacles at the sand, but it is becoming difficult not to get my hopes up. :thumbsup:

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Just give it time and be patient.