Why do bta split?

[Elo500]

How long does the process take?

 

[Dkuhlmann]

It's how they reproduce. Can take a few hours sometimes more sometimes less.

 

[Misled]

Not enough info. I had one the size of a silver dollar in my tank almost three years ago. The count is around 15 now.

 

[Marty.H]

Mines never split and fully out its around 9"/10"

 

[jason2459]

My RBTA has split three times since I got it. My GBTA not once. All in the exact same area. If anything my green seems more stressed as it has moved around the large rock work area they are at several times.

 

[jason2459]

It's how they reproduce. Can take a few hours sometimes more sometimes less.

Yeah I was quite disappointed the last time my RBTA split. It wasn't much more then an hour I saw it whole. Next thing I see was the last bit of it splitting apart. I wanted to see the entire process.

 

[jason2459]

Best picture I could get with my phone and only the blue LEDs on. Last bit left between the two right about in the middle of the picture between connecting between them.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Yeah sometimes they go quick. One of mine started splitting two weeks ago when I moved everything to my new 40b and stopped. It then did nothing for a few days I just knew it wasn't going to heal properly. Well now it looks like it has two mouths LOL

 

[Elo500]

I asked because my gbta was hiding for 2 days then then when it came back out it looked funny. Now I can see two. But I don't it divided evenly. The 2nd one looks to be a 1/4 of the bigger one and is still down behind the rocks.

 

[BonsaiNut]

How long does the process take?

E. quadricolor can reproduce asexually (via splitting) or sexually (versus broadcast spawning). Sexual reproduction happens once per year during the warmer months when fields of anemones will all spawn at the same time.

No one really knows what triggers asexual reproduction, and in fact there is some anecdotal evidence that there may be different sub-species that asexually reproduce more or less frequently.

People have observed that environmental stress will sometimes trigger asexual reproduction. This includes elevated water temperatures, or rapid change in environment (like when a BTA goes through the stress of shipping and is first introduced to a home aquarium). The process can take a few days, or can occur pretty quickly - overnight in some cases.

 

[Reefer525XL]

Mine just split. It took a few days and I noticed it started to split after a 30g water change to my 350g system. New water had the same temp as the tank did and salinity was also the same. Not sure what would had cause it to split but it did.