Non Splitting RBTA, He's Big and Growing

[Ugla]

I have an RBTA that I got 6 or 7 years ago. For the first 5 years it split every 3-5 months into 2 or 3 new ones. I always sold the big ones and kept the smaller one. Then I added a tomato clown who feeds it like crazy. It has not split in 2 years now and is about 18" across. Fortunately, it stays in its corner and does not move, but 1/3 of my 100 gallon tank is reserved for it.

Any tricks to get it to split besides scissors or a knife?

BTW the clown attacks everything that gets near it, like me, cleaning magnet or other fish. I will post a pic later after the lights come on.

 

[loohunter]

congrats you have a very stable tank. do a 50 percent water change and add fresh carbon and i will promise you it will split

 

[Ugla]

My tank has gone through a lot in the last six months. I swapped out VHO's for MH's and apparently did not acclimate them slowly enough and I had a lot of die off on my SPS'. At the same time the the pump on my ASM skimmer died and it was two weeks to get a new one. As a result I had the worst hair algae breakout I have ever seen. I did huge water changes, and added carbon. Finally I took out half of the rocks and scrubbed them and that helped. Still been doing big water changes and reduced lighting periods.

The hair algae is now nearly gone and it is looking like a reef again. So the mutant RBTA has been through some changes, but keeps growing.

 

[loohunter]

well there goes that idea

 

[Maxx]

Poke it with a stick a couple of times....




JK....

Looks like you've got a happy/healthy anemone, that isnt fazed by minor fluctuations water conditions. I would personally just leave it alone...but I can understand the concern about the realestate it takes up in the tank too. At this stage, I would say the only way to decrease its size would be to frag it with a sharp knife. I would definately stay away from scissors....not sharp enough to make a clean cut.

The other thing to keep in mind is that the anemone will slime fast and furiously when you pull it out of the tank, and especially after you make the cut. This slime will be toxic and possible fatal to other critters in the tank. Phil Henderson, (Anemone Guru for lack of a better term...cited by several authors in reef/marine aquarium books), recently fragged a Merten's Carpet anemone....the slime/discharge from the anemone killed all other fish in his tank with the exception of the clownfish....
So if you do this I would seriously consider keeping it in a hospital type tank away from the main system, and also probably seperated from the clown til the anemone heals up in a couple of days.

Nick

 

[prbhasson]

You can always frag him. I had a fairly large one and sold him. a fellow reefer had him fragged during one of our member meetings. Here's a link.

http://www.clubswam.org/Forum/index.php/topic,756.0.html

I know is looks and sounds aweful but if it is done properly he will heal up just fine. Make sure you do it after any tank maintenance so your parameters are good and water quality is high....

 

[Jobiwan]

Their healing ability is amazing, I had one sucked into a large power head several months ago, no trace of any tentacles left, really looked like a candidate for the big flush, in less than 2 months I couldn't tell it apart from any of the other ones, fragging should work out fine...

 

[Ugla]

I am not sure I could bring myself to frag it. I once poked a hole in one I was trying to get off a rock for a guy and it died. I guess I will just wait it out. I will try carbon again. If I could get the clown out and to the sump for a month or so, it would probably split, but that would be pretty hard.

Thanks for the ideas!

 

[Ugla]

Here's a couple of pics I took tonight. It is not fully extended in these it closed when I cleaned the glass.

 

[Jobiwan]

The one in the lower right was trashed by the power head, he's doing OK now...
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.
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[Ugla]

You suggesting a power head for fraggin?

 

[Jobiwan]

LOL Well, probably better than a blender...

 

[Jobiwan]

All kidding aside Jim, you may actually have a good thing going, my rampant RBTA's roaming around have caused a lot of damage in my SPS tanks, you can decorate around the one you have that won't divide and have a great display...

 

[Ugla]

Yeah it has been in the sme place for over a year. But it kills everything it touches.I think I need a bigger tank or smaller bta.

 

[Maxx]

How about a seperate smaller tank, (say a 40 breeder), just for it? You could plumb it into your main system, so you wouldnt need to worry about stability/parameters.....just need to come up w/ lights for it.

Nick

 

[Ugla]

Unfortunately, I only have room for one tank. I wish it was as easy as poking it with a stick!

 

[Katchupoy]

ugla let me know if you want to trade it with several smaller rbta's. My rbta does not go big, and they split so many times i dont know how many i have right now. I want those big ones. So let me know

 

[bbehring]

I have the same RBTA growing too large problem in my tank, only mine has doubled in size in just a 2 month time frame. I may have to give back to the LFS soon as the thing is outgrowing my tank fast. I've already shuffled my corals around to keep them from getting torched. Was hoping the big fellow would just split. I'm slightly interested in the knife cutting, fragging idea. Might try that soon?

 

[bbehring]

what about reducing photo period or intensity of lighting over a 1 to 2 day period?

 

[OmarD]

Have a GBTA that refuses to split also. Is starting to take over one side of tank.

Have some smaller ones that split all the time...but these I manage with joe's juice and never feed them to keep them little.

"Monster BTA"​

Note: Has been in tank about 4 years now.