So my two anemone's are getting massive. My red one is taking over the whole top shelf rock and his foot isn't even on the top. And my RBTA had moved down the aquascape so either its irritated or getting ready to split. Anyone have any idea on what's happening? Also anyone have experience on cutting anemones?
Splitting the anemone
- Thread starter Irishman
- Start date
Just need a sharp knife and a cutting board. Be sure and cut through the mouth. It is easy. If they are big and you don't get greedy, they will be fine... they can start to die when you cut tiny ones. Swish them in a bucket of tank water to clean them off a bit and get some of the slime off.
They will slime a bit more, so if you have to put then back in the display and your tank is small, you might want to run some GAC for a while.
Getting them off the rocks it the hardest part. I hang them upside down and use a fingernail and you will get them eventually.
They will slime a bit more, so if you have to put then back in the display and your tank is small, you might want to run some GAC for a while.
Getting them off the rocks it the hardest part. I hang them upside down and use a fingernail and you will get them eventually.
oddly enough, my large RBTA split when the arm on my AI Prime tipped over and the light almost came from a 45 degree angle into the tank. I think it stressed it enough to split. I returned the light to its proper position and now I have 2 large anemones. I used to feed them, but I notice no difference between feeding vs non-feeding.
These 2 anemones are in a 40b that is plumbed to my sump, so it is sort of a display tank....but since it is in my basement very few people actually see it. It is all connected together to my 150 upstairs though. No obvious signs of slime or chemical warfare going on. I do run Rowaphos and GAC in the sump, maybe that helped a bit. They weren't overly slimy that I noticed. A little, but not crazy amounts.
I believe I've read that I should wait 8 weeks between cuttings. I had 2 original rainbows in the 40b, now 4....so I wait.
What was amazing to me was I cut the anemone around 2pm and by 6pm I showed my wife....she couldn't even tell which ones were the originals and the cuts! They heal so quickly and come right back, it's amazing. Maybe around Valentines day I'll make some more cuts.
What was amazing to me was I cut the anemone around 2pm and by 6pm I showed my wife....she couldn't even tell which ones were the originals and the cuts! They heal so quickly and come right back, it's amazing. Maybe around Valentines day I'll make some more cuts.
So Chris, you just get it to remove itself(with some coaxing obviously) and put it on a food cutting board and slice with a surgical knife? Then pour some iodine on the wound and put it back in your tank? Do I have it right? These two, well one is huge,the other an offspring of her. Thanks for the thread, thought it was Dead.
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My Anemones were on a rock that I removed and let the anemone I wanted to remove dangle upside down. Once it was hanging there for a minute or two it deflates and gets much smaller. Then with my fingernail I carefully work at the foot and it will start to release. Then I work my way around the edge of the foot. The rock that the 2 of them were on had a ton of holes and the feet were well into some of those crevices where I couldn't get. So I'd go to the other side and try that. Eventually I got it off. Patience and working slowly, the whole process took me about 45 minutes and my original anemones were only about 4 inches across. Then I took a razor blade and tried 1 gentle continuous cut. I didn't even bother with the iodine, I just put them right back in. Iodine couldn't hurt though. I also had gloves on and eye protection, just to be safe.
These were the blades I used, can get them at Home Depot. Nice because they are long enough to allows the single pass cut through the mouth of the anemone:
These were the blades I used, can get them at Home Depot. Nice because they are long enough to allows the single pass cut through the mouth of the anemone: