Rock Flower help!

[Dylan.N]

I have no idea what's going on. Last night after the lights turned off and before I went to sleep, I looked at the tank and my little RFA had detached itself from the rocks and was sitting face-down in the sand. I quickly turned off the filter and circulation pump and picked it up. The foot seemed ok. There were no tears from what I could see. So I tried to put it down in the sand and hoped that it would be ok. I left the circulation pump off during the night so it wouldn't get blown off the sand. I woke up this morning and it was in the back of the tank and looked very odd. On top of that, my big RFA has completely wedged itself under the rock and sand to the point that it is barely visible. Everything else in the tank is doing fine. I don't have time to check water parameters. Why would the RFA detach itself? Why is the other wedged in the rock? Hope these pictures help:

 

That black ring of... algae? Detritus? I don't know that it is, but that is where the little RFA was.

 

The big RFA is barely visible, but it's there.

 

This is the little RFA in the back of the tank. It's not laying flat, but looke to be standing up on it's foot? I don't know if it moved there on it's own or if the filter circulation moved it there.

 

 

This is a picture I took of them last week and a video of the large RFA. The larger one has been a little scrunched up ever since the day of this video:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqGRWrGtopg

 

 

[Dylan.N]

I'm hoping the little one just moved because it wanted to, and not because it is dying or there is something wrong. The big one has been scrunched up lately, but I have never seen it go completely under the rock.

[doppelganger]

rock flowers will move for a lot of reasons. Could be flow, could be light, could be something pissing it off. It really depends. It could be the parameters too so you'll have to check those. A detached nem is usually not a good thing. Doesn't mean it'll die, just means it's not happy where it was. Typically they will just move along the rock unless they're really not happy. I wouldn't just let the nem drift around tho. Could get sucked into a power head or something. Place it on a rock where it's a bit sheltered from too much flow and light. That way it can attach and move where it wants. Once it's happy, it'll stay put.

 

If you really want it to stay in a specific area, you'll have to adjust that area to it's liking. Whether it's flow, lighting etc. Trust me... once they find a place they like, they're a PITA to move so...

[Dylan.N]

Thanks. It was in a shaded area in the back of the tank, so I moved it to a shaded area towards the front of the tank where I can easily see it. There's not much flow there so I'm hoping it won't drift. I have to get to work soon so hopefully it will be ok when I get back.

[Reefkid88]

Have you tried cutting the top portion of a 2 liter bottle and sticking the RFA and a small rock underneath it trying to get him to plant himself on the rock ?

[Dylan.N]

Nope. I don't currently have any rocks to use. If by the time I get home from work it is not attached to something or still looks unhappy I might drive to the LFS to get a small chunk of rock and try that.

[Reefkid88]

That may help. If Sanford was closer to you,I'd give you a couple of small pieces to see if that helps,but it's a further than your LFS lol.

[Dylan.N]

Just got home and had a huge sigh of relief. The little RFA has moved to a spot on the left of the cave (I placed it on the right this morning) and the big RFA is starting to come out from under the rock.

 

[Dylan.N]

Bigger RFA is now completely "unfolded" and laying flat on the rock. So I guess the episode is over lol. I wonder what scared them?