what do you do when your anemone gets too big?

[Friendly]

anemone get big. how long does it usually take them, all things being equal and what do you do when they get too big for your tank?

 

ie. BTA for Clown's or other symbiotic pairing with a shrimp or crab?

[Lawnman]

Most people kill them or end up getting out of the hobby before a BTA gets to big for a tank IMO. But you can trade it in to the LFS or even frag them if this does happen. 

Clowns love BTA's. Sexy shrimp and anemone crabs usually like Maxi mini's and rock flower anemones. 

[Five.five-six]

Wait for it to split, sell one, be happy, repeat.   

[makingfilms]

Depends on the tank. don't spot feed them to keep them smaller, longer, but in a healthy system, they can grow fast. mine hasn't split in the year but it went from like 3-4 inches diameter to over 10-11 inches now when fully out.

 

 

[Flexin]

BTA can get too big for most nanos.  Minis are better and only get 3-4 inches across.  Of course if they are happy, they keep splitting.  I'm now up to three from one in a few months.  Consider taking the bta back and get a mini if you want one, but have a plan to give away or sell them when they split   Have fun...

[Friendly]

@Flexin - don't have anything yet, but because I got a smack in a thread where I mentioned anemone for a clown in a 10 gal, then found out just how big they can get. wasn't sure if they split or not. 

 

if one hasn't split...can you still frag it if it's getting to big for a tank?   

[Flexin]

Yea, they get big.  

 

I've read that people do.  They take an xacto knife and half or quarter them.  But personally I don't want to do that.  My established tank is 32 gallons.  I placed one in there and put it at the top, because they move, and I was hoping max light would keep it happy and in place.  So for that has worked.  However, the 1 inch max size on liveaquaria is a bit off for a Mini Bulb Anemone .  On a happy day, the main one is almost 3 inches across.  This may be when it's ready to split again.  Also, to split them yourself, they need to be removed from the rock, you can damage their foot by removing them.  Some use ice, others slowly pick them off based on what I've read, but I don't like moving them around or removing them.  The link below is a great place to perform research before purchasing and the forum here is excellent.

 

http://www.liveaquaria.com/

 

[Friendly]

hmmm, so you could 'cut them' to create a frag.

 

like you I'm not fond of the idea...it's living and that would 'hurt' it.

 

do BTA and MiniMax walk around like rock anemone are known to?

 

and your reference to ice...means to make being on the rock uncomfortable so you force them to detach and move?

[Flexin]

If an anemone is not happy, they will move to a better spot.  There is a bit of a dice roll on if they will move or not.  If they decide to camp next to a coral, it's hit or miss if the coral will be affected.  

 

You understand correctly, some use Ice to get them to detach from a rock.  I've not done this, but was researching this a few months ago.

[Flexin]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYJisZtDb5h/

 

 

Photo Bomb

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYJiuqFDipB/

 

[Friendly]

what a jerk fish! LOL! 

[graftobny142]

Pom Pom Crabs with only one anemone have been observed ripping them in half to form two, like cutting them. The nems also rip themselves apart, cutting is is arguably easier on them if they are healthy.

[kinetic]

Best thing to do is get a bigger tank

 

Most anemones are too big for most nano tanks when they're fully grown.

[rO.oster]

On 10/12/2017 at 3:06 AM, kinetic said:

Best thing to do is get a bigger tank

 

Most anemones are too big for most nano tanks when they're fully grown.

what is the minimum tank size?

[kinetic]

18 hours ago, rO.oster said:

what is the minimum tank size?

If you can keep SPS growing and thriving, that means your tank is both stable enough and has enough PAR/flow to keep most anemones. They'll sting/kill anything they touch (for the most part). So it's a lot about space too.

 

Of course, larger tanks are easier to keep stable. And larger tanks have more space for the anemone to grow outwards without killing other things.

 

I have a Magnifica in my 36g Red Sea Reefer 170. It's a small one, only 4" base and opens to about 7" on a good day. I never feed it on purpose, and it's so far kept it's size. These things can grow 24" or more, so if it's eating enough, it'll completely cover my whole tank. When it gets large enough, I'll either put it in a larger tank or rehome it. I don't think that'll happen for years.

[rO.oster]

Thanks for the response, I'm inclined to pass once again for my BC29 but have always wanted a BTA....!  Theres just not a lot of real estate to share, but it's a gamble if a torch or frogspawn type of LPS will be chosen by a clownfish as a home...

[Cintax]

I have twenty-four BTAs in a thirty gallon tank. All but nine are on the same rock. Five of them are something I'd describe as a flame tip. The disc is blue/green with red tentacles ending in orange tips. The balance are green with pink tips all clones of the original one I got about four years ago. The biggest is one of the red/orange and about 6" across, most are 1"-3". I'm actually downsizing to a ten gallon in a few months whenever the IM10 is in stock at Reef Supplies. I don't do anything special with my tank to keep them and they thrive just fine.

[rO.oster]

im so undecided @Cintax!!  Too bad your in Canada, those flame tips sound like exactly what I want!! 

[rockryno]

cintax - post some pics!

[Andreww]

Do not feed it if you don’t want it to grow fast... I’ve got 3 in my 18 gallon...

 

[Cintax]

These are from my thread on when I bought my clownfish.

[rockryno]

badass.  I'd love for my tank to look like that eventually.  Those clowns must be in heaven.

[Cintax]

Thanks! They never leave that area of the tank so I think they are happy about.

[ReefMagix]

BTA grow very fast especially when fed. It is a problem and they are quite invasive thats why most people with mixed reefs dont keep them unless they carefully keep them isolated. Because once they get a foothold in your base rock it becomes a real problem. Best thing to do is to trade it for a smaller one or else cut it in half and sell half of it.

[Cintax]

I rarely feed mine which I think keeps them smaller. My tank is essentially a species tank, with the exception of a few gorgonians and a favia, it's all bubble tip anemones.