Fragging BTA's

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Fragging BTA's

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Hoopsguru

Posted 1/18/2006 1:48:06 PM

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Last Login: 3/12/2008 10:14:36 AM
Posts: 35, Visits: 143

After seeing your presentation with the sebae anemones at That Fish Place a few months ago, I wanted to share that I finally have a BTA frag tank setup and cut my first green E. quadricolor. The picture shows the two halves about a half hour after the procedure. It has now been 4 days and they still look fine. It's hard to believe without seeing it that this is not only possible, but relatively easy!

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Post #21661

Anthony Calfo

Posted 1/18/2006 2:12:10 PM

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Last Login: 5/17/2008 6:59:58 AM
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outstanding my friend... thank you so much for sharing! I will note this thread in my fav list of links and we can all work in time to build this up nicely Smile

Indeed, anemone propagation is no different than most other cnidarians. Well fed, well conditioned specimens can usually, simply be cut in half. Sharp blade, good water flow and no stressful light changes insure a fast recovery. Feeding organismally is not so important for weeks afterwards especially when the tank has a typical bioload which affords opportuinities for feeding by absorption.

.

Anthony Calfo

Post #21668

Hoopsguru

Posted 1/18/2006 3:08:21 PM

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Last Login: 3/12/2008 10:14:36 AM
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Absolutely, after observing colonies splitting on their own it really isn't that different of circumstances for them to heal from. Although, admittedly, I have balked at posting this around the net from much of the taboo about the procedure (I still remember folks around the display tank at TFP claiming how they would not survive)....hopefully seeing will be believing for everyone.

I plan on doing more, and will take pictures of the process to add to this thread. I have had the good fortune of harvesting 10 clones from my original "parent" anemone through natural division so I have a good, hardy (relatively speaking) colony to start with manual splitting.

Post #21693

edkruzel

Posted 1/18/2006 3:31:11 PM

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Last Login: 4/29/2007 6:17:50 PM
Posts: 31, Visits: 80

Congrats!!!
I'll slice and dice on softies and SPS, I'll even crack and cut large LPS like bubble and elegance, but I can't bring myself to cut an anemone.
Not sure why, I just can't.

Glad to see your success though...

Ed

I think I'm forming gills...

Post #21699

Mark

Posted 1/18/2006 5:58:19 PM

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Last Login: 10/2/2008 1:51:49 AM
Posts: 220, Visits: 726

Looks great! (But if that's a green BTA I'm in need of a visit to the optometrist BigGrin

)

I found the healing process fascinating:

Before:

Right after cutting:

One day later:

Pedal disc after two days:

Pedal disk after five days:

Column after seven days:

- Mark

Post #21743

Amphiprion

Posted 1/18/2006 7:31:13 PM

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Last Login: Today @ 4:17:48 PM
Posts: 45, Visits: 94

Very nice (and speedy) recovery. I love to see pics like this.

Who says LFS have to be THAT bad?

Post #21752

Anthony Calfo

Posted 1/18/2006 7:45:09 PM

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Last Login: 5/17/2008 6:59:58 AM
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I was recently consulting a coral farmer in LA when we got down to the nitty gritty of what species I thought they should abandon and which they should take on when I spied a tank full of Heteractis malu anemones. Mind you, we had just come back from the local hardware store where I talked them into buying an electric wet saw to let me show them just how many species of coral you can slash right through. BigGrin

They had such a good time watching the show up to that point that my request to dive into their anemone tank was not likely to be declined Tongue

So after chopping a bunch of anemones in half they had my promise that they would not easily be able to tell the split halves form the untouched specimens in an hour. They were having trouble believing at first Wink

But after we took a short additional tour of their facility and got some photo ops in (maybe 90 mintues) we all peered into the vat of cut and uncut anemones and... well, no surprise here BigGrin

The cut halves had cinched closed and then fully expanded theyr tentacles again among a "crowd" of other uncut anemones to the extent that we could not ID the fragged ones without waving tentacles down to look for cuts.

In hindsight, we must reckon that pysiologically there is no reason why these such animals should not be as amenable to bilateral division as so many other cnidarians we have been cutting for years. I think many folks are reticent just because anemones generally cost so much more per "polyp." Tongue

.

Anthony Calfo

Post #21755

forestal

Posted 1/18/2006 11:36:12 PM

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Last Login: 10/9/2008 5:48:36 AM
Posts: 600, Visits: 1,982

whilst moving my bta's to a species tank, i while leaning over and picking up a rock it was attached to i discovered too late its foot was equally holding fast to another rock in the tank as well and it tore in half.
much to my pleasure both halves are happy, the smaller one without a mouth is fully expanded and i think developing a mouth, but the pedal disc was sealed completely within 2 days.

Peace...

Dan

Post #21798