Bubble Tip Anemone Splitting - caught on film!

[thefidget]

Last week my Rose BTA up and split on me in a very visible and easy to photograph position. I just wanted to share the images because at first I was sure she was dying on me! 8O

Enjoy!!

 

[thefidget]

Another

This is my first time posting pictures... please bear with me.

 

[thefidget]

Another

Here's another one

 

[thefidget]

The Damage

Here's a close-up... 8O

I swear I thought she wasn't going to make it!

 

[reefrunner69]

Excellent photos and that is so cool!!!!!!!

 

[possum]

wooohoooooo congrats!

 

[thefidget]

Follow up

Thank you!

I hope to post a final when my husband has time to take another picture.

 

[jks1]

Great pics, now a seperate bedroom for each clown!

 

[cj10488]

WOW you can always send one my way


James

 

[Hara]

FANTASTIC!! and congratulations!

 

[Thelionfishman]

Great shot, you must be over-joy. It's cool when something like tahat happens!
Good luck!

 

[dralarms]

I didn't know they did that. Wow I'd like to see the whole vid. myself.

 

[thefidget]

the whole picture

I didn't know they did that. Wow I'd like to see the whole vid. myself.

I didn't take a video as it took about a week for them to completely split and come back together. I do however have more pictures now (bought myself a Canon D-10 ). Once I lean how to post them, I'll put 'em in my gallery as a set.

 

[bizzybeas]

Awesome! I am really considering getting a rose BTA.

 

[dralarms]

How can you tell when it's going to split? I have a condy that is rather large and was wondering what the signs are. I didn't know they would do that and if I saw one "comming apart" I would have paniced andsnatched it out for sure.

 

[thefidget]

How can you tell when it's going to split?

I have never had a condy, but I can tell you what I have seen and what I've read.

In the store I saw a BTA that was stuck to the glass and on the base you could tell that it was starting to divide - like a section was beginning to pinch off. For mine though, I came home one day to feed her and looking into her mouth I could see the coral skeleton she's sitting on! 8O

I called every LFS around. I was so scared that she was melting down because her color went more gray-green than white-pink. No one I spoke to was confident about the signs of splitting, so I don't know if the hole-in-the-middle staring point is common.

Volume II of The Reef Aquarium by Sprung and Delbeek has an excellent description of all of the known reproductive modes of anemones.

 

[dralarms]

Thanks.

 

[HoopsGuru]

I was wondering if you could post what you think might have caused it to split. Were you feeding it more, changed conditions, etc.?

 

[thefidget]

I was wondering if you could post what you think might have caused it to split. Were you feeding it more, changed conditions, etc.?

Darn good question...I most definately didn't do it on purpose, but I can summarize what I have in my journal...

The BTA was added 9/7 and began to split 11/10. I have her in a 26-gallon acrylic tank at 80 degrees and SG 1.025, pH goes from 8.0 to 8.4. I use C-Balance for calcium and all the other stuff for invertebrates. Food consists of phytoplankton for the corals, I don't know if the BTA eats it, but she always has shorter, bubbly-er tentacles after the dose. The clowns also bring home their food - formula 1 and 2.

One odd thing is I use water from an LFS near my home that claims to be from the ocean near "Catalina Island," I set the tank up with this and haven't had the guts to switch away yet, but I'm trying to work up the nerve to move to a mix because I am worried of a breakout of marine velvet that killed all but one of my 5 fish 3 weeks ago. I'm pretty sure it came from the water because the fish were in there for over a month before the first death.

After looking this over, I would venture to guess that since anemones have such a slow metabolism, the splitting is probably a lucky leftover from the place I bought it from that splits BTA's regularly. I'll see if I can get some inside info from them.

 

[tkos]

It's nice to see an anemone post that isn't a cry for help. Congrats on keeping that tank in great condition.