Anemone damaged foot

HotManwich · Jan 24, 2020

I recently moved my BTA since it was starting to fight the rock flower that lived next to it. Neither would give an inch and I was worried about them. I pulled the rock it lives on and slowly pryed it off, and I thought I got it off cleanly and nicely. However, it didn't want to reattach and when I took a closer look it appears I accidentally damaged its foot in the middle. The edges of the foot appear fine but the center is torn and some of the intestinal filaments are poking through. What can I do to help it recover? I know bubble tip anemones split to reproduce so I feel like this shouldn't be as big of a problem as it is, but I don't know. Can someone help?

Casket_Case · Jan 24, 2020

I'm sorry I don't know how to help. I know foot injuries can be fatal though, all I'd know to do is put him in quarantine. Here's a bump though.

Webslinger · Jan 24, 2020

Not much to do. Wait it out. Prying a BTA of a rock isn't a good way to remove them.. Hang rock over water/use ice on foot/ point power head at it are better safer options.

Phil D. · Jan 24, 2020

Put it into QT and add Erythromycin, (anti-bacterial).

D-Nak · Jan 24, 2020

BTAs are very hardy, even when it comes to foot injuries. Many do well with force propagation, and that's literally cutting the foot in half down the middle.

I wouldn't be too concerned. Just keep an eye on it.

HotManwich · Jan 24, 2020

Webslinger said:
Not much to do. Wait it out. Prying a BTA of a rock isn't a good way to remove them.. Hang rock over water/use ice on foot/ point power head at it are better safer options.

Yeah, it was a sort of last resort/ rush. I tried the ice and it refused to let go, but because the rock it was on in the scape is supportive of a bunch of other rocks I couldn't keep it out of the water too long since the other rocks (with lots of corals) had to be removed. I used a screwdriver to chisel away the first bit of rock under its foot so I could get a handhold and then slowly pulled.

Cell · Jan 24, 2020

Just leave it be, it should heal. As D-Nak notes, they tear their foot in half when they split or are cut in half when split manually and they heal up just fine.

NanoCrazed · Jan 24, 2020

The problem is when you have small tears, the nem heals but may not be as quick as a split.

Best thing to do is that the nem out into a QT and use cipro for 7 days with daily water change... Has worked great for a similar situation where the tear was fairly gruesome.

For me, i ran it out of a 3.7G tank and used only a quarter tablet. Saves $$ and makes water changes easy.

This was how bad one of my nems were (tear was a whole flap):

After 7 day cipro, and another week out -- fully bubbly and 100% healed:

HotManwich · Jan 24, 2020

NanoCrazed said:
The problem is when you have small tears, the nem heals but may not be as quick as a split.

Best thing to do is that the nem out into a QT and use cipro for 7 days with daily water change... Has worked great for a similar situation where the tear was fairly gruesome.

For me, i ran it out of a 3.7G tank and used only a quarter tablet. Saves $$ and makes water changes easy.

This was how bad one of my nems were (tear was a whole flap):

After 7 day cipro, and another week out -- fully bubbly and 100% healed:

That is a beautiful nem! I don't have cipro or a quarantine tank, but I am able to keep it in a lower flow area in a small open jar. The anemone is slowly starting to inflate again and has started looking a little better, but only time will tell. Mine has a tear that looks similar to yours. Good to see it recovered.

HotManwich · Jan 25, 2020

Update: the anemone is actually inflated now instead of looking like a pile of goo, and is now about 10x bigger. It looks back to normal from above, and tomorrow if it still looks fine I will take the jar its in out of the tank and examine its foot to see how it looks. I'll upload a pic depending how it looks.

DonTavo27 · Jan 25, 2020

I would leave it alone for about a week. Maybe let it come out of the jar on its own? I can’t imagine, the tear improving any sooner then a week. It might still move, near the place you removed it from, it’s probably best to move the rock flower, if possible. GL!

HotManwich · Jan 25, 2020

DonTavo27 said:
I would leave it alone for about a week. Maybe let it come out of the jar on its own? I can’t imagine, the tear improving any sooner then a week. It might still move, near the place you removed it from, it’s probably best to move the rock flower, if possible. GL!

That's actually why I have it in the jar. That way I can see it from every angle, even below, without taking it out of water. I definitely won't be bothering it anytime soon too!
Plus since this individual seems to only want low flow, it actually seems to be enjoying the jar. He's even starting to bubble! As of this morning the tear is visible and there but pretty much all of the intestinal filaments are pulled back in and the nem is inflated. I have high hopes for it!

HotManwich · Jan 28, 2020

Update today: The foot is on the side of the glass jar, and from what I can tell there isn't any sign of a tear at all. It looks completely healed.
Now I somehow have to convince the anemone to leave the jar. It really seems to enjoy it in there!

D-Nak · Jan 28, 2020

Glad that everything worked out. The glass jar was a great idea to monitor the injury without disturbing the anemone.

HotManwich · Jan 28, 2020

D-Nak said:
Glad that everything worked out. The glass jar was a great idea to monitor the injury without disturbing the anemone.

Thank you! I got the idea from people feeding mandarins in a jar so they can monitor the food and keep it slowly moving, not blowing around.

floridian88 · Feb 2, 2021

another idea I tried with a green bta with a torn foot, placed in a cup and started to heal!

vetteguy53081 · Feb 2, 2021

Nice acid wash nem
Do not medicate- they’re tough specimens

theocorals537 · Feb 2, 2021

HotManwich said:
I recently moved my BTA since it was starting to fight the rock flower that lived next to it. Neither would give an inch and I was worried about them. I pulled the rock it lives on and slowly pryed it off, and I thought I got it off cleanly and nicely. However, it didn't want to reattach and when I took a closer look it appears I accidentally damaged its foot in the middle. The edges of the foot appear fine but the center is torn and some of the intestinal filaments are poking through. What can I do to help it recover? I know bubble tip anemones split to reproduce so I feel like this shouldn't be as big of a problem as it is, but I don't know. Can someone help?

good look with the anemone , ive found to realize anemones are alot more resiliant than we think. Had one stuck in shipping for 2 days in cold weather and its doing great 5 years later! keep us posted

TCseh · Nov 14, 2023

I have a bta in a low-med flow area. It is up on the glass of my tank with a torn foot. Should I leave it or remove it and put it in a nem box?

TCseh · Nov 14, 2023

TCseh said:
I have a bta in a low-med flow area. It is up on the glass of my tank with a torn foot. Should I leave it or remove it and put it in a nem box?

Also clownfish host it.