Anemone in a tight spot!

[Michael Hull]

All, woke up to find my bubble tip had gone for a tumble in the middle of the night and wound up being sucked into one of the recirculating pump vents on the back of my Red Sea tank! Was able to get it off the back wall, but what should I do to free him! Don’t want to apply too much unnecessary force.

 

[tuesdayd]

We had one get sucked in to a powerhead about three months ago and was caught up in the cage. I was able to cut it free using diagonals. His foot was injured, but he made it. In fact he just ate our cleaner shrimp last week!

 

[Michael Hull]

You cut the grill or the nem?

 

[foxt]

The good news is that the foot looks undamaged. You are going to need to figure out how to cut that grill off. I would not try cutting the nem!

Is that second picture a duplicate of what it was sucked through?

 

[BayouReefer]

I think your going to need to cut the plastic he is not looking so good

 

[Lorenzo Angotti]

Ouch! That’s a tricky one, if you have a spare pump use that for the time being for your tank, you could then keep the other pump in the same tank unplugged of course and wait awhile to see if the anemone as signs of moving or it could decide to split on its own. Failing that you may have to do what tuesday has mentioned above. Good luck

 

[tuesdayd]

You cut the grill or the nem?

The grill...it was worth the sacrifice.

 

[Michael Hull]

The good news is that the foot looks undamaged. You are going to need to figure out how to cut that grill off. I would not try cutting the nem!

Is that second picture a duplicate of what it was sucked through?

Yeah exactly, same grate.

 

[Jon Fishman]

I disagree. You leave him on the grate, in a tupperware or basket inside the tank and just wait for him to free himself..... He will eventually

 

[foxt]

Amazing! Different parts may have gone through different sections. I’d start cutting the grate with diagonals as was mentioned.

 

[foxt]

I disagree. You leave him on the grate, in a tupperware or basket inside the tank and just wait for him to free himself..... He will eventually

Since it appears to be intact I wondered about that. But how long do you wait?

 

[Jon Fishman]

Since it appears to be intact I wondered about that. But how long do you wait?

Takes weeks sometimes

 

[Dom]

I disagree. You leave him on the grate, in a tupperware or basket inside the tank and just wait for him to free himself..... He will eventually

I agree... it looks healthy and undamaged, I would leave it in an isolation box in the tank and give it time. It will free itself as it will seek out more flow.

If its condition seems like it is beginning to deteriorate, then I would use a wire cutter, carefully slipped under the plastic and gently nip at it to separate the plastic and free it.

It can be done.

 

[Michael Hull]

I agree... it looks healthy and undamaged, I would leave it in an isolation box in the tank and give it time. It will free itself as it will seek out more flow.

If its condition seems like it is beginning to deteriorate, then I would use a wire cutter, carefully slipped under the plastic and gently nip at it to separate the plastic and free it.

It can be done.

And this is why I love Reef2Reef. If y’all think it looks Ok, which I would agree (shocking that it can look so good so constrained) , I’ll chuck it back in the tank and keep it in a box. I pulled it out cus I didn’t want to risk it dying and poisoning the water.

 

[foxt]

R2R, learn new things every day! Good luck with the nem. Keep an eye out for signs of stress, such as ejection of mesenterial filaments, that would be bad.

 

[Billdogg]

I disagree. You leave him on the grate, in a tupperware or basket inside the tank and just wait for him to free himself..... He will eventually

Takes weeks sometimes

I agree... it looks healthy and undamaged, I would leave it in an isolation box in the tank and give it time. It will free itself as it will seek out more flow.

If its condition seems like it is beginning to deteriorate, then I would use a wire cutter, carefully slipped under the plastic and gently nip at it to separate the plastic and free it.

It can be done.

^^^This^^^

Trying to cut the plastic away will be difficult without harming the anemone.

Then, look in to getting something in the way of foam covers or even make something yourself. Black mesh gutter guard would work well.

 

[Dom]

^^^This^^^

Trying to cut the plastic away will be difficult without harming the anemone.

Then, look in to getting something in the way of foam covers or even make something yourself. Black mesh gutter guard would work well.

I only recommended it as a last resort if its condition worsens.

If you can cut through the shell of a turtle egg without rupturing the internal membrane, you can do this.

 

[Michael Hull]

Check it out!! Bangaii’s protecting it! It’s moving out of the grate!

 

[foxt]

Check it out!! Bangaii’s protecting it! It’s moving out of the grate!

Awesome. Anemones are amazing things!

 

[reef lover]

Hell have himself out in no time....now to fine a gaurd...