BTA budding -

robert · Oct 17, 2015

I've kept BTAs for years -
Originally my issues were BTAs growing two large and never splitting - sometimes a single BTA could gwow to more than 18 inches accross and become huge issue in a coral tank. - literally.

Then I learned, by accident, how to control their size by inducing them to split by salinity bumping. Thats what I've been doing in my new system - I've gone from 10-13 nickel sized nems to 40 saucer sized or bigger in about 8 months...

When BTAs split - you usually get two individuals - each more or less half the size of the parent...or so I thought.

Now I'm seeing what appears to be budding...full sized parents throwing off tiny sized offspring. They can appear overnight - remote from the main colony - and are much smaller than any other anenome in the system. It seems like a very fast form of reproduction - with minimal or no impact on the parent.

Have others seem this? Any info on it?

domination2580 · Oct 17, 2015

I'd like to know how to get them to spit or bud...if like my bta and carpet to split

zwulfke · Oct 17, 2015

I have one 9in across I know it could use a split

robert · Oct 17, 2015

I was wondering if BTA actually did bud as opposed to just spitting...

I "salinty bump" them which seems to encourage them to split.
I turn off my auto top off and let the salinity build due to evaporation...nothing too radical...staying well in the safe range for a couple of days. Then I abrupty drop the salintiy to as low as the hydrometer will read (out of the normal range for sure - the hypo range for fish) by slowly flooding with RODI for 30 mins to an hour. and then I just as abruptly bring it back to normal by slowly adding salt - again over 3o minutes to an hour.

I discoverd this by accident - leaving the RODI unit running a few (many) times - and having to correct in a panic...but it does seem to work and nothing else seems to mind. Maybe this is like a torrential rain event, a tropical storm or hurricane and its a natural respone. I don't know.

I do this a as much as a couple times a month - and they just keep growing and splitting. BTAs only - I've never done it to a carpet anenome.

domination2580 · Oct 17, 2015

Well if you just turn your Rodi off the salinity should be right when your done since ur making up for the water that evaporated

robert · Oct 17, 2015

I didn't make myself very clear....I actually add 40 gallons more RODI to the 400 gallon system to drop the salinity...
I then take 40 gallons out and adjust the salinity back up.

So I let it drift up by evaporation - spike it down for an hour and then return to nominal over an hour...

domination2580 · Oct 17, 2015

Hmm...so you let 40 gallons evaporate, then add 40 gallons of fresh, take out 40 gallons...which would leave u back to normal...

domination2580 · Oct 18, 2015

I don't think I'm understanding correctly

robert · Oct 18, 2015

No - not quite - I let a little evaporate - maybe 5 gallons - just enough to raise the salinity to the high end of the range for a few days to a week.

I then overfill with RODI - my sump will hold about 40 gallons more than I run it at...This drops the salinity down to about 1.009 or so...
I stay there for an hour....

I then drain off 40 gallons to get back to normal levels in the sump and add salt over an hour, to bring the salinity up to where I usually keep it 1.023 or so. Done....sump is back to normal water levels and I've spiked my salinity down sharply and then back to normal over 2 hours...