BTA Explosion, how to reduce the population?

[LiveFreeAndReef]

I would be happy to share my bounty of BTA's for a swap of another coral but I am in New Hampshire.

New Hampshire you say? What kind of corals would you be looking for?

 

[Fish Think Pink]

If the below has the pic I am asking for, this works great. It is basically a sponge and a piece of PVC. Place over the nem and it will crawl up the pipe towards the light. This can be repeated over and over. Nems are easy to remove from the pipe and no need to destroy your rock work.

@Lost in the Sauce do you still have the pic of the "Major Steve Nem Removal Tool"?

One Nem Cannon, coming up!

That PVC trick is AWESOME!!! Sponge looks like local home improvement grout tile sponge, so those are easy to pickup (and cheap). Somehow I never heard of this tip. Like @Neptune 555 my tank grows extra BTAs, at one point up to 13. I take my extras to local fish store and get wholesale credit that I can apply towards anything else I need in store (retail cost). My last order of food & stuff was nearly free.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

That PVC trick is AWESOME!!! Sponge looks like local home improvement grout tile sponge, so those are easy to pickup (and cheap). Somehow I never heard of this tip. Like @Neptune 555 my tank grows extra BTAs, at one point up to 13. I take my extras to local fish store and get wholesale credit that I can apply towards anything else I need in store (retail cost). My last order of food & stuff was nearly free.

Exactly. Home Depot special grout sponge.

I've gotta a few different nem cannons I've made for different sizes tubes and areas they needed removed from.

Mr clean magic erasers also work well but don't have as much cushion around the pipe to get a light tight seal, which is the desire here. You want the only light the anenome sees to be from the end of the tube.

Just make sure to tag yours with "Major Eagle_Steve Nem Cannon"

 

[Neptune 555]

New Hampshire you say? What kind of corals would you be looking for?

I am open... Candy cane coral (to replace the candy cane coral that the BTA's killed, sea fans, I like soft corals, I would say no to Xenia if it is the prolific kind that took over my rocks previously. I want some color and have left space for coral. Either way I would be happy to share some of my BTA's.

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

I am open... Candy cane coral (to replace the candy cane coral that the BTA's killed, sea fans, I like soft corals, I would say no to Xenia if it is the prolific kind that took over my rocks previously. I want some color and have left space for coral. Either way I would be happy to share some of my BTA's.

The only softie I currently have is a Kenya tree, and I feel like they're a dime a dozen haha I'm not sure where you're located, but all the LFS' in reasonable driving distance seem to struggle with BTA's. The thought that there are some happy tank raised nems locally is enticing lol

 

[PhilSD211]

Great tip with the pvc pipe and sponge. Will have to try that!

 

[outhouse]

Im at 150 or so and love them, started with 1 and they dont bother my skin in anyway.

 

[Neptune 555]

OK giving this a try to reduce my BTA population. For those who have already achieved success....

1. My sponge wants to float away? How did you get yours to stay in place?
2. b/c I have so many BTA's ow do you cover a colony of them?

Also doing the drip method... for smaller rocks that can be moved

 

[Eagle_Steve]

OK giving this a try to reduce my BTA population. For those who have already achieved success....

1. My sponge wants to float away? How did you get yours to stay in place?
2. b/c I have so many BTA's ow do you cover a colony of them?

Also doing the drip method... for smaller rocks that can be moved

Rubber band or fishing line to hold the sponge.

You can use a larger pipe to grab more nems at once or you just cover with the sponge. The sponge will not hurt the nems it lays on.

 

[Neptune 555]

OK I did both methods to reduce my number of BTA's and I will share my experience:

Option A: Remove the rock with the BTA's on it. Place the rock upside down over a container with salt water. Slowly remove the water so the BTA needs to stretch to stay in the water. After some time a few hours the BTA will fall off the rock. I give this method an A. I was able to remove 4 - 6 BTA's off of the rock in about 3 hours. I added one step... put on tight fitting gloves and after the BTA was very stretched I was able to cleanly pull of the BTA.

Option B: I used the Major Eagle_Steve BTA Cannon and it worked. I give it an A also. All you need a grout sponge and some PVC. Cut a hole in the sponge and insert the PVC. You cover the rock where the BTA lives with the sponge and then secure it to the rock. I used rubber bands. YES the BTA moved into the PVC and it was really easy to remove the BTA

I will continue to use both methods. Option A works better for easy to remove pieces of rock. Option B: the Major Eagle_Steve BTA Cannon works better for BTA's that are rock that is not easy to remove from the tank.

THANKS!

 

[Jay B]

OK I did both methods to reduce my number of BTA's and I will share my experience:

Option A: Remove the rock with the BTA's on it. Place the rock upside down over a container with salt water. Slowly remove the water so the BTA needs to stretch to stay in the water. After some time a few hours the BTA will fall off the rock. I give this method an A. I was able to remove 4 - 6 BTA's off of the rock in about 3 hours. I added one step... put on tight fitting gloves and after the BTA was very stretched I was able to cleanly pull of the BTA.

Option B: I used the Major Eagle_Steve BTA Cannon and it worked. I give it an A also. All you need a grout sponge and some PVC. Cut a hole in the sponge and insert the PVC. You cover the rock where the BTA lives with the sponge and then secure it to the rock. I used rubber bands. YES the BTA moved into the PVC and it was really easy to remove the BTA

I will continue to use both methods. Option A works better for easy to remove pieces of rock. Option B: the Major Eagle_Steve BTA Cannon works better for BTA's that are rock that is not easy to remove from the tank.

THANKS!

Wow Neptune 555. What a valuable thread for anyone who has struggled with BTA removal or population control. I think I could reposition if I want or remove and trade at my LFS with option A or B. I thought I was on a good track using PVC as a ladder to allow the Nems to climb on the outside of the PVC towards the light. Once they are on the PVC, they are really easy to remove but, for the most part, they usually just lean around the PVC to get to the light and stay put making my method useless. I love the Eagle_Steve BTA cannon approach and the fact that you tried both methods with success is great.
Thanks for the lessons.