I work at my LFS, and am one of the guys in charge of keeping everything right and good in our saltwater systems. One day I'm looking around and find that one of our 5 inch rose bubble anemones has had its entire head sucked into a skimmer, and is about to be pulled off of the rock where it's sitting to become 'nem soup. I very carefully turn off the skimmer and get him free from his predicament, thinking that he's probably a goner regardless at this point. Once free, the little guy runs (over the course of a full day) to the opposite corner of the tank and hides at the water's surface, having only a dozen or so tentacles left. From that day forward he NEVER went to the other side of the tank again. Then, about 6 months ago, my 32g Biocube was well seasoned and going well, so I figure it's time to buy a nem... and guess which nem was STILL hanging in the top corner of his tank? Acclimated him and then popped him on top of a large rock shelf near the surface of the water. Took a look and thought that I'd move him over a bit to start with, but NOPE! Within SECONDS he'd attached his foot, and within a few minutes he set himself against the back wall, where he spread out. Went through some needless worry, but....
...today his oral disk is nearly a foot across, his foot is set about 6" down behind his shelf (which he hides under at night) and he has two pet clowns that feed him daily. In short; this 'nem is spoiled rotten. That's the story of my little guy, but there's something more interesting that I'm ACTUALLY posting about.
When I put this guy in my tank, his tentacles were still a big gnarled. The day after, I found that one had broken off and fallen to the bottom of the tank. It was MAYBE an inch long and was very slowly wriggling around, so I really didn't think much of it. Over the course of the next few weeks I'd find it here and there, still wiggling around as best it could, but then it finally disappeared....
....until today....
waay in the back of my tank, behind a rock where it only gets a little sunset light from a window, this little thing is now about 3" long and as thick as the tentacles on the 'nem that it came from. It has no foot, it has no mouth, yet it's alive and actually growing, as was obvious when it started stretching towards the light of my camera's flashlight..
Just for reference, here's the whole tank. This individual tentacle now resides on the back wall of the tank in the lowest dark cave tucked a bit to the right.
...how is this thing alive AND GROWING in a darker area for about 6 months, MUCH LESS detached from the 'nem as a whole? Has anyone heard of this kind of thing happening?
...today his oral disk is nearly a foot across, his foot is set about 6" down behind his shelf (which he hides under at night) and he has two pet clowns that feed him daily. In short; this 'nem is spoiled rotten. That's the story of my little guy, but there's something more interesting that I'm ACTUALLY posting about.
When I put this guy in my tank, his tentacles were still a big gnarled. The day after, I found that one had broken off and fallen to the bottom of the tank. It was MAYBE an inch long and was very slowly wriggling around, so I really didn't think much of it. Over the course of the next few weeks I'd find it here and there, still wiggling around as best it could, but then it finally disappeared....
....until today....
waay in the back of my tank, behind a rock where it only gets a little sunset light from a window, this little thing is now about 3" long and as thick as the tentacles on the 'nem that it came from. It has no foot, it has no mouth, yet it's alive and actually growing, as was obvious when it started stretching towards the light of my camera's flashlight..
Just for reference, here's the whole tank. This individual tentacle now resides on the back wall of the tank in the lowest dark cave tucked a bit to the right.
...how is this thing alive AND GROWING in a darker area for about 6 months, MUCH LESS detached from the 'nem as a whole? Has anyone heard of this kind of thing happening?
