Detaching a RBTA from LR

Salty1962 · Nov 17, 2017

I have a RBTA that's split and I now have a huge no go area for corals and need to remove one of them. I've heard several theories about how to get one to detach; Place Ice Cube on foot, Hang upside down so gravity will make it detach, place metal against the foot, etc.
Looking for none intrusive way to get the RBTA to detach. Feedback is greatly appreciated!

sfin52 · Nov 17, 2017

Good luck watching. Wouldn’t it cause more trouble if you make it detach?

ash9965 · Nov 17, 2017

sometimes facing a powehead directly on it could work or rotating the rock so that it faces a different direction could work but sadly usually once they are happy and plant that foot deep it is nearly impossible to move them without damage. On the positive side at least its not roaming around the tank causing damage or getting sucked into a powerhead or overflow.

Jlentz · Nov 17, 2017

Good luck.

I just replaced all my rock to get the dang things out of my reef.

Tried powerheads, ice, etc. even set a rock on top of my overflow with the nem hanging off it for about 2 hours without it letting go. Everything on the rock died but the nem. Fiji rock. It was almost impossible to get them off of it unless I wrote off the dang thing and tried to detach it by slowly removing its foot with a bamboo skewer.

They were so pretty in my reef but such a pain in the butt.

xjiang7 · Nov 17, 2017

Having tired power head and ice cube I believe sometimes this is just impossible, especially when the BTA has it’s foot hiding in a cave

SashimiTurtle · Nov 17, 2017

Take your finger and gently rub the foot until the corner lifts up. Start rubbing the under side of its foot until it lets go completely. Do not pull it off at any point or you'll tear the foot and most likely the nem will die. Be prepaired to stand there for a while rubbing this nem, they can be stubborn sometimes. If the nem's foot is burried in a spot you can't reach try moving the rock to a place where its not happy and see if it'll move into the open. Patience is key here.

leahfiish · Nov 17, 2017

Robin Haselden said:
Take your finger and gently rub the foot until the corner lifts up. Start rubbing the under side of its foot until it lets go completely. Do not pull it off at any point or you'll tear the foot and most likely the nem will die. Be prepaired to stand there for a while rubbing this nem, they can be stubborn sometimes. If the nem's foot is burried in a spot you can't reach try moving the rock to a place where its not happy and see if it'll move into the open. Patience is key here.

This is the best approach ime, it takes patience and you have to pretty much wait for it. I have found using a metal utensil like a spoon does seem to get it to detach a little easier just be careful because it's easy to accidentally apply too much pressure.

If the foot is buried where you can't reach it you will have to wait for it to move, or carefully break the rock.

Salty1962 · Nov 18, 2017

sfin52 said:
Good luck watching. Wouldn’t it cause more trouble if you make it detach?

I plan on selling it.

Salty1962 · Nov 18, 2017

Thx everyone for your feedback!

GatorScott · Nov 20, 2017

Robin Haselden said:
Take your finger and gently rub the foot until the corner lifts up. Start rubbing the under side of its foot until it lets go completely. Do not pull it off at any point or you'll tear the foot and most likely the nem will die. Be prepaired to stand there for a while rubbing this nem, they can be stubborn sometimes. If the nem's foot is burried in a spot you can't reach try moving the rock to a place where its not happy and see if it'll move into the open. Patience is key here.

Yep best advice.

This is exactly what I’ve done twice now when nems split and I transferred tanks without any issue.