Free floating bubble tip tentacle

[holly]

This is a new one for me. I have a rainbow bubble tip anemone that is healthy and happy, but today I noticed a free-floating tentacle, fully inflated, floating around the tank. I wish I could have gotten a picture of it, but here is a picture of where I think it came from. It almost looks like the tentacle was twisted off. I've done other searches, and have not found much on this phenomenon. Has anyone seen this before?

 

[philfree]

Any clownfish being hosted by it?
In the past ive noticed "over-loving" clownfish can sometimes bite the tentacles off, and spit them out.

 

[Tahoe61]

It's not unusual, some have speculated that it provided some nutritional value or assist in promoting the coating to the clown that prevents the nematocyte from firing.

 

[holly]

The anemone doesn't host any clowns.

 

[philfree]

Any fish or shrimp in the tank?

 

[holly]

Yes. I don't watch the tank 24/7 of course (I wish I could!) but I've never seen any fish or shrimp with the guts to approach this 10-inch bubble tip. I would be very surprised if something did.

Do you think it is as simple as just getting twisted in the flow and pinching off?

 

[Tahoe61]

Do you have clowns?

 

[holly]

Yes. Are you thinking that they might be leaving their carpet, going over to the bubble tip and biting at it to get acquainted? I've never seen them leave their carpet but I'm sure it's possible. I wonder how they would twist the tentacle to get it narrow enough to bite. Do you know if this behavior has ever been filmed?

Any other ideas?

 

[Tahoe61]

Just google "clowns biting tips off anemones' it's pretty well documented.

 

[holly]

Thanks, Tahoe61. I just did a quick search and didn't come up with anything that really looks applicable to this situation but you led me to some very interesting information.

I have had clowns play rough with an anemone, on several occasions so roughly that they had to be put in a separate tank from the anemone. I've had clown bite at the tentacles, bite at me, bite at anything that comes within six feet of its anemone (okay, I'm exaggerating a bit), but I have never seen a clown bite off the base of a tentacle such that it becomes a free-floating balloon. And in my case, we're talking about a fairly large anemone with tentacles the size of my middle finger, and a small 1-and-1/2-inch clown.

I spend a lot of time sitting in front of this tank just watching the world go by, so I'll keep a close eye out and let you know if I see something that might give a clue as to what happened.

Thanks for taking the time to reply and share some helpful information. Much appreciated!

 

[mochaclownlover]

My rose bubble tip did the same thing. At the time my clown only hosted two BTAs that were on the right side of my tank and the rose on the left side was hit with moderate. some of the tentacles would get twisted up and i would find one or two every couple of months sitting on the sand. The clown never hosted it.