Moving a Rock Flower Nem, Help!

[Rjukan]

I have a RFA in my attached nano thats become pretty big, upwards of 4" in diameter when extended. Its been in the same spot for almost a year, but decided to move a little a couple days ago so I figured it was a good time to move it to the display.

What I didn't realize is it's attached to the glass through the sand bed, and I mean it's latched on tight. Any tricks on how to get it to release? I was ever so gently trying to move it but it's like it's glued to the glass. Now is really sad looking and I feel bad I messed with it but I'm committed to moving it to the large tank.

 

[homer1475]

Credit card between the foot and glass.

Just be careful and go slow. If you damage the foot, it may not recover.

 

[Rjukan]

The foot feels so thin and spread out on the glass, plus its under all the sand. Man I thought this would have been easy.

 

[Rjukan]

I went back a couple min later and it's like nothing happened. Like its mocking me.

You can see here how stuck the foot is

 

[JCTReefer]

You can take a powerhead like a Maxijet 1200 and blast water at the base of the foot. It will eventually let go of the glass. I’ve removed many from rock this way. As stated above. Credit card works also! Just go slow and work around the foot. Nice RF!

 

[Rjukan]

Thanks for the replies, @homer1475 was right on the money with the credit card. I left it over night and when I looked this morning it was all over a zoa frag, so I had to do something. I used my union card which is a bit thicker than CC and doesn't have a chip in it. Just like you both said, nice and slow with even pressure and eventually it let go. Ill post a pic of it in it's new home later today after it attaches again.

 

[homer1475]

Blasting with a PH works also, sometimes. I find they just tend to move away from the Ph and never "detach".

Credit card is sometimes to thick with a small foot. I have an old insurance card I have kept just for this reason, It's much thinner and still plastic so it's water proof.

Won't work in your case, but ice on the foot will make then detach too, but only if you can remove what their attached to from the tank.

 

[Rjukan]

Thanks for the tips. Do RFAs usually attach to LR or they like the glass and being on the sand? With the name you would think they like the rock better, but this one was next to a rock the whole time but wasn't attached to it. Which was a shame because I could have easily just put that rock in the larger tank. It's what I'm planning on doing for a BTA I'm growing out in the nano before introducing it to the clowns in the 60g.

 

[CCauthers]

Glass and sand, usually. I've put ice, a bit of water and some rock in a plastic bag before and put it on the foot, which usually works for me if I have to

 

[vetteguy53081]

Credit card gently applying pressure as you push. Also dropping a little sand on it will relax its muscles as it tries to expel sand

 

[BlennyTime]

I found what worked well too is to put something over them that blocks their lights. They will get mad and start to move. They are a lot easier to get off when they are on the move.

 

[Tired]

Oh, yeah, much easier to get off when they start moving. They puff their foot up to move.

RFAs usually prefer to be in the sand, with their foot wedged into a gap somewhere. Along the base of the rockwork can be a good spot. Some will climb up and sit on rocks, but sand is a good bet. Despite the name.

 

[Rjukan]

Here it is, still not completely open but seems to be happy enough so it looks like I was successful with the move and didn't damage the foot.

Thanks again for all the advice!

 

[JCTReefer]

Looks good! Good job!