OK, the word "nailing" is a bit extreme, but...
In the past I've seen one or two attempts to get an anemone into a fixed location in someone's reef tank. The procedure involved inserting the anemone into a hole in a rock (or man-made reasonable facsimile), where it would hopefully stay put. Anyone tried this and had any successes or failures with the result?
Going on two weeks ago, I attempted this. I took a dome shaped live rock with two "natural" holes already in it and proceeded to reshape it. I removed a lot of the inside of the dome from the bottom with Dremel rotary tools, Roto-Zip tile bits, Dremel cutting wheels and grinders, and a screwdriver. Then I used some 2LF epoxy to attach a bottom to the dome. My bottom consisted of half of a plastic Petri dish (which just happened to fit the opening), but you can use anything smooth and non-toxic for this. I left some small openings in the dome as I didn't think than an anemone's foot placed into a relatively anoxic area would be too healthy.
After curing the epoxy in a QT overnight, I placed the dome in my DT. I proceeded to remove my two RBTAs from their rock with the help of my finger nails and a dining fork with a rounded upper edge. I used a fish net to keep my Clowns at bay. I stuffed each anemone foot into a hole in the rock with a wooden Popsicle stick and little concern about damaging either.
The anemones settled in quicker than I expected, but it took the clowns two days to adapt to the new location. At night the anemones retreat partially into their new home. I had expected them to retreat fully as they had in their previous location in the rockwork, but perhaps that is a function of how long their foot needs to be for either.
So, they've now been in their new location for going on two weeks with no signs of moving out. How long should I wait before I declare victory over the anemone movement problem? Unfortunately, another issue is whether or not they'll be splitting in this location. The genetics of this variety is prone to quick splitting - I got just one a year ago, and have already given away three. The reefer I got mine from considers them invasive, with 20+ in his system.
In the past I've seen one or two attempts to get an anemone into a fixed location in someone's reef tank. The procedure involved inserting the anemone into a hole in a rock (or man-made reasonable facsimile), where it would hopefully stay put. Anyone tried this and had any successes or failures with the result?
Going on two weeks ago, I attempted this. I took a dome shaped live rock with two "natural" holes already in it and proceeded to reshape it. I removed a lot of the inside of the dome from the bottom with Dremel rotary tools, Roto-Zip tile bits, Dremel cutting wheels and grinders, and a screwdriver. Then I used some 2LF epoxy to attach a bottom to the dome. My bottom consisted of half of a plastic Petri dish (which just happened to fit the opening), but you can use anything smooth and non-toxic for this. I left some small openings in the dome as I didn't think than an anemone's foot placed into a relatively anoxic area would be too healthy.
After curing the epoxy in a QT overnight, I placed the dome in my DT. I proceeded to remove my two RBTAs from their rock with the help of my finger nails and a dining fork with a rounded upper edge. I used a fish net to keep my Clowns at bay. I stuffed each anemone foot into a hole in the rock with a wooden Popsicle stick and little concern about damaging either.
The anemones settled in quicker than I expected, but it took the clowns two days to adapt to the new location. At night the anemones retreat partially into their new home. I had expected them to retreat fully as they had in their previous location in the rockwork, but perhaps that is a function of how long their foot needs to be for either.
So, they've now been in their new location for going on two weeks with no signs of moving out. How long should I wait before I declare victory over the anemone movement problem? Unfortunately, another issue is whether or not they'll be splitting in this location. The genetics of this variety is prone to quick splitting - I got just one a year ago, and have already given away three. The reefer I got mine from considers them invasive, with 20+ in his system.
