RBTA Splitting Too Much?

RJinPV · Sep 30, 2016

I bought a rose bubble tip anemone about 18 months ago. Now I have 4. One of them just split again yesterday. I think it was my original. It gets about 4-5 inches across and then splits. I feed it once a week maybe. My parameters are good. The only change in the last month is my easing the salinity up from 1.023 to 1.025 over 2 weeks. My KH dropped to 6.5 a few weeks ago but recently it's been kept at 8.5 to 9.0.

Is this normal behavior? Is it a sign of health or stress?

cromag27 · Sep 30, 2016

It's normal for that one.

Nothing to worry about.

RJinPV · Sep 30, 2016

Ok. They're gonna be similar to tribles... What's the best way to get them dislodged from a rock you can't take out of the aquarium? One of the 4 is on the move and I am going to have to trade some in to my LFS. Any tips?

themcnertney · Sep 30, 2016

I'm not convinced that a RBTA spit is a good thing, but that's just me? It is very difficult to remove a BTA from a rock with out damaging it. I hear ice works, also blowing a power head at it. Your water parameters that were in flux are probably why it split. When you say that they are on the move, that concerns me that something is wrong.

bruleyii · Sep 30, 2016

You could cut back on spot feeding them and it may stop splitting. May not.

Reef Pets · Sep 30, 2016

Rub the foot of the anemone with an ice cube. It takes a little time and obviously a couple ice cubes but it will release slowly

RJinPV · Sep 30, 2016

Only one is one the move and that started many weeks ago. The first RBTA has been on the same rock for the entire 18 months. When there were 3 on that rock, one decided to move elsewhere. It went to the other side of the tank in a spot away from the lights. Now it is moving a few inches higher to get more light. Now I have 3 again on that same rock. If the pattern holds, then in about a month one will decide to move. But maybe not.

madweazl · Sep 30, 2016

From past experience, feeding a large item has caused a split. I've since started feeding mysis to the smaller ones and portions of krill to the larger ones.

RJinPV · Sep 30, 2016

bruleyii said:
You could cut back on spot feeding them and it may stop splitting. May not.

I only feed them one piece of frozen krill once every 1 or 2 weeks. Cut back from that?

bruleyii · Sep 30, 2016

RJinPV said:
I only feed them one piece of frozen krill once every 1 or 2 weeks. Cut back from that?

I typically only spot feed once a month if I remember. If you feed the tank they should be able to catch broadcast food.

RJinPV · Sep 30, 2016

Dan McNertney said:
I'm not convinced that a RBTA spit is a good thing, but that's just me? It is very difficult to remove a BTA from a rock with out damaging it. I hear ice works, also blowing a power head at it. Your water parameters that were in flux are probably why it split. When you say that they are on the move, that concerns me that something is wrong.

I have heard that stress can cause splitting but that seems counter intuitive. Why would an organism expend energy when it needs the energy to defend against the stress?

themcnertney · Sep 30, 2016

I'm in a similar situation as you @RJinPV . I had one RBTA and now have five. I have never fed them, so I cant say for sure feed causes a split. Whats even weirder is they are all near each other and some bubble, some do not, which I guess is another topic all together.

BoneXriffic · Sep 30, 2016

They can split for many reasons good and bad. IMHO. To reproduce, or to survive. My guess is if it was negative reasons they would all be moving from their location

If someone were to fart and polute the air around you...i assume you would move. Same with a nem...if water is bad where he is then he will move....even if the whole tank is the problem, in the nems mind its in the ocean and able to move out of it... again just my opinion

RJinPV · Sep 30, 2016

Dan McNertney said:
I'm in a similar situation as you @RJinPV . I had one RBTA and now have five. I have never fed them, so I cant say for sure feed causes a split. Whats even weirder is they are all near each other and some bubble, some do not, which I guess is another topic all together.

Only 2 of my 4 have bubbles too. They are they younger ones

leemosh · Sep 30, 2016

You should consider yourself lucky. I put a single RBTA in my tank about 5 months ago and now I have about 8. They stay pretty small and I haven't had a split in a while, and they all seem to love their spot right under a Kessil A360, so they haven't ever moved. I don't spot feed them, they catch what they can when I broadcast feed the tank and there's a pair of tomato clowns that host in them.

I've heard some people speculate that there are different "types" of BTA; some that grow bigger and split infrequently, and some that stay smaller and split more often. I seem to have the frequent splitter type.

themcnertney · Sep 30, 2016

Its funny because at night my B&W clowns sleep in different nems, Kind of like my parents sleep in different beds in different rooms because my dad snores too much. haha

Bozoman · Sep 30, 2016

I agree with madwezl and bruleyii that feeding too often and too large pieces often cause them to split excessively. I did this 10 years ago in college to finance my first tank. Some bubbletips split more than others though. If you have a healthy zooplankton population and sufficient lighting you shouldn't need to feed it at all.

cromag27 · Sep 30, 2016

Just to correct some misinformation..... nobody knows why they split, move or bubble. there are guesses but no definite scientific answers.

If the basal disc is in a hole or crevice then don't try to remove it, as you could damage it. if the basal disc is attached to the surface of a rock, you can gently pull it off using your fingernail or a thin piece of plastic. ice, flow, etc are not consistent, guaranteed methods.

RJinPV · Sep 30, 2016

leemosh said:
You should consider yourself lucky. I put a single RBTA in my tank about 5 months ago and now I have about 8. They stay pretty small and I haven't had a split in a while, and they all seem to love their spot right under a Kessil A360, so they haven't ever moved. I don't spot feed them, they catch what they can when I broadcast feed the tank and there's a pair of tomato clowns that host in them.

I've heard some people speculate that there are different "types" of BTA; some that grow bigger and split infrequently, and some that stay smaller and split more often. I seem to have the frequent splitter type.

Those guys really are tribbles!

RJinPV · Sep 30, 2016

cromag08 said:
Just to correct some misinformation..... nobody knows why they split, move or bubble. there are guesses but no definite scientific answers.

If the basal disc is in a hole or crevice then don't try to remove it, as you could damage it. if the basal disc is attached to the surface of a rock, you can gently pull it off using your fingernail or a thin piece of plastic. ice, flow, etc are not consistent, guaranteed methods.

This sort of answers another question I had about rock flower anemones. They put they're foot in a hole in the rocks, at least mine do, and there's no way to get them out short of breaking the rock apart.