Rock Flower Not Attaching To Rock

[Aaron-A2]

Hello!

This is my tanks first RFA and the first anemone I've kept. I temp and drip acclimated, and in the process the nem attached to my plastic container. I easily removed the nem by massaging the foot gently, no damage.

That said, I don't know why the nem isn't sticking to the rock. It's mostly open with its foot touching rock but not attaching. Flow is off completely.

 

[Katrina71]

Pic?

 

[Aaron-A2]

Here ya go

 

[Amoo]

Hello!

This is my tanks first RFA and the first anemone I've kept. I temp and drip acclimated, and in the process the nem attached to my plastic container. I easily removed the nem by massaging the foot gently, no damage.

That said, I don't know why the nem isn't sticking to the rock. It's mostly open with its foot touching rock but not attaching. Flow is off completely.

Mine took about an hour.

 

[Aaron-A2]

Mine took about an hour.

It hasn't been an hour yet, but I'll leave flow off for a good while.

 

[Amoo]

It hasn't been an hour yet, but I'll leave flow off for a good while.

Mine ended up settling down similiar to what I've experienced with BTAs just on a smaller scale. It wanted a small little crevice it could slide it's foot down in and hide it, still took about an hour or so for it to attach. It moved slightly over night the first night and I wasn't happy with where it ended up so I gently upped him and moved him to a different location. Once he got dug in he's been there for the long haul.

 

[Just_Pete]

Mine took a few hours to attach when I first got it. Turned the flow low and then up once it was attached. Good luck!

 

[Aaron-A2]

Thanks all for the feedback! Looks like I had the wrong impression on how long it takes for nems to attach. I'll keep an eye on it over the next few hours with my flow off.

 

[Amoo]

Thanks all for the feedback! Looks like I had the wrong impression on how long it takes for nems to attach. I'll keep an eye on it over the next few hours with my flow off.

The time for these things to attach is significantly longer then anything else I've personally dealt with. It's one of those nuisances which is why I wanted to get one, so I could learn about them. Most will attach in some capacity within 30 minutes at worst.

 

[BestMomEver]

Mine took forever. It finally settled on a low rock on the side but still where I could see it! Got up the next morning and he was still on the rock but now happily living in the back of the rock. ;Cyclops But he’s happy there! Go figure...

 

[evolve29]

While mine wasn’t a rock flower, mine was a LT. It took two weeks for it to attach rather dig itself in the sand. It was floating around like a tumbleweed. It has been over a year or so now and the anemone is huge.

 

[Aaron-A2]

@Amoo So the nem finally attached and was looking great. Lights just turned off for the night, and it started to ball up. Is this atypical?

Before lights turned off

After lights out

 

[Aaron-A2]

Now there's some stringy stuff coming from what looks like the side of the nem, not the mouth

 

[Aaron-A2]

So I wanted to get a better look and turned the lights back on (10%). It's now shrunk back down to "normal". Was it extended earlier because it was searching for more light??

 

[Katrina71]

My son just got one too. Following along to watch how yours does. Ours only moved a little.

 

[Amoo]

I'm not really sure what's going on there Aaron. It does look like you can see the base of the foot some, which could be a sign it's thinking about moving. It's always tough when Nems go from a short photo period into darkness and the first night is generally when any nems tends to move if it's going to. I don't know if you got some panty hose handy, but you may want to cover your power heads for the night just in case, depending on how long you could watch it. It's been my experience so far they tend to go on walk abouts to find new spots and don't do the whole BTA WEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeee I'm flying, but again I have a sample size of 1 so far, plus what I've gleaned from threads/reading. Better safe than sorry IMO.

 

[Aaron-A2]

I'm using mp40's with the mesh cover, so I'm good there! Like I said in my other post, right after turning my lights back on it shrunk back to normal. Not sure if that's common (similar to acropora polyp extension at night)

 

[Amoo]

Mine at night stays hunkered down and the presence of the bottom of the foot is the reason I thought it might be trying to make a jailbreak. With any nem, the foot can tell you a lot regardless of kind and if you can see the bottom, chances are it's on the move.

 

[Katrina71]

I'm hearing a little Nancy Sinatra...

 

[Jet915]

Just let it be, it may be ready to move it may not. I have about 25 rfas, I would say half have stayed right where I originally placed it while the other half has moved around to some degree. At night time, they all tend to shrink a little, some close up into a little ball while others do not.