Small Bta Anemone Seems Ill

[Janice]

Hi: My tank is doing very well and all of the parameters are bang on. I have a small BTA that broke off from a bigger BTA about 2 months ago. He has been thriving on his now until recently. In the past 3-4 days he has been floating around the tank by himself and not opening. He does not seem happy. My son is worried that it is ill. We do not have another tank. Is it OK to leave him in the tank if he is ill? And, if not, what should we do? Thank you.

 

[AdInfinitum]

When you say floating I assume you mean that literally...not just crawling around...

There are two primary reasons that Nems split. Either they are fat and happy and spreading or they are stressed and dying and send out buds in hopes that currents will carry them away from the poor conditions to a better place where the line can be preserved. This sounds like the latter, therefore both Nems are likely at risk unless there is the possibility that the small one suffered some physical damage. Many types of carbs, hermits etc. are known to tear at the foot of a Nem so that they can feed on their bodies as they die...

Putting it in a plastic mesh basket will shelter it from current and harassment and allow it an easy opportunity to attach. This will also make it easy to remove if it starts to disintegrate.

 

[Janice]

My language was too loose. I do think it is crawling around. Plus it split 2 months ago and has seemed very happy until the last 3-4 days. I do have a plastic mesh basket I can put it in. Maybe a hermit crab or snail injured it?

 

[Winks]

I am by no means an expert on this but have liked BTA for a long time, back to when I was doing fresh water, I admired them. Before I purchased my first one I did a lot of reading and watching YouTube videos and about as much research I could. One of th things I learnt was the creature, even though it has no brain, has a mind of it's own and will just "move" because it can. I have one that tours my 75g for 2 or 3 days then ends back right where it started from. I have another that moved and got caught up in the flow of the tank so I turned off the wave maker until it settled down. To help that one out, I put it in a plastic mesh basket and added a smaller live rock which it attached itself to then I simply put the rock back into place. It hasn't moved since Just some of my experiences with BTAs. Hope this helps.