How to get anemone off rock

[ksicard]

Hey all,
I bought a rainbow BTA 3 months back or so and it has split 4 times and now I have several anemones. I would like to sell some of them off but I'm unsure how to get them off the rock they are on. The rock has caverns in it so there foot is sucked back in there and makes it difficult to access. I would like to avoid breaking the rock or having to rip the anemones off it so if anyone could chime in on how to get these guys off their rock I would appreciate it.

 

[lsu_fishfan]

Some people say to point a powerhead at the foot and wait for it to start walking around to grab it. I've also heard people say to take a bucket of water and allow the nem to hang over the water only allowing the tentacles to touch the water. After 16-20 minutes it should let go. Another option is to freeze a metal spoon and apply it to the foot/stalk, but this could be harmful to the nem.

 

[picoreefguy]

one way ive done it is to take the rock out of the tank and suspend it over a bucket of tank water with the nem on the bottom it can take over an hour but eventually it will let go and drop into the bucket. if you can reach its foot than take an ice cube and rub it gently on the foot where its attached to the rock and that should speed up the process. if it takes more than 30 minutes than its a good idea to dip it in water for a few seconds to rehydrate it

 

[atlfishes]

Can you remove the rock? If so take the rock out and turn the anemone upside down.

 

[bcavalli]

Picoreefguy;1045047 wrote: one way ive done it is to take the rock out of the tank and suspend it over a bucket of tank water with the nem on the bottom it can take over an hour but eventually it will let go and drop into the bucket. if you can reach its foot than take an ice cube and rub it gently on the foot where its attached to the rock and that should speed up the process. if it takes more than 30 minutes than its a good idea to dip it in water for a few seconds to rehydrate it

+1 that's exactly how I removed one last night. It's always worked out well for me.

 

[axio]

If you can remove the rock then the Bucket trick is the easiest way to go about it imo. The powerhead method didn't always work for us.

 

[j_b_]

I just removed an anemone last night, and we used some ice cubes in a plastic baggie. Just rubbed it on the foot and used the top of a fingernail to lightly push/prod it. It took about 5-10 minutes to get it to release its grip.

 

[jennm]

I've never used ice - I'd be afraid to harm its tissues. Hanging over the bucket works, it just takes patience. Sometime they let go within a few minutes, sometimes it takes a couple of hours, but it always works.

Jenn

 

[hnguyen]

I just use a pointy rounded over edge and pick at the feet until it starts to peel away. Then I slide something smooth and flat under the feet where the peeled off and start lifting it slowly until the nem just pops off the rock. I've never lost a nem doing this.

A lot of people are so scared to hurt nems but after what I've seen my nems go through and recover from, I'm pretty rough on them. BRS even has a video of them cutting a nem with a razor blade into 4 pieces and they all recovered and they ended up with 4 nems.

 

[ksicard]

So I gave the bucket trick a try today and they still wont fall off the rock after 6 hours. I've been periodically dipping them in water to rehydrate them. Am I missing something or is 6 hours pretty typical?

 

[bulkrate]

Only done this on rock flower anemones, but I just put on a nitrile glove & use my thumbnail to GENTLY prod a whatever section of its foot is accessible. After a few minutes it'll usually start to let go move.

 

[jennm]

It's longer than average but I've had some stubborn ones that took all day.

I think once I left one dangling overnight - it was find and off the rock the next morning.

Jenn

 

[ksicard]

JennM;1045821 wrote: It's longer than average but I've had some stubborn ones that took all day.

I think once I left one dangling overnight - it was find and off the rock the next morning.

Jenn

I may just let it sit over night then. Will they not die if they get to dry? Only thing im worried about is them drying out before letting go.

 

[jennm]

I think 'survival mode' will kick in before that. I've never seen one die before letting go.

It's a calculated risk.

Jenn

 

[camellia]

Picoreefguy;1045047 wrote: one way ive done it is to take the rock out of the tank and suspend it over a bucket of tank water with the nem on the bottom it can take over an hour but eventually it will let go and drop into the bucket. if you can reach its foot than take an ice cube and rub it gently on the foot where its attached to the rock and that should speed up the process. if it takes more than 30 minutes than its a good idea to dip it in water for a few seconds to rehydrate it

Last night mine hung upside down over a bucket for over 3 hours! I'll try again in AM leaving it all day.
I'm out of ideas!