Post- BTA Cloning Question

Hello all,
I cloned one of my BTA's yesterday. It is a green one with pink tips. I have the clones isolated in a breeder box hanging on the inside of my tank. When i got home from work this morning i noticed that one of the anemone's (the slightly larger of the two) has puffed up and is looking very healthy. However the smaller of the two is not inflated and the tentacles are mostly stringy. it still looks like a cut (like it did initially) rather than a healthy anemone (like the other half looks).
One theory is that it could possibly be because the anemones were on top of each other in the breeder box thus not allowing it to inflate(which i have since added a partition).

Or it could possibly be because i didnt include enough of the mouth on the smaller anemone....

Could anyone with any BTA cloning experience please chime in on this issue.??
Also how long should i wait for it to inflate before i pitch it??? I understand that a dying anemone will develop a stench... but after how long???

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
JP

I will try to get pics up this evening, but today is a busy day.

 

Here's a few pics...

Here are the original nems...


Here are the clones immediately after the surgery....


Here is an image of how they looked when i got home... sorry no lights are on...


So maybe not having any lights on could be a cause for the smaller one to not be inflated,, however the other one is inflated nicely...

Any feedback would be most helpful.
I am going to have to leave for the next 12 hours.... Could a dying anemone poison my tank in this amount of time???

JP

 

JP, anemone's are weird. They deflate when they go to the bathroom, are stressed, when they do 99% waterchanges on themselves, etc. Definitely give it some time to adjust.

I do have some questions. I know they are going to sound harsh but these are questions that need to be asked.

1) Why did you put this anemone that you've just cut back into a tank that has your other animals. If the anemone dies, you could have a cascade failure and lose everything while you are at work. Obviously, these animals should have been put into an isolation tank to avoid that.

2) Same question as the first. Your reef tank has all of the good bacteria but it's also crawling with nasties like Vibrio spp and Mycobacterium marinum (and thousands of others). The cut anemones should have gone to an aquarium that had brand new water.

3) Are you running carbon? What kind and how much and when was the last time you changed it?

4) Do you have enough pre-mixed, heated, and aerated saltwater on hand to do a 75~85% waterchange if a cascade failure starts?

5) Do you have Prime or Amquel to further detoxify the water if a cascade failure starts?

6) If you knew ahead of time that you were going to be gone today, why would you even risk this?

7) Did you make sure that the anemone's gut was 100% empty before cutting? I would put an anemone into a tank by itself to feed on nothing but light for 2 weeks at a minimum prior to fragging them. That way, I knew their gut was 100% empty.

 

You also need to buy two of these....one for each anemone. seachem ammonia alert - Google Search

Then you need to call in sick. (I can't believe I just said that, but it's the truth).

 

Curt,
No, not harsh.... But definately blunt and what i needed to hear.

I guess just for lack of better knowledge i thought it was a fine idea to do such a thing.

I just changed out my chemipure elite... i hope that helps.

i have 15% saltwater available to change with...
--that probably doesnt help....

I dont have a quarantine tank set up....
---this probably doesnt help.

after watching numerous anemone cloning vids on youtube it just seemed like a good idea.

Yet it is beginning to sound like a mistake now...

So i am leaving for work in an hour... for 8 hours.

What do you suggest i do with the deflated anemone???

Do you think my tank could be poisoned in 8 hours???

Thanks,
JP

 

Any glass or plastic container large enough to hold a small heater, powerhead, 1 piece LR, and a few gallons of water can be set up as an emergency HT in a matter of minutes. Drain water from the DT into the vessel, add the aforementioned items, then place the sick nem in a low flow area.

Good luck.

 

I had a number of phone calls and I'm just now getting back to 3Reef. I tend to be cautious. (I'm sure you've figured that out from the questions I asked). I'm sure that you're already at work now. On your way home, pick up some Prime or Amquell in case there's issues. Buy some new carbon as well. The presence of Ammonia rather than how one looks is what I would go by.

If you don't have those Ammonia alerts, test a water sample nearby the anemone's often when you get home tonight.

 

thanks curt. i am very grateful. members like you are what makes 3reef such an appealing forum.

 

Update please.

 

All is well in my tank.
One anemone is inflated huge, while the other is not inflated very much. Yet still a little bit healthier looking than it was yesterday.
All of my paramaters are fine. I have been testing for ammonia directly next to each anemone. (they are isolated into two seperate compartments of a drop in breeder box).

I am keeping a close eye on the specimen that isnt inflating as much.

Thanks for your help guys. I will add a pic this afternoon if i can (with the lights on)

JP