Dropping a tentacle

[allan]

Anyone ever hear of an anenome dropping a tentacle? I've queried the 'net and found only one reference that was on Bob's site concerning a dropping tentacle. Bob, or one of his associates, thought it strange and even wondered if it was just a worm or something.

I recently aquired my daughter's green tip as it wasn't faring well in her tank. It's been eating, and like clockwork expells its waste. The majority of the tentacles are bubble like, although there are a myriad of small tentacles and a few that seem deflated. I can see areas where it may have lost the tentacle, seems like it has healed itself.

I found a tentacle on the sand bed yesterday... may have found another one a few days ago (may be the same one as I didn't think to pull it out).

Aside from the change in location (my tank vs milly's tank) about two weeks ago is that I noticed one of those completely clear anenomes next to it on the rock. I reached in there and attempted to remove the guy and only succeded in ripping it up. I noticed the tentacle later in the day. I didn't touch the bta but I may have released a toxin by my manhandling of the little anenome.

The bta is about an inch and a half across... maybe two. Water conditions are great with a 'trate level about 10-20 range... probably 15 but I don't have a color for that number.

[corruption]

Thats a new one on me.... I would imagine, however, if the anemone itself looks healthy, it would be nothing major to worry about... 'Nems are pretty sensitive to nitrates though -- even the 10-15 PPM range may be too high for one..

If it is a tentacle from the BTA, my first guess would also be an allelopathic reaction -- brought on by disturbing the pest anemone near it... Actinarian species tend to be some of the more chemically-able creatures in the sea -- hence why aiptasia can be such a pain...

-Corruption

[Texreefer]

do you have any clownfish for other damsel fish? an anemone will generally not just drop tentacles, my guess is they are being pulled off by a fish. have seen it many times

[Bill S]

Any possibility that it had split, and part of it got sucked into a powerhead? Unlike Mike, I've kept BTAs for years, and never had a problem with fish plucking them. Mine also seem to be very tolerant of nitrates up to 25 - mine were there all the time when I had an SPS dominant tank.

[Kristy]

I saw this in our tank once... if it hadn't been the RBTA and there was NOTHING else even remotely that color, I would have written it off as something else. It was really very odd. There was no stress going on at the time and no reason that I could think of. It's possible I may have sucked it up with the turkey baster while in the tank and didn't notice I suppose...

Anyhow, that anenome is super healthy and growing and always has been, so I wouldn't worry unless this becomes a pattern.

[Texreefer]

I've kept BTAs for years, and never had a problem with fish plucking them. ...

I agree Bill, in established symbiosis this is not a problem,, With new additions, however, I have seen clownfish try to "move" or "persuade" the anemones. When i first introduced my rose BTA this happened and again when i introduced the H. Mag I had, the female would take bites and I would find little tentacles all over. it stopped after a short while and everyone was happy

[kkiel02]

My female black and white clown would bite the tips of the tentacles. Never had it just drop a tentacle though.

[allan]

I do have a pair of skunk clowns, and they alternately host the RBTA and it's clone which are separated by about 15 inches or so. The green guy is all the way on the other side of the tank. I've not seen any of the two clowns in the vicinity of the green guy, but they could be.

It is, however, a new addition and now I wonder if this may be the case. I can't say the green guy is growing as I've only had it in there for a couple of weeks. But it never grew in my daughter's tank either. With the exception of this tentacle thing it looks kind of happy in its new home, and has stayed where we put it originally.

I'm scheduled to do my annual water change this week end, might bump it up to either tonight or tomorrow.

I've also decided to lay off the pest anenomes until I figure out what they are.

[allan]

My female black and white clown would bite the tips of the tentacles. Never had it just drop a tentacle though.

I've seen a clown in an LFS (Gabes?) sleeping in an anenome sucking on one of the tentacles. Wierdest thing I've ever seen the week before that.

I've read that the clowns shouldn't be a certain size over the anenome, and for the two clones that is definitely not a problem, but the green guy is so small that not even the small clown can host it without looking silly.

[Europhyllia]

I've seen a clown in an LFS (Gabes?) sleeping in an anenome sucking on one of the tentacles. Wierdest thing I've ever seen the week before that.


One of my clowns does that with the hairy mushroom she sleeps in. She just grabs a mouthful of mushroom tentacles and holds on like that. Not sure why. Mushroom seems okay with it

[joelb]

i've seen that as well in my tank, the black and white clown sucks on the tentacles all the time and i've seen a few rbta tentacles laying around in my tank, glowing pinker than ever on the sand bed. that same clown also sucks on the frogspawn and duncans tentacles all the time now that i don't have a rbta. i see frogspawn tentacles on the glass to this day so i think its safe to say that in my case, maybe yours also, the black and white clown is responsible for this. it hasn't killed anything in the 2 or 3 years that ive had it though.

[allan]

Update. I had thought that the tentacles found were recently attached to the new addition, the little green guy. This is not the case.

I just realized that the tentacles are being dropped from BTA2 (recently cloned from BTA1). BTA2 still looks good, although in the last two days it's deflated rather early without a feeding (typically retracts after a meal). I haven't witnessed the clowns chewing on it, but both clowns spend most of their time in BTA2.

I pulled four tentacles from the sandbed just a few minutes ago... pulled two out yesterday. At this rate BTA2 will be bald before me!

Anyone think I have to worry here, or is this kind of normal behavior?