Is my BTA splitting

[biju708]

Hi Guys,
I hope that my wishful thinking did not take over and I'm going to say a glorious stupidity

Anyhow this morning I noticed something very strange with my BTA it stretched out a lot and was doing a lot of brisk movements. Later on I noticed two mouths and one part was attached to a rock and the other to another. They seem that they are still connected in the middle though, could it be that they are splitting and what signs should I look for. The BTA has been in the tank for a month now it has grown. I set up a spotlight directly on it and it never changed position up until today I spot feed it twice a week with shrimps but today she is refusing to eat and is spitting it out. I have attached these images maybe you can help.

 

[ReefLady]

From your description, that sounds like EXACTLY what is happening.

Congrats!!!! :bigbounce

 

[biju708]

That would be so cool !!! I will keep posting images of the process every hour. Do you know how long it normally takes for a BTA to split ?

 

[Woodstock]

Congratulations~~

 

[biju708]

One hour later.

 

[mps9506]

Are you sure that is a BTA? Looks more like Heteractis malu to me. The reason I ask is the color of hte base is more like that of H. malu while E.quadricolor (bubble) usually has a tan base.

 

[biju708]

Hmm I'm dubious now my LFS told me it's a BTA but it could well be that he was mistaken. Will upload more images maybe they can help you determine exactly what it is.

 

[biju708]

After another hour.:coffee:

 

[biju708]

Now I notice pufs of white smoke (sort of) coming out from one of the mouths is this normal or something is going wrong ?

 

[ReefLady]

Hang in there... it's a stressful process for the anemone and they tend to look extremely sickly during and possibly a couple days after the process. A good feeding several hours after the split would probably be helpful... otherwise, just leave it alone and let it do its thing.

 

[Witfull]

its splitting alright, and definately isnt a BTA.

 

[mps9506]

I'm gonna go with my orignal assumption that it appears to be H.malu
Might be H.magnifica, I am by no means an expert on anemones, but would need a closer picture of the column or base of the anemone to ID.
Perhaps one of our ID experts can tell from those photos, but I can;t tell for sure
Also, IMO becareful about overfeeding your specimen. In the wild these things don't eat a great deal, in fact they are generally detritovores and get small infrequent meals from either their host or occasional floating by peice of debris. But they do can consume a great deal of poop Once a week feedings are suffcient, remember these guys rely on light for energy. Don't stress it out anymore by trying to force it to eat krill or silversides.

 

[biju708]

Thanks a lot for all your suggestions I'm new to marine and people like you really make a difference to me.

 

[biju708]

And another hour has gone by. Now it's very clear to see them forming. Wow what a nice way to spend Friday evening !! I wish I had my camcorder to take a video of this.

 

[Boomer]

Mike I also go with your ID and for sure I can tell you that H magnifica can split, as mine did when I had one back in the 80's. I might add, although many may not like it, splitting is not a good thing, it is a sign of stress. It has never been known to happen in the wild. I can guarantee mine split due to stress. Some animals will do this if they sense there is a sign of failure and the species needs to go on, so they split hoping one of the two will carry on or that two smaller ones will be more successful at surviving

 

[cheeks69]

Mike I also go with your ID and for sure I can tell you that H magnifica can split, as mine did when I had one back in the 80's. I might add, although many may not like it, splitting is not a good thing, it is a sign of stress.

Boomer are you refering to the Magnifica or Anemones in general ? I have read that they can reproduce asexually.

 

[Boomer]

Magnifica and BTA's only They are the only ones I know of splitting in captivity and not known to do this in the wild . Yes, they and other anemones can produce asexually but it is not in this fashion/splitting.