Anemone stuck in rock and dying.

[fredro]

I got a GBTA a month or so ago. It found a spot in a rock halfway up the tank and made a home there. My clown immediately found it and began living the hell out of it. Once or twice a day it would recede back into a small cave that was its home. Anyway, after weeks of love from the clown and hiding every day, the anemone's tentacles have receded HEAVILY and it no longer comes out of the cave. Basically, it's dying. The "cave" that its in has only one way out and the anemone won't come to the edge for whatever reason. I need to get it out. I've tried to put my finger in and carefully peel it out but the cave tapers to a point and I can't get my finger behind it or under it to remove it without possibly hurting it.
This anemone was so beautiful and healthy and is now on the way out. I just wanna save this poor little guy. Any ideas on how to get it out?

 

[Nandez13]

If you're not able to access where it's attached, try pointing a powerhead at it. Give this a shot while you'll be home. It may move on you right away or it may stay put for days but don't risk letting it take a walk in your tank while you're away.

 

[fredro]

I was able to get it to let go 3/4 of the way, by using a tongue depressor to gently peel it away... After that, it wasn't budging. I couldn't get the rock out or break it. If it stays in there, it dies, as it is almost there. So reluctantly, I took a piece of wire, bent it into a hook and worked it around the nem. I worked it back and forth, for a solid hour, until I had a soaked shirt and had run out of 4 letter words to shout at it. To me there's nothing more frustrating than trying to help something and having it fight against it. Anyway, by the time it came out, it had been torn, accidentally. This killed me. BUT... from what I've heard about anemones and having seen people take razor blades to them and dice them into quarters, I figured I would be most successful if I cut it cleanly. My only concern is that anemones are usually healthy and store up energy to split, but this one was already weak enough as it was before all of this. Once it was out, I had a sad looking piece of 2/3 of the original nem and 2 other small pieces. As far as I know, the most important part is that each piece needs one of each of its parts present to regenerate and heal. I think only the big piece has the mouth though. I put the pieces of the nem into a floating netted breeder box and floated them over a spot where that'd get some good light, seeing the tentacles are badly deflated and haven't seen direct light in days. I went out to get some fast food and when I came home, expecting to see a ball of slime that I'd wind up lobbing into the toilet for a final ride, to my surprise, it seemed that the large piece had attached itself to the bottom of the box. The other small pieces look like they're pulling together slightly, but I don't have a ton of hope for them. It's fascinating how resilient these things are. Hopefully at least one pulls through, I just worry because the little guy was so weak before this ordeal.
I wonder if anyone has had any similar experiences with a badly damaged anemone.

 

[Nandez13]

If the two small pieces are just from the foot and don't have a piece of the mouth, I don't think they'd be able to regenerate. Anemones can recover though. People have shared stories fearing the worst after a BTA got stuck in a powerhead but they were still able to survive (not always the case). I'd expect the small pieces to turn into slime within a day or two and if they do just remove them right away before that slime just swirls around in your tank. Once the larger piece seems settled in, take a shot at feeding it and see if it'll take. It'll help it recover but it may not want to eat after the trauma its been through. Good luck.

 

[BAD FISH]

Some of it will definitely survive, honestly I would have left it alone I don't think it would have died in there it sounds like it was just unhappy. Some clowns a really rough and the nems get pissed.it wanted a divorce lol. Anyways I agree with nandez but you could get lucky. Let us know what happens bud good luck

 

[fredro]

Woke up to a ball of melting mush this morning. Poor little guy.

Anyone have a GBTA for sale or trade?

 

[Nandez13]

Sorry to hear that. I've got a couple different GBTA I could sell but am in brooklyn. Let me know if you ever plan on making a trip into the boroughs

 

[fredro]

Sorry to hear that. I've got a couple different GBTA I could sell but am in brooklyn. Let me know if you ever plan on making a trip into the boroughs

Thanks. I'll be in touch if I head west anytime soon.