Anemone size and splitting

[mr.lordacan]

Hi all, don’t mind the GHA, it’s an ongoing battle.
I got a bta in December 2022 and was lucky that it stayed where I placed it. However, you can tell by the photos it’s gotten quite large. I’m growing concerned about its proximity to my bubble coral and wondering at what point they tend to split or if it’s got more growing to do before it reaches the point of splitting. How big can I expect this to get? I know there’s not one exact size or answer here, but I’m wondering what others experiences have been with these anemones. It’s getting quite close and wondering if I need to move the bubble coral?

thanks in advance for any thoughts/input!

 

[j.falk]

Not all BTAs will split. If they are healthy and happy they'll just keep getting bigger and bigger. Anemones split when they are stressed/not happy.

 

[Nick Steele]

Yeah there’s a LFS that has a 20 yr old bta that is probably 24” wide if not bigger. Guy told me they’ve only had 1 split and it was when they moved locations and it sat in a holding tank for a day

 

[mr.lordacan]

Oh man, lol. Okay, I better start looking for an alternative place for my bubble coral! I was under the impression all anemones split.

 

[D-Nak]

Not all anemones split. Carpet anemones, for example, do not split.

Some BTAs split, others do not. Some reproduce asexually, others do not. The problem is that males and females of those that reproduce sexually look identical, so there's no way to tell them apart, unless the eggs can be seen (which makes the anemone female).

I have a BTA that used to reproduce by splitting regularly. I moved it to another tank and it stopped splitting and keeps getting bigger and bigger. Just goes to show that these anemones have a "mind" of their own.