Moving Attached Anemones: What's your go to method? A cup and a hole might work!

[revhtree]

Anemones are AWESOME but sometimes an anemone can be our enemy! See what I did there?

So yes anemones are cool, beautiful, intriguing but they can also be annoying and deadly to other tank inhabitants. The biggest issues with anemones is that they like to wander around a tank. Then after they wander they often like to plant themselves exactly where you don't want them and then it's hard to get them to move. Over the years anemone enthusiasts have been figuring out ways to move anemones from one place to the other so let's talk about it today.

I recently read where someone was using the "cup and hole method. What is that exactly? Well it's pretty simple. You take a plastic cup, cut a hole in the bottom and place it over the anemone. Eventually the anemone will move up onto the cup and then it can be moved to wherever you would like it to go.


What is your go to way to move an anemone around in your tank?

Please share any tips or tricks!


This is not from the method above but is a really cool photo from @chizerbunoi!

 

[chizerbunoi]

Depending on the anemone, I would scrap them off the glass with a razor blade. If the foot is attached to a rock, I would take the rock out and invert the rock until the anemone let’s go (within 5 mins).

But most likely they will live again and back to the original location they enjoy.

 

[ZoWhat]

Hmmmm interesting.

I've always removed the LR it was attached to, turn the LR upside-down, use ice cubes from my freezer to irritate its "foot". It doesn't like the cold ice cube and WILL let go after awhile

 

[mindme]

I keep mine in a tank with only the anemone. I'm also lucky in that he is exactly where I wanted him to be, even after he walked around the glass a bit.

Many years ago with my first anemone I had the experience of one not going where I wanted. I tried to move it. I tried holding it out of water and put an ice cube on it. It did eventually let go, but then it just died a few days later.

Cup trick sounds interesting, but how long do you have to sit there and hold it?

 

[Sherrya62]

The crevices in my live rock are very deep. It’s impossible for me. I’ve tried many times