Making a Carpet Nem Move?

Sawdonkey

Sawdonkey

Premium member
I bought Fishbeard's carpet nem about a month ago and it is doing well. It eats silversides and it seems that he and his host crab have found a spot they like. The problem........that spot is on the back of one of my live rock islands facing the back of the tank. I cant even see him unless I look from the end of the tank. He has his foot under the live rock and seems to have made himself at home. I want to make him move but I don't want to physically move him myself. I don't want to damage him and I don't want to disassemble my live rock.

I've read that putting a powerhead pointing at them will make them move, but I've also read that it doesn't work. I'm thinking about putting something above him so he doesn't get any light. Do you think this would make him move in search of more light? Other ideas? Literally any spot in my tank would be better than the one he has chosen.
 
This makes me sad. :-( I really wish I had some advice on the situation. They really just do what they want. I would suggest being super gentle and moving it out of that spot, but will likely walk back that way again if it liked that area of the tank. Only thing I can suggest is changing conditions in that area to persuade it to move elsewhere. (Powerheads changing flow to the area, or blocking the light in that area to make it seek brighter pastures)
 
No need to be sad. He is doing really well. He just choose a spot to live where I can't enjoy his presence. I'm patient, so I'll just see what he does. I'm still glad I made the purchase. I'll figure it out in time. I'll try shading him and give him some time. He's not doing any harm back there and I can easily get food to him, so I'm in no rush to physically move him. I'm just hoping I can help him make that decision on his own.

FishBeard said:
This makes me sad. :-( I really wish I had some advice on the situation. They really just do what they want. I would suggest being super gentle and moving it out of that spot, but will likely walk back that way again if it liked that area of the tank. Only thing I can suggest is changing conditions in that area to persuade it to move elsewhere. (Powerheads changing flow to the area, or blocking the light in that area to make it seek brighter pastures)
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Oh I know this very well. My niger trigger teaches me this lesson every time I do something to the tank that he doesn't like. If I put a rock in a place he doesn't like, he moves it within five minutes of it being there. He can move rocks about 5X his size. he picks them up with his mouth and drags them. It's pretty funny to watch, but really annoying too. He only cares about one half of the tank. I can do whatever I want on the other side. Oh, and he bites me constantly. He makes tank maintenance really stressful.

Greg said:
Sometimes what is best for the animal and what you want do not harmonize.
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Moving the powerhead in that direction is a better idea than shading him

Be patient and try the powerhead first, also just make sure there is an increased flow but not direct blasting

If its shading or direct blasting .. Chances are he would shrink

I'm a noob when it comes to nems but read a lot when trying to move mine long back
 
Congrats :D

now remember not to change any conditions ever :D

so ??? it moved by itself or did you try any of the above ??
 
I peeled my GBTA off a rock so gently, but it still ended up croaking. I dont know why, I will never do that again once IM ready to try a nem again.
 
Nah, my iPhone makes all of my tank shots look really blue. I would have sent this photo, but it has a photo bomber interrupting the shot and the anemones edge looks weird which is not typical.

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I just moved the rock he had his foot under. His base was stuck to the glass really well but he wasn't attached to the rock. I just used a scraper to lift up the edge and pushed a little gravel under it. I went back a little later and lifted up a little more of his foot and pushed a little more gravel under it. The gravel kept him from re-attaching to the glass. I did this multiple times until he was barely attached and gently lifted it off the rest of the way off.

I've rearranged my scape so there is no spot for him to get behind at sand level. There are some spots that are less thank ideal if he chooses them, but nowhere as bad as he was. I'm getting quite a bit of enjoyment from him because he is so interesting to watch. His little crab buddy might be one of the world's worst bodyguards, but he is funny to watch too.
 
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