Nem Split question

[cent36]

So my nem split about a month ago (or just under that, I can't remember exactly). I read up on it and saw that I wasn't supposed to feed it for at least 10 days so I didn't.

Here is my question....How long will it take for the two new nems to form a mouth? Neither of them have mouths and appear to be just fine, only stretching to get enough light. I have tried to feed them and they respond with no issues and like normal, but they just hold the food and ultimately the fish steal it away.

 

[SynDen]

I still wouldnt try and feed them until you see a mouth, but otherwise I would just leave them alone. May take quite sometime for them to heal up and start looking somewhat normal, So I would just keep an eye on them.
In my experience so far, nems always take several month to heal up from just about everything and splitting is one of the more dramatic things I think. A while back a received a green/purple nems that had split a few months before. When I got them they were very stressed and looked horrible. None the less it took about 4 months in my tank before the nem regained its color and started to look healthy again. Now almost a year later and that nem has since outgrown my rainbow and gotten pretty massive.
So I would say just be patient and watch them, as long still have some color and are holding on to the rock well, then they are fine, just leave them be and keep tank parms stable.

 

[jahmic]

Hit them with some food every few days...just something small like a piece of mysis or 2. Once the oral disc is fully healed, they will start eating. Whether you can "see" a mouth or not, there is still going to be an opening somewhere along the edge of the oral disc where the nem expels waste and water. If they aren't ready to eat...they won't take the food...but once they start eating you can hit them with food every few days and speed up the recovery. I find that it takes months to sometimes spot a well defined mouth, but they start eating within a week or two for me.

 

[SynDen]

Hit them with some food every few days...just something small like a piece of mysis or 2. Once the oral disc is fully healed, they will start eating. Whether you can "see" a mouth or not, there is still going to be an opening somewhere along the edge of the oral disc where the nem expels waste and water. If they aren't ready to eat...they won't take the food...but once they start eating you can hit them with food every few days and speed up the recovery. I find that it takes months to sometimes spot a well defined mouth, but they start eating within a week or two for me.

Good to know

 

[atang]

In Joyce's clown fish book she mentions nems could theoretically live forever since they have no nervous system. Like a giant single cell organism that's constantly growing. It's also mentioned they have traced some nems thousands of years.

A long time to us can be a very short time to them.

 

[cent36]

Interesting! Thanks for the info. I offered them some shrimp and they took it like it was nothing, but one of them just opened back up and dropped it. I'll keep an eye out