Aquacultured rock flower nems?

FEED ME ZOAS · Nov 4, 2021

After some looking around I'm not seeing any rock flower nems being sold as aquacultured or captive bred despite how relatively simple the spawning seems to be. Am I correct in my thinking that most of not all commercially available rock flowers are wild collected? If so, does anyone have any info on the sustainability of collection methods used? Thanks!

SlugSnorter · Nov 5, 2021

FEED ME ZOAS said:
After some looking around I'm not seeing any rock flower nems being sold as aquacultured or captive bred despite how relatively simple the spawning seems to be. Am I correct in my thinking that most of not all commercially available rock flowers are wild collected? If so, does anyone have any info on the sustainability of collection methods used? Thanks!

They are harder to breed en masse then youd think

eggplantparrot · Nov 5, 2021

They also seem to take a long time to grow big

FEED ME ZOAS · Nov 5, 2021

I figured grow out was probably the limiting factor thanks. Anybody have info on sustainability of the collection practices?

SlugSnorter · Nov 5, 2021

FEED ME ZOAS said:
I figured grow out was probably the limiting factor thanks. Anybody have info on sustainability of the collection practices?

Caribbean, so hopefully the laws their are keeping things good

FEED ME ZOAS · Nov 5, 2021

SlugSnorter said:
Caribbean, so hopefully the laws their are keeping things good

I'll see if I can find anything regarding laws. I'll report back if I do.

FEED ME ZOAS · Nov 7, 2021

Bump in case new eyse have info

ahiggins · Nov 11, 2021

It takes a few months to go from not noticeable to about the size of a pea. About 1-1.5 years for a half dollar and 2+ for anything over 3-4” in my experience.
I love them all equally. Except “big white” because he’s always causing trouble, moving everywhere

reefcleaners · Nov 29, 2021

Wild is the most sustainable way to get them probably. They are very common and there is a lot of ocean here which means 5 miles offshore is a defacto marine sanctuary for common species. The amount of resources to grow them on land would be greater than the amount to grow them in the wild. Aquaculture would make sense only for particularly special varieties.

In the Caribbean they have to be collected from the rock without taking the rock. In FL this has to be done with a flexible putty knife, I am not sure what Haiti requires or their level of enforcement because of a language barrier.

Belize has very strict laws, only 3 companies and the same rock restrictions. (The rock is protected throughout the Caribbean). Belize and FL I believe are the two main sources.

Demand from the trade and the hassle of having to remove something delicately at SCUBA or hookah depth is what you are paying for. Common colors are abundant but collectors always seem able to find those “super rare ultra rock anemones” by the hundreds in a day or two if they have an order for them.