RFA Baby Question

marlinmon · Feb 6, 2019

How many babies does a single RFA typically produce at a time? I just had a batch and have counted over 50. I suspect there are more hidden from where I can't see them in my tank. Just seems like an awful lot based on what I've read from other posters.

bsn_rn_cen · Feb 6, 2019

Dang that is a lot. Good problem to have i suppose

marlinmon · Feb 6, 2019

At first I found one on a frag rack I was cleaning and then I look around the tank and it was like an invasion

reef lover · Feb 6, 2019

How many adults do you have?
@Ron Reefman

marlinmon · Feb 6, 2019

Four adults, one of them is very large ~5" diameter. It's the large one that had the babies. Whole bunch of babies grouped around it. It looked sick a week earlier which had me worried. Looks back to normal now.

reef lover · Feb 6, 2019

That's alot of babies for 1 mama!! Mine never produce that much!

marlinmon · Feb 6, 2019

reef lover said:
That's alot of babies for 1 mama!! Mine never produce that much!

That's what I think too! I mean... I always thought that was a big RFA but dang, I can't even count all the babies.

marlinmon · Feb 6, 2019

Rock next to the RFA I picked out. Tons of babies on the bottom of it too

marlinmon · Feb 6, 2019

Around the RFA itself

bsn_rn_cen · Feb 7, 2019

Thats awesome

Baldguy · Feb 7, 2019

Very cool!! Did you see her spitting out babies? Did you notice when the male or males spawned? It would be interesting to know what the dad looks like and what the babies colors turn out to be.

reef lover · Feb 7, 2019

Thats so cool!

Katrina71 · Feb 7, 2019

Congrats!

Katrina71 · Feb 7, 2019

I'd love to see a pic of the other adults.

marlinmon · Feb 7, 2019

Baldguy said:
Very cool!! Did you see her spitting out babies? Did you notice when the male or males spawned? It would be interesting to know what the dad looks like and what the babies colors turn out to be.

I haven't noticed any spawning. It was actually bugging me lately, so much that was going to get some more RFA's in there in hopes that one would spawn. Apparently it's been going on already lol. I missed, probably by a couple hours, her spitting out the babies. Her mouth was still wide open when I made the discovery. Days leading up to this I thought she was sick. She was noticeably smaller and diameter. I thought it might have been my fault because one day I stuck a giant piece of LRS in front of her and she ate. I thought it might have been too much food. I'll try to get pics up of the other RFA's I have in the tank.

marlinmon · Feb 7, 2019

Katrina71 said:
I'd love to see a pic of the other adults.

I'll see if can get pics of all of them up. I know one is kind of hiding right now.

mch1984 · Feb 7, 2019

That's awesome, I would be like a little kid with my nose up against the glass if that happen.

marlinmon · Feb 7, 2019

mch1984 said:
That's awesome, I would be like a little kid with my nose up against the glass if that happen.

Quick off topic question - is the water in Midland decent enough for use in our reef tanks?

mch1984 · Feb 7, 2019

On it's own absolutely not, it's awful. I spent as much on my RODI as I did my lighting. I have a 7 stage, with three DI canisters running on a booster pump. Out of the tap my water runs about 1200 tds and I'm still at 30 after the RO. You can make the water work here but you burn through DI resin fast, just have to buy in bulk. Where are you from?