drstratton
Valuable Member
I'm going to a frag swap this weekend and I'm hoping to get a couple of Ultra Rock Anemones. I want to know more about them before I make this purchase. Any information I can get will be much appreciated! Thank you!!!
Rock Anemone Care ?'s
- Thread starter drstratton
- Start date
- Tagged users None
ksfulk
Working back towards clean
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2014
- Messages
- 1,936
- Reaction score
- 1,980
- Location
- Grand Rapids, Michigan
- What state or country do you live in
- Michigan
Rock nems are EASY. Once they put their foot down, they anchor in place and dont usually move much, if ever. I feed mine occasionally, (maybe once or twice a week) but it generally gets food blown into it by the current during feeding. Mine dont seem to mind high or low flow, but they really like a nice sandy crevice they can anchor in. I find they do best when kept at substrate level (on the sand, but at the base of your rockwork), but I have one thats up about 1/2 way in my tank too. Super easy to take care of... think of it as a big mushroom almost 
OP
OP
drstratton
Valuable Member
Thank you! That's a beautiful nem! I think I have a few good options for location. I'm pretty excited to get them!Rock nems are EASY. Once they put their foot down, they anchor in place and dont usually move much, if ever. I feed mine occasionally, (maybe once or twice a week) but it generally gets food blown into it by the current during feeding. Mine dont seem to mind high or low flow, but they really like a nice sandy crevice they can anchor in. I find they do best when kept at substrate level (on the sand, but at the base of your rockwork), but I have one thats up about 1/2 way in my tank too. Super easy to take care of... think of it as a big mushroom almost
ksfulk
Working back towards clean
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2014
- Messages
- 1,936
- Reaction score
- 1,980
- Location
- Grand Rapids, Michigan
- What state or country do you live in
- Michigan
I was hesitant to pick one up at first too, since I had read so often that anenomes were difficult to keep, but these ones seem to be near bullet proof. The one pictured above was a $9 addon from a LiveAquaria order where I needed to make my free shipping! Its about 3" across now. My really colorful ones seem to stay a bit smaller (1.5" or so). I think I have 3 from CherryCorals, one or two from the LFS and one from LA. I'm sure you'll get a kick out of them!
I have a ton of them and have kept them for a number of years and recently got a ton more.
They take food readily when healthy and happy. When buying new specimens, it generally takes a week or two for mine to finally start accepting food. So do not fret if they are not eating but some specimens will eat on their first day in your tank. It varies. Do not overfeed them, they will just spit it out. They may appear to swallow a massive chunk of food but you can expect it to be out and about somewhere in your tank later half-eaten. You can feed several small meals over the week though.
They can grow very quick. For example, I bought one from Will from AquaSD somewhere between December and Early January and it was at 1.5" at max expansion. It is now 3" across. However, the growth rates seem to vary from specimen to specimen.
Some have stated that a slightly open mouth is a bad sign but I have one that has had its mouth open since I started reefing 6 years ago. As long as its clear innards are not hanging out to any degree, a slightly open mouth is not too big of an issue. Some have small mouths and some have huge mouths.
At night, some buckle up, some expand, some turn themselves in to mushroom looking like things and all sorts of funny shapes and sizes. Do not be afraid, this is normal.
They do sting but not as bad. My fingers are very sensitive and I can feel the tingly sensation of being stung. If you are allergic to Anemone stings, handle with care.
Do not smell them as others have advised to see if they are dead. They produce an awful smell even when alive and healthy. When they are dead, its very obvious.
The colors do morph a bit or change a bit over time for some specimens but not all. This is fairly common for smaller specimens as they grow. I have had greens ones morph in to blue-ish green ones or have a yellow fluorescent one fade in to a lime green color as its disk began to develop green pigmentation. I bought a pinstriped tri-colored Rainbow RFA from Will@AquaSD earlier this year and it morphed from yellow outer ring, pink secondary ring, blue inner ring around the mouth to a Yellow outer ring, pink inner ring all the way to the mouth with blue/purple dispersed randomly throughout the entire disk which is awesome
. Larger specimens are less likely to change. Sometimes, I feel like its similar to buying 1st year koi and hoping for awesome color changes or growths 4 years later lol.
Prices will literally vary on individual taste. Some people pay a ton for things like golden frill RFAs, some people wouldn't take it for free. The only colors that are worth very little are the brown or very dark colored ones. Under blue LEDs, dark colored or brown ones appear black because they do not flourecse. From a distance you have what appears to be a hole in your rock work of killer colored corals/invertebrates. Once these hit 6" inches, you will really have a big hole.. Some like this effect, some don't.
If you don't find any you like at the show, I picked up a ton of very high quality/ultras from thecoraldudes last week. Will@Aquasd also has been popping out some extremely rare ones as well. Both provide great quality, healthy specimens and good pricing.
Have fun getting your first RFA.
They take food readily when healthy and happy. When buying new specimens, it generally takes a week or two for mine to finally start accepting food. So do not fret if they are not eating but some specimens will eat on their first day in your tank. It varies. Do not overfeed them, they will just spit it out. They may appear to swallow a massive chunk of food but you can expect it to be out and about somewhere in your tank later half-eaten. You can feed several small meals over the week though.
They can grow very quick. For example, I bought one from Will from AquaSD somewhere between December and Early January and it was at 1.5" at max expansion. It is now 3" across. However, the growth rates seem to vary from specimen to specimen.
Some have stated that a slightly open mouth is a bad sign but I have one that has had its mouth open since I started reefing 6 years ago. As long as its clear innards are not hanging out to any degree, a slightly open mouth is not too big of an issue. Some have small mouths and some have huge mouths.
At night, some buckle up, some expand, some turn themselves in to mushroom looking like things and all sorts of funny shapes and sizes. Do not be afraid, this is normal.
They do sting but not as bad. My fingers are very sensitive and I can feel the tingly sensation of being stung. If you are allergic to Anemone stings, handle with care.
Do not smell them as others have advised to see if they are dead. They produce an awful smell even when alive and healthy. When they are dead, its very obvious.
The colors do morph a bit or change a bit over time for some specimens but not all. This is fairly common for smaller specimens as they grow. I have had greens ones morph in to blue-ish green ones or have a yellow fluorescent one fade in to a lime green color as its disk began to develop green pigmentation. I bought a pinstriped tri-colored Rainbow RFA from Will@AquaSD earlier this year and it morphed from yellow outer ring, pink secondary ring, blue inner ring around the mouth to a Yellow outer ring, pink inner ring all the way to the mouth with blue/purple dispersed randomly throughout the entire disk which is awesome
. Larger specimens are less likely to change. Sometimes, I feel like its similar to buying 1st year koi and hoping for awesome color changes or growths 4 years later lol.Prices will literally vary on individual taste. Some people pay a ton for things like golden frill RFAs, some people wouldn't take it for free. The only colors that are worth very little are the brown or very dark colored ones. Under blue LEDs, dark colored or brown ones appear black because they do not flourecse. From a distance you have what appears to be a hole in your rock work of killer colored corals/invertebrates. Once these hit 6" inches, you will really have a big hole.
. Some like this effect, some don't.If you don't find any you like at the show, I picked up a ton of very high quality/ultras from thecoraldudes last week. Will@Aquasd also has been popping out some extremely rare ones as well. Both provide great quality, healthy specimens and good pricing.
Have fun getting your first RFA.
OP
OP
drstratton
Valuable Member
Bullet proof sounds good to me!I was hesitant to pick one up at first too, since I had read so often that anenomes were difficult to keep, but these ones seem to be near bullet proof. The one pictured above was a $9 addon from a LiveAquaria order where I needed to make my free shipping! Its about 3" across now. My really colorful ones seem to stay a bit smaller (1.5" or so). I think I have 3 from CherryCorals, one or two from the LFS and one from LA. I'm sure you'll get a kick out of them!
$9 is an amazing price, the ones that are being brought to the frag swap are $17-$25, they're supposed to be ulta, I'm getting pretty excited to see them! Thanks again for the information and time, I really appreciate it!
OP
OP
drstratton
Valuable Member
Thank you for all of the information, between you and Ksfulk, I feel like I'm ready to do this! It's good to know about the eating habits, open mouth and color changes. I have just recently aquired a One Spot Foxface and a Starry Blenny, they both change color, I thought they were dying, so it's very nice to be prepared about something unexpected! They've posted some pictures on FB of what they will be bringing and I don't think I will be disappointed. I want 2 for sure, possibly 3, if they're as beautiful as shown the price being asked sounds pretty good to me. I will also check out the vendors that you mentioned. Thank you for the info and your time! As I said above, I really appreciate it!!! I might have more questions later! Oh, and don't smell the flowers, I won't forget!!!I have a ton of them and have kept them for a number of years and recently got a ton more.
They take food readily when healthy and happy. When buying new specimens, it generally takes a week or two for mine to finally start accepting food. So do not fret if they are not eating but some specimens will eat on their first day in your tank. It varies. Do not overfeed them, they will just spit it out. They may appear to swallow a massive chunk of food but you can expect it to be out and about somewhere in your tank later half-eaten. You can feed several small meals over the week though.
They can grow very quick. For example, I bought one from Will from AquaSD somewhere between December and Early January and it was at 1.5" at max expansion. It is now 3" across. However, the growth rates seem to vary from specimen to specimen.
Some have stated that a slightly open mouth is a bad sign but I have one that has had its mouth open since I started reefing 6 years ago. As long as its clear innards are not hanging out to any degree, a slightly open mouth is not too big of an issue. Some have small mouths and some have huge mouths.
At night, some buckle up, some expand, some turn themselves in to mushroom looking like things and all sorts of funny shapes and sizes. Do not be afraid, this is normal.
They do sting but not as bad. My fingers are very sensitive and I can feel the tingly sensation of being stung. If you are allergic to Anemone stings, handle with care.
Do not smell them as others have advised to see if they are dead. They produce an awful smell even when alive and healthy. When they are dead, its very obvious.
The colors do morph a bit or change a bit over time for some specimens but not all. This is fairly common for smaller specimens as they grow. I have had greens ones morph in to blue-ish green ones or have a yellow fluorescent one fade in to a lime green color as its disk began to develop green pigmentation. I bought a pinstriped tri-colored Rainbow RFA from Will@AquaSD earlier this year and it morphed from yellow outer ring, pink secondary ring, blue inner ring around the mouth to a Yellow outer ring, pink inner ring all the way to the mouth with blue/purple dispersed randomly throughout the entire disk which is awesome
Prices will literally vary on individual taste. Some people pay a ton for things like golden frill RFAs, some people wouldn't take it for free. The only colors that are worth very little are the brown or very dark colored ones. Under blue LEDs, dark colored or brown ones appear black because they do not flourecse. From a distance you have what appears to be a hole in your rock work of killer colored corals/invertebrates. Once these hit 6" inches, you will really have a big hole.
If you don't find any you like at the show, I picked up a ton of very high quality/ultras from thecoraldudes last week. Will@Aquasd also has been popping out some extremely rare ones as well. Both provide great quality, healthy specimens and good pricing.
Have fun getting your first RFA.
