Rock flower Anemone Questions

mmw64 · Nov 10, 2019

I love rock flower anemones and from my research they are suppose to be an "easy keeper". Unfortunately, not in my tank. They start out good but never thrive. Over time they shrink to about the size of a dime and then disappear. My tank is over five years old and is very stable. Anyone else have this problem or can anyone tell me what I'm missing?

ahiggins · Nov 10, 2019

Weird...I’ve been breeding them for years now and I’ve never seen that happen. How’s your nutrients and flow? In my experience they hate direct flow and like a bit dirtier water (nothing crazy). Also they don’t like super intense light.
Tell me more about feeding habits, placement, lights, flow, and nitrates

You’re right, I find they’re extremely easy to keep.

Kimberely · Nov 10, 2019

I have 9. I don't even directly feed them. They don't like bright light however so that would be my guess.

mmw64 · Nov 10, 2019

ahiggins said:
Weird...I’ve been breeding them for years now and I’ve never seen that happen. How’s your nutrients and flow? In my experience they hate direct flow and like a bit dirtier water (nothing crazy). Also they don’t like super intense light.
Tell me more about feeding habits, placement, lights, flow, and nitrates
You’re right, I find they’re extremely easy to keep.

I don't think light is the problem because they are on the bottom of my 73 gallon tank. I don't test for Phosphate or nitrate. What test kits would you recommend and do you think that could be the problem?

ahiggins · Nov 10, 2019

That would be a good starting point for trouble shooting imo. Nitrate and phosphate are the two biggies. I personally use salifert nitrates and Hanna phosphates ppb tester. Can easily convert to ppm.
What else did you say you have in that tank, Coral wise, that’s thriving? Or maybe a full tank shot? Do you use coral pro type salt or regular reef salt?
More about tank feeding schedule and flow would help too

reef lover · Nov 10, 2019

If they're shrinking theyre starving. Feed the tank more or feed them directly.
I find them like lps...need some meat to thrive. Heres some babies i found today

mmw64 · Nov 10, 2019

ahiggins said:
That would be a good starting point for trouble shooting imo. Nitrate and phosphate are the two biggies. I personally use salifert nitrates and Hanna phosphates ppb tester. Can easily convert to ppm.
What else did you say you have in that tank, Coral wise, that’s thriving? Or maybe a full tank shot? Do you use coral pro type salt or regular reef salt?
More about tank feeding schedule and flow would help too

I use Red Sea blue bucket. Mostly, soft corals and I feed dry twice a day and frozen at least once a day. My biggest fish is probably a wrasse and second would be a coral beauty. I also have a hammer that is doing well but a torch that is just hanging in. I have a MP 10 on each end of the tank and am using an Eheim return pump. Seems to be good flow. I appreciate your time. Are the test you use easy to use or difficult? Testing is not my strong point and OLD eyes make it even more difficult.

mmw64 · Nov 10, 2019

reef lover said:
If they're shrinking theyre starving. Feed the tank more or feed them directly.
I find them like lps...need some meat to thrive. Heres some babies i found today

What do you feed?

Saintnovakai · Nov 10, 2019

I feed anything I feed the fish. Sometimes I have fun and feed them the spaghetti worms I find in the sand. Lol. I agree with feeding though. My one RFA that I grew from really small had a growth spurt when I fed it every two to three days.

As an aside, has anyone ever spontaneously found a RFA baby but only have 1 adult? I found one all of a sudden on the other side of the tank.

ahiggins · Nov 10, 2019

mmw64 said:
I use Red Sea blue bucket. Mostly, soft corals and I feed dry twice a day and frozen at least once a day. My biggest fish is probably a wrasse and second would be a coral beauty. I also have a hammer that is doing well but a torch that is just hanging in. I have a MP 10 on each end of the tank and am using an Eheim return pump. Seems to be good flow. I appreciate your time. Are the test you use easy to use or difficult? Testing is not my strong point and OLD eyes make it even more difficult.

How big is your tank again? If it’s not too much for the hammer (or a torch) usually it’s not too much for a nem.
I also use the regular blue bucket

one of the issues I have is too much flow for the nems (which doesn’t take much). If their skirts are blowing up constantly, they won’t like that. At the same time, I feed them too much. When I feed the fish, the flow takes the food to them (small tank) so they eat every day. I only feed frozen once a day but I also have problems keeping nitrates above 0-2.
The nitrates are pretty easy, comes with a card and you can either look top down for a x1 reading or through the side for a x10 reading. Shades of pink. It’s mostly a tool to say “is it light pink, ok it’s 0-5. Dark-10+. I think it’s easy. Phos is more analytic/easy. You take 10 ml of tank water to calibrate, use the next 10 with an additive and it gives you a reading after 3 minutes.
Don’t be afraid to pm me if you have nem questions. I had a lot of questions first starting out and it was trial and error because not much info could be found.

mmw64 · Nov 10, 2019

ahiggins said:
How big is your tank again? If it’s not too much for the hammer (or a torch) usually it’s not too much for a nem.
I also use the regular blue bucket one of the issues I have is too much flow for the nems (which doesn’t take much). If their skirts are blowing up constantly, they won’t like that. At the same time, I feed them too much. When I feed the fish, the flow takes the food to them (small tank) so they eat every day. I only feed frozen once a day but I also have problems keeping nitrates above 0-2.
The nitrates are pretty easy, comes with a card and you can either look top down for a x1 reading or through the side for a x10 reading. Shades of pink. It’s mostly a tool to say “is it light pink, ok it’s 0-5. Dark-10+. I think it’s easy. Phos is more analytic/easy. You take 10 ml of tank water to calibrate, use the next 10 with an additive and it gives you a reading after 3 minutes.
Don’t be afraid to pm me if you have nem questions. I had a lot of questions first starting out and it was trial and error because not much info could be found.

Really appreciate the help. Time to feed more and test for phosphate and nitrites. I think my water is too clean.

ahiggins · Nov 10, 2019

maybe

keep us updated

reef lover · Nov 11, 2019

I feed them what im feeding the tank.
@Saintnovakai yes the female brood them...so you have a girl and she was already holding...keep your eyes out for more!