Rock Flower Anemone Spawned and Babies

[Smarkow]

To be clear, I'm not saying "budding" is absolutely what is going on. It does seem likely though. I've read articles on anemone's in general and most if not all nem's can reproduce sexually as well as asexually. Bubble tips are a good example. Bta's can expel eggs and sperm into the sea to produce offspring. They can also reproduce by asexual fision. That's the splitting we see in our tanks. I agree with Smarkow, it makes sense that budding could be a backup if sexual reproduction is not happening. I've caught my rfa's spawning three times now. On each occasion several were doing it. I did not see a correlation with the lunar cycle. I think if one does it the others sense it and do it too if ready. I lurk on many forums and facebook groups and have seen people post pics of this "budding" at least six times.

Btw, I've got about 65 rfa's now. Got 14 in just today. **** you Ron Reefman for getting me started on this addiction.

Another candidate for the great “make rfa bud” experiment...

I suspect synchronized spawning would be less useful for RFA bc their females could carry eggs long term and extend the fertilization period. Stony corals can’t move so need to synchronize. So lunar less necessary for RFA? I found some older posts by others that document budding, but have not found anything in peer reviewed lit yet. My quest continues

 

[Ron Reefman]

I have 5 rock flowers in the tank currently, along with lots of LPS and some zoa's. I also keep a bubble tip anemone. I feed everything in the tank once a day, and I will feed anything that will accept food which is basically everything. The corals usually get reefroids/pellet food/or frozen food, while the anemones usually get something meatier (Usually frozen, but sometimes fresh/raw). I have fed the anemones krill, shrimp, silver side pieces, squid, and even small pieces of clam/mussel. The clowns in the tank usually just eat pellets with frozen food supplemental.

Mia, you have a very interesting set up and I admire your passion and attention to keeping a budget. And I really appreciate your sharing all your info.

I only feed my tank every other day and very rare occasions every 3rd day. I only shut down the pumps and spot feed once every week or every two weeks. And I only feed small frozen mysis shrimp or frozen meaty blends along with a mix of flakes, pellets, coral food and freeze dried food.

I should give bigger meaty foods a try and see what happens.

Thanks very interesting. The salinity spikes could be a part of it? I wonder if temperature also varies with the evaporation rate.

Sexual reproduction in rockflowers may be triggered by lunar phases or seasonal temperature swings to allow synchronization (I’m asking more than telling)? I wonder if a disrupted lunar cycle has prevented it from triggering spawn.

Lastly with five rockflowers the chance that you randomly purchased either all male or all female would be 1/(2^4) -> 6.25%, well within the realm of possibility when we consider how many people buy rockflowers and how rare (we think?) this event is. Anyone think budding is a backup reproduction strategy for female rockflowers that can’t get fertilized?

These might be interesting experiments to carry out for someone with a whole bunch of rockflowers and whose wonderful articles indicate they have some retirement time on their hands (cough, @Ron Reefman, cough).

Again thank you for sharing!
Stephen

Stephen, I agree with a lot of what you said. It's possible salinity or temp changes could help trigger reproduction, but I have some doubt. My salinity and temps are very stable, but my Ca and alk go up and down like a yoyo every week. I dose up to 440ppm Ca and 10.0dKH alk only for them to drop to 380ppm and 6.5dKH in a week. Those fluctuations don't seem to have any affect on anything in my tank (mostly zoas and RFA's).

In a natural setting, moon phases or seasons could have a real triggering effect, but I don't think those are the same in aquariums. Mine have spawned 3 times over 2 years and I see no correlation to season or moon phase. But I'm less sure about moon phases as I only see the results after kids are born!

And although you are 100% right, I am retired. That I have time on my hands is not a good assumption at all. The truth is, I had way more 'spare' time when I worked full time than I do now. I'm into too many hobbies, and heavily involved in too many of them. And then there is my 'Bucket List' that I'm working on. BTW, I just turned 70 today! To many of my Bucket List items require me to be in good physical condition, and for my age, I think I'm doing quite well. But you never know how long that will last. My old brother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 18 months ago and passed away 10 weeks later and he appeared too be in quite good health as well.

To be clear, I'm not saying "budding" is absolutely what is going on. It does seem likely though. I lurk on many forums and facebook groups and have seen people post pics of this "budding" at least six times.

Btw, I've got about 65 rfa's now. Got 14 in just today. **** you Ron Reefman for getting me started on this addiction.

[/QUOTE]

David, I'm just the guy who led you astray. I'm not the 'pusher' that feeds your addiction. Besides, misery loves company. I have 30+ and I just bought 3 new ones at Reef-A-Paloosa in Orlando a couple of weeks ago! What's the advise we addicts get? Oh yeah, just say no! Hahahaha.;Nailbiting;Greedy;Eggonface;Wacky

 

[Smarkow]

And although you are 100% right, I am retired. That I have time on my hands is not a good assumption at all. The truth is, I had way more 'spare' time when I worked full time than I do now. I'm into too many hobbies, and heavily involved in too many of them. And then there is my 'Bucket List' that I'm working on. BTW, I just turned 70 today! To many of my Bucket List items require me to be in good physical condition, and for my age, I think I'm doing quite well. But you never know how long that will last. My old brother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 18 months ago and passed away 10 weeks later and he appeared too be in quite good health as well.

CONRATULATIONS!

No seriously that is awesome. I bought my first few rock flowers after reading your articles and threads within this past year. They are gorgeous. I like them more than the *sticks*

Keep active and enjoy it!

 

[Ron Reefman]

CONRATULATIONS!

No seriously that is awesome. I bought my first few rock flowers after reading your articles and threads within this past year. They are gorgeous. I like them more than the *sticks*

Keep active and enjoy it!

I'd have replied sooner, but I had an ultra busy weekend. I had 2 long photo shoots on Saturday and 7 hours out in the sun either chasing cones or driving like a crazy person at an auto-x event. I even fell asleep at 8:30 pm Sunday night while watching my favorite TV, a Formula 1 race from Sunday morning on the DVR!

Here is a sample of the 3D (Disabled, dream & Do) event. The local minor league baseball team, the Ft Myers Miracle, and the Dave Clark Foundation had nearly 100 disabled kids out for a baseball camp and lunch! I could see both the kids and the Miracle players were enjoying it, the surprise was how much I enjoyed it as I took 500 photos!

Also, thanks for the kind words. I can't tell you how glad I am that you picked up on the RFA love. I keep telling people that when it's dark outside and the lights are off in the house, the only thing lit up are the blue leds over the tank. And it looks like the tropical forest on the moon, Pandora in the movie Avatar when Keanu Reeves is running around and everything is lighting up! And some of the very best color comes from the RFA's.

 

[Smarkow]

I'd have replied sooner, but I had an ultra busy weekend. I had 2 long photo shoots on Saturday and 7 hours out in the sun either chasing cones or driving like a crazy person at an auto-x event. I even fell asleep at 8:30 pm Sunday night while watching my favorite TV, a Formula 1 race from Sunday morning on the DVR!

Here is a sample of the 3D (Disabled, dream & Do) event. The local minor league baseball team, the Ft Myers Miracle, and the Dave Clark Foundation had nearly 100 disabled kids out for a baseball camp and lunch! I could see both the kids and the Miracle players were enjoying it, the surprise was how much I enjoyed it as I took 500 photos!

Also, thanks for the kind words. I can't tell you how glad I am that you picked up on the RFA love. I keep telling people that when it's dark outside and the lights are off in the house, the only thing lit up are the blue leds over the tank. And it looks like the tropical forest on the moon, Pandora in the movie Avatar when Keanu Reeves is running around and everything is lighting up! And some of the very best color comes from the RFA's.

Great photos! +1 on RFA is like Pandora
Great to see the community doing well and athletes giving back

 

[reef lover]

Thanks @Baldguy for the new info!!

 

[mia relis]

It has been a little bit since I last posted about the anemone because about a week ago as I was cleaning the glass as I normal do I brushed up against the anemones. Something that is inevitable as they are literally laying up against the glass. This is part of my regular routine but the Mama nem didn't want to open back up like the others did almost immediately. It seemed stressed and over about 24-48 hours I noticed a visible reduction in the "budding" polyps size.

Fast forward about 4 days since I initially irritated the anemone and the anemone is fully open and acting normal again. As soon as I saw this I decided to give it a small piece of krill which it readily consumed.

It has now been a week since I first noticed the poly retraction and now everything is looking healthy and growing again. I continue to feed the anemones an appropriately sized piece about every other day or so.


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I have a week long trip planned so I will need to pickup an ATO system before then..... does anyone have any recommendations?
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The first picture is to help show the (annoying) location of the anemones. You can see that 2 are laying up against the front glass. Which means that when viewing from the front I don't get to see any of the face of the nems. You can also see that the anemone that is budding is the SMALLEST one in my tank (Its the highlighter pink one).

The rest of the images are of the baby nem buds

sorry if any photos posted twice I was having some issues uploading

 

[Smarkow]

Hmmmm very interesting that the smallest budded.. going back to the male/female thing, have any of your nems sexually reproduced in the tank? Sorry if that was answered before.

Glad to hear they opened back up. I half expected your update to go “after 24-48 hours they died.”

I have had the tunze ATO x3 years and the neptune Apex ATO for 2x years. Both are fine. I like the tunze one wayyyyy more. That thing is a beast, built like a tank, reliable to a fault. It’s like how they used to make cars 30 years ago where the things were chunky but ran and ran.

 

[mia relis]

Hmmmm very interesting that the smallest budded.. going back to the male/female thing, have any of your nems sexually reproduced in the tank? Sorry if that was answered before.

Glad to hear they opened back up. I half expected your update to go “after 24-48 hours they died.”

I have had the tunze ATO x3 years and the neptune Apex ATO for 2x years. Both are fine. I like the tunze one wayyyyy more. That thing is a beast, built like a tank, reliable to a fault. It’s like how they used to make cars 30 years ago where the things were chunky but ran and ran.

No none of the nems have ever sexually spawned. Thanks for the input on the ATO. I really like the full size ato vs the nano because of the dual sensors. I know it would be a little overkill and but I think it's the best one. The only thing holding me back from pulling the trigger is the price tag

 

[Scotty Buttons]

Nice looking nems, could you share a picture of your whole tank? Also how long have you had the maxima clam? Never heard of any one keeping one in such a small tank but kudos! I use a jbj ATO with a toms aqualifter pump is cheap and has been reliable for me for the past 3 years.