Just had my second spawn in 9 days from the same nem. Had no idea they would do that so often. I’m thinking maybe a stress related event. I have a favia that has been decimating a birdsnest and also a monti with its sweepers the last couple weeks. I wonder if that has something to do with it.
Rock Flower Anemone Spawning Help
- Thread starter Ron Reefman
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homer1475
Figuring out the hobby one coral at a time.
I've seen a couple of mine "blow smoke" for a couple days in a row. Then others would respond the same.
Not sure if I would call it an additional spawn, or just a continuation of the same spawning event?
Not sure if I would call it an additional spawn, or just a continuation of the same spawning event?
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Ron Reefman
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I had 2 separate occasions where I got a spawning event (several RFAs), and 8 or 9 days later another event. And then 9 days later yet another event. The second time was about 4 months later and I only had 2 spawning events, but again, about 9 days apart.
I'd say the 9 days space is likely a coincidence? My then again, maybe not?
I'd say the 9 days space is likely a coincidence? My then again, maybe not?
I hope it is coincidence. Can't exactly remember how long ago it was that I got that RFA (maybe 6 years) but I have never seen a spawn in my tank even within a couple months of each other. Of course I am not looking at it every night either....
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Ron Reefman
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I know what you mean. The first time we never saw anything but new babies! Since then, my wife has caught 3 events and just a month ago I caught one of our maxi-mini anemones spawning!
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Thant's FANTASTIC! And thanks for figuring out how long it was from spawn to birth! That falls right in line with what I've been thinking the timing was. I've been saying 25 to 35 days.Saw my first two little RFA babies tonight from the March 12 spawn. Comes out to about 25 days.
I've got a reminder on my calendar for April 24th to start looking for babies. I really want to move most of my RFAs from my 90g DT to the new 40g local tank I just set up. But I'm going to wait and see if we get any babies before I disturb them. Although I have a map (list) of which of my RFAs spawned, so I could pull the males and move them. I have some concerns that my local Filefish might just go after the babies as quickly as they get delivered!
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Ron Reefman
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I think my file fish may be picking at some of the smaller RFAs, but not enough to convict it of being the cause.
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Ron Reefman
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Mine looks like the same thing, but I caught it locally in an estuary off the Gulf of Mexico by Ft Myers.
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Ron Reefman
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It can be a bit hard if you want really colorful ones. There are a lot for sale at various online sellers. But be careful as some really enhance the fluorescence under blue leds and they can look MUCH different under white light. The best thing I've found is to buy them in person at frag swaps, local shows, Reef-A-Palooza or MACNA.
The key is probably that way more often than not, the more you pay, the more colorful they are. The last one I bought at a show was deep maroon oral disk that does not fluoresce at all, but really gold (not yellow) tentacles with tiny green flecks in them and the tentacles fluoresce like crazy. I've never seen another one like it and it just spawned in my tank a week ago! I have my fingers crossed for good looking babies!
Oh, BTW, I paid $125 for that one RFA. Good ones run from $45 to $90. The really cheap ones have some some cool patterns and stripes, but not much color at all and very little if any fluorescence.
Good luck.
The key is probably that way more often than not, the more you pay, the more colorful they are. The last one I bought at a show was deep maroon oral disk that does not fluoresce at all, but really gold (not yellow) tentacles with tiny green flecks in them and the tentacles fluoresce like crazy. I've never seen another one like it and it just spawned in my tank a week ago! I have my fingers crossed for good looking babies!
Oh, BTW, I paid $125 for that one RFA. Good ones run from $45 to $90. The really cheap ones have some some cool patterns and stripes, but not much color at all and very little if any fluorescence.
Good luck.
RichardinTN
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I’ve had a couple tanks with males releasing sperm and others never doing it (assuming they are females), but I’ve never found any babies. Has anyone ever noticed female behavior capturing sperm, or is it fairly passive?
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Ron Reefman
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Great question!
When I've had spawning events I've never noticed any reaction at all from the other RFAs that weren't spawning (presumably most females). One time in my old RFA breeding tank I even sucked up spawn in a turkey baster and tried to 'deliver' it to the anemones that weren't spawning. I saw no reaction and much to my dismay, I had no babies from that spawn. And that was several males spawning in a 16g tank with 30 RFAs in it. To say I was disappointed is to put it mildly!
Anybody else ever seen any reaction from the RFAs that weren't spawning?
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Great question! I am also curious to know!
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Ron Reefman
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In all the Rock Flower Anemone reading and posting and questioning we've done here at Reef2Reef, I don't think anybody has offered up any behaviors of the females taking in the spawn or even delivering the babies.
I think I'm going to move my RFAs from the 90g DT which has a couple of carnivore fish that might eat the baby RFAs, to the new 40g DT that has no fish. My original plan was to try and not 'disturb' the nems until after 30+ days after the spawn. But now I'm thinking the move is probably less of an issue than the potential of the file fish eating the babies and my never seeing any!
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Thank makes sense Ron. You may want to consider staggering the move over a few days. Cheering for you and the RFAs during the move!
dennis romano
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About twenty years ago, I had four RFAs in my reef tank. For two or three days, the largest started to swell and was shaped like a volcano. One day, it started to shake and contract. Poof, three or four babies shot out of the mouth, about three inches into the water column. It did this until there were over a dozen. The babies were mobile and were moving immediately. Mom was pale green and they all matched her color. They were a quarter inch across.
@Ron Reefman
I am having a spawning event again. Noting it here, so I don’t forget the date.
Started with 2 of my shallow water ones in have had for 3 years. Now the 3 tubs (about 45 nems total) in the 7’ frag tank are all upright and spawning. I went ahead and turned the flow off and it is all settling back down in the tubs.
Hopefully I get a ton of babies and they are all crazy mixed up lol. Got 9 from the last spawn of 15 or so nems.
The acrylic is not that hazy or dirty lol. It’s a cloud of “stuff” in the tubs lol. The 2 on the right are what started it.
I am having a spawning event again. Noting it here, so I don’t forget the date.
Started with 2 of my shallow water ones in have had for 3 years. Now the 3 tubs (about 45 nems total) in the 7’ frag tank are all upright and spawning. I went ahead and turned the flow off and it is all settling back down in the tubs.
Hopefully I get a ton of babies and they are all crazy mixed up lol. Got 9 from the last spawn of 15 or so nems.
The acrylic is not that hazy or dirty lol. It’s a cloud of “stuff” in the tubs lol. The 2 on the right are what started it.
