Rock Flower Anemone Information and Appreciation Thread

[banasophia]

12 minutes ago, NanoreefingMP said:

You should check out my build thread. I have a rock flower dominant tank. Have some nice ones in it. You should check it out 

What’s the easiest way to get to someone’s build thread, just do a search? 

[NanoreefingMP]

2 hours ago, banasophia said:

What’s the easiest way to get to someone’s build thread, just do a search? 

Search nanoreefings rock flower tank 

 

but I think you can clock on my name then click the news paper looking button and it should be stuff I posted there 

[geneva]

I have a question about rfa sex. I bought an rfa today at a local swap and we talked about their spawning. The guy said they don't have a sex, and any rfa can release sperm. He also said that they can split, like any other type of anemone. But I thought I read on this thread that rfas have a specific sex and don't reproduce asexually. Am I missing something? 

[NanoreefingMP]

28 minutes ago, geneva said:

I have a question about rfa sex. I bought an rfa today at a local swap and we talked about their spawning. The guy said they don't have a sex, and any rfa can release sperm. He also said that they can split, like any other type of anemone. But I thought I read on this thread that rfas have a specific sex and don't reproduce asexually. Am I missing something? 

They definitely have a sex,Male and female. There isn’t a way to sex them by looking at them

[SeaFurn]

3 hours ago, geneva said:

I have a question about rfa sex. I bought an rfa today at a local swap and we talked about their spawning. The guy said they don't have a sex, and any rfa can release sperm. He also said that they can split, like any other type of anemone. But I thought I read on this thread that rfas have a specific sex and don't reproduce asexually. Am I missing something? 

You’re not missing anything. 

You got bad info.

And they don’t split....

[Got Corals]

On 6/2/2018 at 7:36 PM, SeaFurn said:

You’re not missing anything. 

You got bad info.

And they don’t split....

Definitely bad info!

 

From my experience with them, the male will release the sperm into he water and multiple females can absorb. There is a lot of ongoing research on flowers, i am so excited to learn more about them. 

 

Hope you have a great day!

[Got Corals]

This guy is so bright, that the photos don't even look right..

 

[banasophia]

Not sure if it’s already linked in this thread somewhere, but here’s a great article about RFA reproduction:

http://www.practicalcoralfarming.com/blog/2015/5/24/flower-anemones-breeding-the-unfraggable

[kimberbee]

On 5/30/2018 at 9:05 AM, Martin Riggs said:

This is a question for some experts of flower anemones. Why would one gradually over a couple months shrink in size?

Not an expert but... I've had RFAs shrink in size and basically disappear over the course of a few months. My best guess is a lack of food and/or light. 

 

My first two RFAs were quarter sized in a mixed reef, they constantly moved around which made spot feeding difficult since I couldn't always find them. Then they wedged themselves deep into holes in my rocks, so not only were they not getting spot fed, but they were also lacking on light. Eventually they disappeared altogether. 

[seabass]

5 minutes ago, kimberbee said:

My best guess is a lack of food and/or light.

IME, they are remarkably resilient to deficiencies in either or both.  Sure they need reef lighting, but it doesn't have to be intense.  Some even say that it shouldn't be intense, although I think they can adjust to that.  Sometimes (if it moves into a cave) you might have to rotate the rock that they are on, to give them some rays.

 

As far as feeding goes, I've gone well over a year without directly feeding mine.  Sure, they will benefit from a small meal once or twice a week, but if you feed your tank anything, they will probably get some food.  In addition, I feel that some nutrients in the water is probably important.

[kimberbee]

1 minute ago, seabass said:

 Sometimes (if it moves into a cave) you might have to rotate the rock that they are on, to give them some rays.

Easier said than done in a mixed reef when there's other corals growing on the rocks... 

 

Overall I agree though. But then again, sometimes things just don't do well for seemingly no reason. Decent light and target feeding are things we can control. If that plus basic husbandry (water changes/dosing) doesn't help, well... that's just the way it goes sometimes. 

[seabass]

8 minutes ago, kimberbee said:

Easier said than done in a mixed reef when there's other corals growing on the rocks... 

Occasionally you can irritate them enough to leave their shelter.  It's never easy, but sometimes you can get lucky.  I know I've set small rocks on them before.  Sometimes they'll move, sometimes they will even attach to the new rock.  I can't remember all the ways to encourage them to move.  I think flow, and I can't remember for sure, maybe ice?   I'd have to do some searching.  Maybe someone else knows.

[ngvu1]

Check if you have something like shrimps bothering them at night.  I lost 2 nice ones for a peppermint shrimp.

[A Little Blue]

Idk why some move and some don’t. 

Could be the flow. 

This guy moves a LOT. He’s is all over the tank, except where I want him to be. 🤨

[seabass]

I kind of like it when they move to the glass.  Then they are relatively easy to relocate.  I use a plastic algae scraper to slowly and carefully get it off of the glass.  If you find a good spot for it, it might decide to stay put.  I usually turn off the flow until they firmly grab on to the rock.

[ngvu1]

Spoiler

 

[seabass]

3 minutes ago, ngvu1 said:

 

Excellent.

[SeaFurn]

3 hours ago, seabass said:

Occasionally you can irritate them enough to leave their shelter.  It's never easy, but sometimes you can get lucky.  I know I've set small rocks on them before.  Sometimes they'll move, sometimes they will even attach to the new rock.  I can't remember all the ways to encourage them to move.  I think flow, and I can't remember for sure, maybe ice?   I'd have to do some searching.  Maybe someone else knows.

Yeah I think @BulkRate has used  ice (RODI) in the past. 

[BulkRate]

A drinking straw filled with rodi/distilled water and frozen will give you a decent poking stick to get them moving if they've settled in a weird spot.  Sometimes takes 2-3 treatments to get the job done... all pumps need to be off or the stuff dissolves almost instantly. 

[SeaFurn]

On 5/24/2018 at 9:27 PM, ClutchKargo said:

So I've been reading through this thread learning many things and seeing many RFA's however I haven't seen anyone particularly address an issue I've had a couple of times now.

 

Why do Rock Flower Anemones "melt" and fall apart?  I just had one melt after it had been in the tank for about 3 weeks or so now. It was 1 of 4 healthy flowers I got from a great supplier and the other 3 are doing great. Today I was looking at them and noticed this one in question looked smaller I touched it carefully and it just fell apart and disappeared. I've also had a couple melt in the past as well for no apparent reason.

 

I just would like to understand what is behind this or is this just a possibility that can happen. I have about a dozen or so now but losing any one of them is not fun. 

 

Thanks!

Clutch

Came home from work tonight to find one that I’ve had for over a year move down from it’s spot on the rock (you can clearly see where it was) and start melting and I have no idea why. It was fine yesterday and all the others in the tank look great right now. Very frustrating. I’ve removed it from the tank - and it’s almost completely disintegrated now. 

 

 

 

[jet915]

On 6/11/2018 at 10:41 AM, ngvu1 said:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

Nice, is that a tank raised baby?  How old is it?

[ngvu1]

2 hours ago, jet915 said:

Nice, is that a tank raised baby?  How old is it?

2 months or so.  I have some bigger ones like a dime/ nickel size but they stay at  location hard to take pictures off.  This one right up against the glass 🙂

[mndfreeze]

How are they for stinging coral (or getting stung by..)  I have a 24G aquapod as a mixed reef.  No softies in it, just LPS and SPS.  Want to get some rock flowers or maxi mini's but I don't want them stinging and killing my coral.  Anyone know of corals that DONT do well with them?

[seabass]

Since they can move, I think they try to avoid stinging corals.  They can irritate non-stinging corals that they are near.  IME, they don't actively try to kill coral.

 

Someone, please correct me if I'm wrong or you had a different experience.

[seabass]

These aren't new, probably closer to 10 years old ('cept for the babies).  But I just posted these in my Caribbean tank journal and thought I'd share them here too: