Did my anemone just spawn?

[Levinson]

My nem extended and got very long and it was releasing pink stuff into the water. The pink stuff was all stringy but it consisted of tiny particles.
Much of the stuff released was sucked into the overflow and the rest just dispersed into the water in less than an hour so I don't see them in stringy chunks anymore. There was a lot more of the pink stuff than shown in the photos below but couldn't get a decent shot of it.
I think my nem just spawned. What do you reckon?
Also, if anybody knows, if it did spawn, do you think I can use this as feed for planktonic invert larvae such as shrimp larvae?

 

[Reefbeast]

Wow that nem looks pretty washed out ( very little color ) That tank looks brand new based on the way the rocks look,. How long has the tank been running?

 

[bradleym]

Wow that nem looks pretty washed out ( very little color ) That tank looks brand new based on the way the rocks look,. How long has the tank been running?

If I remember correctly, this is a NPS anemone they got from a shipment of oysters. They've been taking care of it for a while now.

 

[bradleym]

It does look like it may have spawned, the small particles you described could have been eggs. Has it returned to it's original shape?

 

[Levinson]

Wow that nem looks pretty washed out ( very little color ) That tank looks brand new based on the way the rocks look,. How long has the tank been running?

I went from a small tank to a big tank then to a small tank again (same rocks and livestock etc) over the period of about 2 years & 9 months.
I'm guessing the reason why the nem looks washed out is because there isn't much microalgae in it left (on the one that I've taken the photo of). I don't rely on the lights to sustain these nems. Actually, I don't have any livestock that relies on the light for growth (except for algae). These local species of nems don't need light to survive and can live fine just by feeding (though they can also photosynthesize, they don't have to).
I think the rocks look clean for their age because I have an ATS and don't have a very strong light (led light with a broken blue channel running at around 13w).

 

[Levinson]

It does look like it may have spawned, the small particles you described could have been eggs. Has it returned to it's original shape?

Yes, it has. It's closed up now.

 

[Levinson]

 

[Levinson]

I should have taken the sample to look under the microscope. I forgot I had a microscope!!
Oh well... too late now.

 

[Levinson]

My nem spawned its eggs again tonight so I got some sample to look under the microscope (20 x 4 so it's 80x I guess?). It's the same nem and it's been about 1 month and 9 days since the last spawn. The term in between doesn't seem very long.

Those look like eggs to me.


Also, my other nem (which I think is of the same species), spawned very differently last night and I'm guessing it was spawning the sperm and not the eggs. They missed each other only by a day.
So it looks like of the two nems I have, I have a male and a female anemone. I got lucky I guess? Not that I'm expecting any offspring or anything.
Here's the video of it spawning.

I'm guessing the high water temp induced the spawn. They extend their neck (not sure if it's called the neck) a lot when they spawn, both male and female (a lot more so for the female).

 

[bradleym]

This is very cool! If you start getting babies, I'll be your first customer.

 

[Levinson]

This is very cool! If you start getting babies, I'll be your first customer.

Sorry I live in Korea so it might be a bit difficult to send it over but thanks for the thought.
There are 'orange striped sea anemone' that came on the live oysters my parents got as a gift (to eat). So not your average nems you find at LFS.
I read there are quite easily found in Korea and super hardy. Very easy to keep and my sexy shrimps host on them.

 

[Aiptaisia anemone]

woahh what an interesting anemone you have

 

[Aiptaisia anemone]

im so jealous i want that anemone