RFA breeding help

[Ron Reefman]

I have a couple more rocks that I have to run thru a hydrogen peroxide dip and then store in the 16g tank until the dead algae can be blown off. Then I'll convert the 16g tank to a RFA tank.

I also need to get some sand (debating whether or not to use black sand), a bigger HOB filter system and an ATO for the tank. The small Tunze in tank skimmer works pretty well but it is kind of fussy about the water level (more about creating noise than about operating efficiency).

 

[Rossko]

My RFA’s just spawned last night. It was Pretty cool sight!! my tanks only Been up and running for 9.5 months

 

[Peace River]

My RFA’s just spawned last night. It was Pretty cool sight!! my tanks only Been up and running for 9.5 months

That's awesome! Can you tell us more about the tank conditions?

 

[Rossko]

That's awesome! Can you tell us more about the tank conditions?

Yes I will get the other parameters later but for a start I have a 80g total water volume system and I run AP 700 lighting. I run carbon and gfo in reactors. 20g water changes every 2 weeks.
mag-1350 ppm
Alk- 9.5 dkh
Cal- 465ppm
Temp- 77.5 to 78 degrees
I dose BRS two part every other day to keep parameters stable

 

[Peace River]

Yes I will get the other parameters later but for a start I have a 80g total water volume system and I run AP 700 lighting. I run carbon and gfo in reactors. 20g water changes every 2 weeks.
mag-1350 ppm
Alk- 9.5 dkh
Cal- 465ppm
Temp- 77.5 to 78 degrees
I dose BRS two part every other day to keep parameters stable

Forgive me for peppering you with questions, but I am curious about this process and there is relatively limited formal info on breeding RFAs. I noticed in the video that your RFAs are on the rocks and not in the sand substrate.

1) What is the approximate diameter of the main RFA in the video?
2) What do you feed/how often do you feed/what is the frequency that you feed the RFAs?
3) Would you describe the flow as low, medium, or high for the main RFA in the video?
4) Would you describe the lighting as low, medium, or high (I'm not sure what settings that you have the AP700 or what the depth of the RFA is)?
5) Is there a window in the room where the tank is located?
6) Has the temperature (77.5-78 degrees) been consistent over the past several months?

 

[Rossko]

Forgive me for peppering you with questions, but I am curious about this process and there is relatively limited formal info on breeding RFAs. I noticed in the video that your RFAs are on the rocks and not in the sand substrate.

1) What is the approximate diameter of the main RFA in the video?
2) What do you feed/how often do you feed/what is the frequency that you feed the RFAs?
3) Would you describe the flow as low, medium, or high for the main RFA in the video?
4) Would you describe the lighting as low, medium, or high (I'm not sure what settings that you have the AP700 or what the depth of the RFA is)?
5) Is there a window in the room where the tank is located?
6) Has the temperature (77.5-78 degrees) been consistent over the past several months?

Hey not a problem at all! Ok here We go.
1.) it’s approximately 2.5”
2.) i feed the fish sinking reef veggie pellets every morning, but i broadcast feed the whole tank about twice a month with Rods food original mixed with reef roids. I do not target the RFA’s, I think I’ve done it once since I had them just a small piece of shrimp.
3.) i would say low to medium were the main RFA is
4.) my lighting is running max at 90% for about 8 hours. and the RFA is about 29” from lighting
5.) there is a window in the room but the blinds are always shut and don’t really let any light in.
6.) and yes temp is pretty consistent, Id say max fluctuations of about 1 degree 77 being lowest and maybe max 78.1

 

[Ron Reefman]

@Rossko , That's GREAT info and thanks a lot for sharing.

If I can run one more question by you? I'm trying to figure out when (big picture... like calendar time) RFA breed and when (small picture... like what time of day) they breed.

About what time of day was it? And at that time, how long had your lights been on?

 

[Rossko]

Hey @Ron Reefman it was about 5:30pm here in Arizona when I first noticed it. And my lights had been and 90% since 11am that day. Here’s my light schedule if it helps at all

 

[kput]

Have you read this thread? Tons of good info and several links

Rock Flower Anemone Breeding

So I've seen some fair love for these animals on the forum, but I don't think I've seen anyone say they've successfully bred them in their tanks. It seems these guys reproduce sexually, and each anemone is only one sex. I came across this page where an aquarium successfully bred them, and I thoug...

www.nano-reef.com

 

[ahiggins]

I’m in!

1. How long have you had RFAs in your tank?
I’ve had them for about 5 years now. 4 years in a set up a tank specifically for them. A standard 10 gallon with an hob filter. Filter floss in it.
2. How many do you have?
The max I ever had was 76 in that 10 gallon. Started with 4. I got lucky and it was a 1 to 1 ratio of male to female. I sold all but the parents after they got large enough. I now have 2 tanks specifically for them. The original and a nuvo 10. I want to see the difference between aio tanks vs hob on their breeding.
3. How many times they have spawned?
I lost count after 10 or so spawns. The males spawn much more than the females spit out babies. I would put it around a 5-6:1 ratio. Typical male right? Hahaha
4. Can you put dates (specific or in general) to when they spawned?
No. Dates never mattered. What I was able to correlate was male spawning and temperature/time. And female release to time. I could initiate a spawn by making the tank 4-6 degrees cooler (at first unintentional lol) and a few days later the spawn would happen. It always started 1-2 hours before lights out. No matter what time on the clock. I even shifted their timer to see if it would change and correlate to the clock time. It didn’t. Of the 8 or so female releases, they all happened around midnight-1am which is approximately halfway through their lights out period. On a second note, the experiment with the much better controlled nuvo 10, I’m not seeing as much spawning (5 male spawns) and haven’t seen a female release yet (Working with about a year timeframe). The temp, specific gravity are unchanged as opposed to the up and down of the standard 10 gallon.
I have a few threads on here that I had started back in 2014-2015 but I haven’t done much “research” since 2018.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Hey @Ron Reefman it was about 5:30pm here in Arizona when I first noticed it. And my lights had been and 90% since 11am that day. Here’s my light schedule if it helps at all

Yes that answers the question and the light timing is also helpful. Thanks a lot!

Have you read this thread? Tons of good info and several links

Rock Flower Anemone Breeding

So I've seen some fair love for these animals on the forum, but I don't think I've seen anyone say they've successfully bred them in their tanks. It seems these guys reproduce sexually, and each anemone is only one sex. I came across this page where an aquarium successfully bred them, and I thoug...

www.nano-reef.com

Thanks for the link, now I have some reading to do!

I’m in!

1. How long have you had RFAs in your tank?
I’ve had them for about 5 years now. 4 years in a set up a tank specifically for them. A standard 10 gallon with an hob filter. Filter floss in it.
2. How many do you have?
The max I ever had was 76 in that 10 gallon. Started with 4. I got lucky and it was a 1 to 1 ratio of male to female. I sold all but the parents after they got large enough. I now have 2 tanks specifically for them. The original and a nuvo 10. I want to see the difference between aio tanks vs hob on their breeding.
3. How many times they have spawned?
I lost count after 10 or so spawns. The males spawn much more than the females spit out babies. I would put it around a 5-6:1 ratio. Typical male right? Hahaha
4. Can you put dates (specific or in general) to when they spawned?
No. Dates never mattered. What I was able to correlate was male spawning and temperature/time. And female release to time. I could initiate a spawn by making the tank 4-6 degrees cooler (at first unintentional lol) and a few days later the spawn would happen. It always started 1-2 hours before lights out. No matter what time on the clock. I even shifted their timer to see if it would change and correlate to the clock time. It didn’t. Of the 8 or so female releases, they all happened around midnight-1am which is approximately halfway through their lights out period. On a second note, the experiment with the much better controlled nuvo 10, I’m not seeing as much spawning (5 male spawns) and haven’t seen a female release yet (Working with about a year timeframe). The temp, specific gravity are unchanged as opposed to the up and down of the standard 10 gallon.
I have a few threads on here that I had started back in 2014-2015 but I haven’t done much “research” since 2018.

Wow! A lot of good info there, thanks a lot. Your comment about the females delivering in the middle of the night may be why so few people see the delivery and yet lots of people see the spawn in the early evening.

Any idea of how long the gap is between spawning and delivery?

 

[Cell]

I'm sure this has been asked and answered before, but does the color of the parents have any bearing on the color of the babies? Can I get a red rfa baby if the parents have no red?

Also, what is your technique for removing wild RFAs from rocks?

 

[Ron Reefman]

Good questions.

IMHO, like most animals, the parents do have a profound affect on the look of their offspring. I have a nice rainbow RFA that has been part of a couple of breeding events and many of the babies are rainbows as well. But some are rainbows with different colors and some are more solid colors. I suspect if you have 2 RFAs that breed and have no red in them, the odds would be quite low that you would get a red baby... but not impossible. Gene pools are tricky and sometime recessive genes do make themselves known.

As for removing them from rocks, that can be a very tricky business. If the rock can't be removed from the tank, I wouldn't even try. If the rock can be removed, I've found several tools that help get the foot loose from the rock. But even then, if the foot is in a deep narrow hole and you don't have any access to the bottom of the foot, it's a very risky thing to try. If you can see the bottom edge of the foot, I've used a dental pick where I dulled the tip and a small knife where I cut the tip of the knife flat and dulled it to be used as a mini pry bar. A small squirt bottle with cold water can also help with getting the foot released. But at best, I consider getting them off a rock as a very risky business for the RFA. That's why many of mine live in PVC end caps pressed into the sand. It's a hole they seem to like living in and it's easily moveable if I need to relocate one or sell one.

 

[saltyhog]

@Eagle_Steve, I'm with @Peace River on tank prep. I'm doing a shallow 12" tank just because I have one and it's so easy to work in. I think high flow, serious skimming, strong flow to a filtration system or sump, or having carnivores like a wrasse make for fewer baby RFAs surviving. I had fewer babies the time mine spawned when I had a wrasse in the tank. I suspect the wrasse was willing to eat the babies, but that is purely a guess on my part. I hope you can join us, or at least tag along and maybe we can all learn a few things.

Very interesting observations. That may partially explain why I've not found any babies despite multiple spawning events. I have 11 wrasses including one Halichoeres and 1 leopard. I have a very effective skimmer and relatively high flow as well.

 

[reef lover]

Ill bite....
Ive been raising rfas for four years. I have at least 20 adult nems ranging in size from a quarter to palm size.
I ve never caught them spawning but i have at least 50 babies in tank from tiny specs to dime size.
I do run the moonlight cycle on my ais and i ve found i notice new babies early summer and winter which indicates to me they released in spring and fall.
No ambient light on the tank.
Ive also noted that if theyre to be colorful they will be very quickly after release. Those that are drab stay drab. I have a couple that are and all my parents are ultras...

 

[Ron Reefman]

Very interesting observations. That may partially explain why I've not found any babies despite multiple spawning events. I have 11 wrasses including one Halichoeres and 1 leopard. I have a very effective skimmer and relatively high flow as well.

11 wrasses! Holey carnivore Batman! I'd say your post is right on the money. Baby RFAs are very, VERY small and with good flow can end up anywhere in the tank, including a filter sock, a skimmer or a wrasse's belly!

 

[Babboney]

Good timing on this thread, I witnessed both male and female spawning in the last 10 days.

1. How long have you had RFAs in your tank?
   2 years

2. How many do you have?
Original 10 I purchased and approximately 50 babies.

3. How many times they have spawned?
Seem to spawn every 3-4 months. Only about 3 survivors from previous spawns, I suspect my matted file fish destroyed the babies. He didn’t make the last move so only have a yellow and Cole tang left in a 100g and expect lower mortality. Witnessed one female shooting out babies recently on February 21 at 8AM with lights off. Was able to turn off flow and cut off tip of a pipette to suck up about 15 babies as she shot them out. I put them in a shroom box. I let the other 20 she ejected find their own way. Roughly half of the babies in the shroom box have the exact same color as the mother, the other half resemble other adults. About another 35 babies scattered throughout the tank. Interestingly, a week later on Feb 28 I witnessed a male spawning at 6PM, blue lights at end of ramp down.

No direct sunlight in room. Tank is feed a tab of mysis and quarter sized piece of Rods regular daily. They are very well fed daily. Medium flow. ALK 7.5, CAL 445, MAG 1295, temp consistent 78 no fluctuation. I can get u PAR when light come on if that helps.

 

[tankstudy]

Any idea of how long the gap is between spawning and delivery?

14 - 21+ days after the event.

You'll want them to come out later than earlier. Higher survival rate.

 

[ahiggins]

Any idea of how long the gap is between spawning and delivery?

I researched that part because from what I could tell it was about 3-4 weeks from male to female events. The only reason I caught it was because I had worked a double and the cats were staring at the tank lol I’ll find the original video of the female and send it over.

another point is that it took roughly 2-3 weeks after female event to see any sort of color in the babies. I noticed specs but their uv reaction didn’t happen until 2-3 week mark.

 

[ahiggins]

Rock nems, 4th spawn, something cool happened!!

hey y'all! I've known for some time that I have 3 males and at least one female rock nem but I've only ever been able to ID the males. Last night about 11:30pm I noticed my biggest one super inflated and I had to investigate-it was pitch black but I turned on the lights, below are my findings...

www.reef2reef.com

One of the many threads I had back in the day. This one shows the female. I think around 1am. Also, my expert assistant Alice lol

if you can’t tell, I turned off all flow in the tank when I noticed the female event. That led to a spread of about 3” all around the mother of where the babies ended up.