Ron Reefman's Rock Flower experience

[Ron Reefman]

I just brought home 3 shallow water RFA's from our snorkel trip to the Florida Keys. One is the size of a quarter and has a green face and white tentacles, the second is the size of a nickle and all white as far as I can tell. The third was a accidental collection. I was tucked into a small sponge that also had a small red feather duster attached, and that was what I was after. The nem is very tiny so I think it must have been recently born. It's mostly dark, but it's so small I really can say much about the colors. Now that they are out of the temporary 10g holding tank and into pvc end caps in my 16g tank, I'll try getting photos after the white lights turn on.

 

[Katrina71]

Little do the new guys know...they are about to get spoiled!

 

[Katrina71]

Curious if you've ever seen a nem like this? Looks like a long tentacle rfa?

 

[Judi M]

I've noticed at least 1 of my rfas has tiny evenly spaced dots under skirt, while the others do not (noticed this on other people's pics too) anyone notice any correlation between this and the sex of the rfa?

 

[Katrina71]

I've noticed at least 1 of my rfas has tiny evenly spaced dots under skirt, while the others do not (noticed this on other people's pics too) anyone notice any correlation between this and the sex of the rfa?

My green one is like that. Not sure, but I'd be curious too.

 

[eggplantparrot]

how large do they get before they have bebes? I have a couple waiting for the new tank to become ready and one is quite large.

I also feed every day, they catch some of the mysis/brineshrimp/bloodworm that float into the basket, and if they don't I squirt a bloodworm or a couple of mysis. is this too much?

 

[eggplantparrot]

Curious if you've ever seen a nem like this? Looks like a long tentacle rfa?

I believe that is a relatively new species to the aquarium trade. first in Taiwan I think.

 

[Katrina71]

@Ron Reefman I thought you might enjoy this.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Little do the new guys know...they are about to get spoiled!

@Katrina71, Thanks Katrina, I don't know about spoiled, but they'll be a lot better off being domesticated rather than being in the wild (just like or rescued cat)!

Curious if you've ever seen a nem like this? Looks like a long tentacle rfa?

No I haven't. And if I saw one and knew a little about it, I'd buy one for sure. That's a beauty!

I've noticed at least 1 of my rfas has tiny evenly spaced dots under skirt, while the others do not (noticed this on other people's pics too) anyone notice any correlation between this and the sex of the rfa?

@Judi M, Judi, to be perfectly honest, I've never really looked at the undersides of mine! A) Nice observation by you (that some do and some don't). B) Now we have something to start looking for. C) I've never seen my RFA's when they actually were spawning or giving birth. I've only seen the after effects... babies! But somebody here said before the actual event, the nem raises up and stretches out it's trunk. That would be a good time to look and see what the underside looks like and note if it is spawning or giving birth. There may even be some evidence in some of the RFA spawning or giving birth videos?

how large do they get before they have bebes? I have a couple waiting for the new tank to become ready and one is quite large.
I also feed every day, they catch some of the mysis/brineshrimp/bloodworm that float into the basket, and if they don't I squirt a bloodworm or a couple of mysis. is this too much?

@eggplantparrot, I can't give you precise measurements, but my 2 parents were the biggest 2 out of 6 or 7 in the tank (based on the colors of the offspring). They are 3" and 4" in diameter from the outside of the tentacles on each side. I now have several more that have grown and are that big, so I'm looking forward to the next round of kids!

IMHO, you can't overfeed an anemone. You offer it food and it either takes it or it doesn't. And the fact that the nem catches the food doesn't mean that it consumes it. I've seen mine let go of food they caught on their tentacles. Besides, how would I know what an overweight RFA looks like?

 

[Judi M]

@Judi M, Judi, to be perfectly honest, I've never really looked at the undersides of mine! A) Nice observation by you (that some do and some don't). B) Now we have something to start looking for. C) I've never seen my RFA's when they actually were spawning or giving birth. I've only seen the after effects... babies! But somebody here said before the actual event, the nem raises up and stretches out it's trunk. That would be a good time to look and see what the underside looks like and note if it is spawning or giving birth. There may even be some evidence in some of the RFA spawning or giving

This particular rfa often pulls its skirt up (rolls sides into mouth) in the evening, so I've noticed this. Or when feeding shrimp, they close up around it. I will try and get some pics if possible.
Also, great idea ...I wil go back thru some of the posted videos of spawning and see if I notice any correlation!

 

[eggplantparrot]

my first RFA had those dots, they were actually attached to gravel and I only noticed them when I pulled that gravel off. I think I also pulled some stuff out from the dots. my second RFA has list of purple dots too but they are not attached to anything. third one I have not seen the bottom of the skirt yet.

I wonder if they s

 

[Ed Chan]

This is brilliant Ron!

When you say you place the end cap and RFA into a 16oz deli cup full of tank water, is it safe to leave it in the deli cup for a day or two until it attaches? I don't have a separate tank to put all 3 (end cap, RFA, deli cup) into. Was wondering how I would apply this process myself with my one tank set up.

Thanks!

Let’s discuss where your RFA’s are in your tank, i.e. on the rocks, at the edge of a rock, in the sand or do you have some other location?

In the wild, the shallow water RFA’s that I see are almost always attached to rocks that have a hole. The nem sets its foot in the hole and can retract into the hole when disturbed or when ingesting food it has caught. Many of them are in holes on the vertical surface of the rock and away from the sand. But almost as many or in holes that are on horizontal surfaces and may have sand around them as well. Sometimes there is no sand, sometimes just a little sand and sometimes the sand is 2 or 3” deep.

The first time I tried to place a number of RFA’s on a flat rock, they all moved to the edge of the rock at the sand. Some even attached just under the bottom of the flat rock and reached up around the edge to be above the sand. However, I have seen a couple of photos of people’s tanks with RFA’s attached to rocks well up away from the sand. I assume these nems have their foot in a hole they like and are happy there as well.

What I’ve been doing most recently is buying various sizes of PVC end caps. Before I put a new RFA (or move one for some reason) I pick an end cap that is just a bit bigger in diameter inside than the RFA’s foot (yes, it’s a real guessing game). Then the PVC end cap and RFA go into a 16oz deli cup full of tank water. About 95% of the time, the nem settles down inside the PVC end cap and attaches. It may happen quickly, it may take a couple of days. Then I can take the PVC end cap and transfer it to the tank. I push the end cap down into the sand so that just a tiny bit of the end cap’s rim is exposed above the sand.

At this point I’ve never had a RFA move from the end cap. After a week or so, I’ll often go back and push the end cap down just a bit more so the rim disappears in the sand. At that point the sand will start to get inside the end cap with the nem. I have 10 of my bigger RFA’s in end caps now. The other 20+ RFA’s in my tank are loose and fending for themselves. Most of them fairly small and attached to the edges of rocks at the sand.

I like this way of keeping some of my RFA’s. It allows me to keep the bigger, more mature and possibly ready to mate nems close to each other for better potential spawning. It also makes it really easy to pull one out of the tank if I decide to sell one to a friend or customer who comes to my house and falls in love with them. And I have to admit, that does happen quite often! That visitors fall in love with them, not that I sell them… at least not until they’re about 2” in diameter.

Here is a photo where a couple of the RFA's are a bit retracted and you can see the PVC end caps.
20180622_144452 R1 by Ron Lindensmith, on Flickr

 

[Ron Reefman]

This is brilliant Ron!

When you say you place the end cap and RFA into a 16oz deli cup full of tank water, is it safe to leave it in the deli cup for a day or two until it attaches? I don't have a separate tank to put all 3 (end cap, RFA, deli cup) into. Was wondering how I would apply this process myself with my one tank set up.

Thanks!

How I use end caps. I use various sizes since I've had a wide variety of RFA sizes. I've used everything from 1/4 inch for babies to 1.5 inch for full grown adults. So far I've only had one out grow it's end cap and move out. But given a bigger one, it was happy to move right in. I take a small but deep bowl or tupperware container and fill it 1/2 to 3/4 full of tank water. I just set this container beside the tank, not in it. I place the end cap in and then the RFA. They usually stay inside but I have had a couple that moved out one or two times. I found adding sand as deep as the end cap upper rim kept them in the end cap. I just let them set for a couple of days. I do 2 or 3 water changes each day by just taking the container and lowering it into the tank and then pulling it back out with new water. There is almost nothing wrong with the old water except it's low in oxygen. I've never lost a nem doing this. I even rescued 2 different kind of nems off the beach at the water's edge during the serious Red Tide we had last summer. I kept them in a big plastic peanut butter jar. For those I was concerned about the Red Tide so I tossed the old water and filled the jar back up with a separate glass. After 2+ weeks they were doing fine and they have been in my tank ever since. But they are not photosynthetic and have moved under an egg crate structure in my tank that has rocks on top of it. You can see about that in my tank build thread (link is below).

After a few days I'd set the end cap in the tank and just push it into the sand a bit to keep it from moving with the water flow. After a week or two I'll press the end cap down into the sand so the upper rim is only just above the sand. Sand does end up getting into the end cap, but the nems don't seem to mind. They get sand in their holes out in the wild as well. They can retract and disappear under the sand and come back up later. They do it whenever anything threatens them.

I hope that all made sense???

 

[bsn_rn_cen]

I noticed these black spots on some as well when I am tank creeping in the middle of the night. If it is related to sex it makes me happy to know I have some of both. I keep hoping to get a spawn. I have an xr15 on my tank with a lunar cycle. When the moon gets full I'm always creeping hoping to catch it. (I have no idea if the moon triggers spawning but other things in nature seem to be influenced by it so I figured it may)

 

[Ron Reefman]

Here is a photo of 3 RFA's I collected on our last trip to the Keys. There are actually 4 here but the brown one is covering up a smaller one that is just to it's right in this photo. The truth is, I collected the brown one and didn't even see the white striped one or the hidden one. I think the white striped one could turn out to be pretty cool when it gets big.

You can see these are much less colorful than most of the ones you see for sale. These are very typical of the RFA's that come from shallow water. BTW, they also seem to do photosynthesis much better than the deep water colorful RFA's.

 

[eggplantparrot]

Here is a photo of 3 RFA's I collected on our last trip to the Keys. There are actually 4 here but the brown one is covering up a smaller one that is just to it's right in this photo. The truth is, I collected the brown one and didn't even see the white striped one or the hidden one. I think the white striped one could turn out to be pretty cool when it gets big.

You can see these are much less colorful than most of the ones you see for sale. These are very typical of the RFA's that come from shallow water. BTW, they also seem to do photosynthesis much better than the deep water colorful RFA's.

wow i'd love to have that striped one.

 

[AquaHobby31]

Can I get done rock flowers from you?

 

[AquaHobby31]

Here are my gems

 

[Ron Reefman]

Can I get done rock flowers from you?

Thanks for asking, but currently I'm not selling anything. In fact I'm building a bigger tank (3'x30"x20" = 90g) so I have more open sand to keep more RFA's! If (when) the day comes that I have more than I can keep; then I'll start selling. I only buy the odd RFA here and there if I find one I consider special. But mine have produced 3 rounds of babies which account for about 30+ of the 45+ I currently have. Most of them are still smaller. Even the ones that are about 2 years old are only the size of a quarter of 50 cent piece. The youngest ones are only about the size of a dime now. I have a few big adults that are about 5" in diameter.

 

[Katrina71]

Our new build is similar 30x30x15. Wonder if all that open space will need a few more rfa? Lol