My New RBTA

[huskysglare1]

Is this a healthy RBTA? I got it for 40 bucks.

[savageAJC]

how is the mouth? open/closed? it looks nice to me!

[huskysglare1]

i can't see the mouth. i fed it about 3 days ago and the silverside was gone after 1 minute. hehe

[WaffleWalffle22]

Feed it just a few pieces of mysis shrimp every 2 weeks. It is easier for them to digest softer, smaller amounts of food. Anemones need light more than food, but food it still essential. If you overfeed it is likely to die. Good luck and very nice anemone! :cool:

[Zylski]

I feed mine everyother day with silversides. They grow insanley fast and are really nice and healthy.

[huskysglare1]

my anemone is about 5-6" long. will 1 silver be too much for it?

[Zylski]

depends on what the size is but yeah 1 silverside should be good for it. You can try a half more if you want if the anemone gets to full it just wont eat the last peice. Silversides are better for anemones that mysis shrimp because they are more meaty.

[WaffleWalffle22]

Silversides are better for anemones that mysis shrimp because they are more meaty.

Not to be rude, but where do you get your information? If you truly believe this, then come back in 4 months and post pictures of your giant anemones. :rolleye1:
If huskyglare1 wants to follow your advice, then I can't stop them. There is a good chance the anemone of theirs and Zylski's will die within a few months. I strongly advise against what Zylski said. I've been keeping these creatures for probably a lot longer then you have, and we are not in this hobby to grow the biggest anemone. We are in the hobby because we love these animals, so please don't abuse the privilege of keeping them. Do you think anemones catch 3"-4" fish every other day in the wild? Anemones normally feed on the feces of clownfish and other small fish that they catch on occasion. Silversides are very difficult for anemones to digest since they are very though and they have skin and bones. Small amounts of mysis shrimp is best for anemones every 2 weeks at the most. Anemones burn more energy digesting silversides than they get from them, however if they eat mysis it is easier to digest and they will gain a bit of energy. Again, not trying to give a personal attack or offend anyone, just saying that I strongly disagree with Zylski.

[Zylski]

I feed my anemones cut up peices of baby silversides every other day. They are very healthy and colorful. They do not get whole peices of fully grown silversides. A anemone will spit out what it does not want to eat.

Anemones normally feed on the feces of clownfish and other small fish that they catch on occasion.
If im not mistaken but isnt a silverside a small fish? Theres no harm in feeding everyother day. In the wild they catch food as they please. Here they can choose wether or not they want to except the food or not too.

I have not lost a single anemone so far and its been almost 2 years. I now have 10 anemones (I propigate them). They all are nice and healthy.

[Zylski]

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums//showthread.php?t=455253
read this link. The only reason they dont feed a bunch a week is because it CAUSES growth. Feeding is just a matter of getting the anemone to grow or not.

[Trademark]

I think this has become an interesting thread,,, lets putm the cards on the table and let the pics do the talking,,, lets see the 10 anemones. Also I know that not everyone feeds their fish the same way,,, and when you post your pics if you can give a low down on your total system aswell. Feeding anemones alot creates alot of waste and must have the system to back it up,,,,,, SHOW YOUR ACES

[dalston]

I would also advise against silversides but for other reasons. Silversides are notorious for being bad/rotten. As they are only used in this case for feeding pets, the care and cleanliness goes somewhat out the window. I have personally lost an H. cripsa to what I believe to be a diseased SS and I know many others have also.

From here on out, I would only feed my anemones food that has been prepared for human consumption, like squid or table shrimp.

On another note, to the OP, your anemone looks great, a nice deep rich color :thumbsup:

[Zylski]

From here on out, I would only feed my anemones food that has been prepared for human consumption, like squid or table shrimp

Ive thought about doing this too but right now I have some really nice packaged silversides. They are baby ones not the fully size ones once I run out of those not sure what ill do. Thinking about trying that.

[WaffleWalffle22]

I feed my anemones cut up peices of baby silversides every other day. They are very healthy and colorful. They do not get whole peices of fully grown silversides. A anemone will spit out what it does not want to eat.


If im not mistaken but isnt a silverside a small fish? Theres no harm in feeding everyother day. In the wild they catch food as they please. Here they can choose wether or not they want to except the food or not too.

I have not lost a single anemone so far and its been almost 2 years. I now have 10 anemones (I propigate them). They all are nice and healthy.

Go right ahead since I'm obviously 100% incorrect. However, if you anemone becomes "sick" or dies unexpectedly, don't come to a forum asking why it died. How long have you had your anemones? Post a picture, I'm interested to see how they look.

[Zylski]

http://i729.photobucket.com/albums/ww297/Zylski/P1060774.jpg
Heres my picture the one on the top left is splitting and the big one has split since its taken. Theres one in my main tank and Ive sold two. There in this basket because I naturally propigate them. WaffleWalffle22 doesnt believe in propigating them either.

[Zylski]

Post pics of yours?

[Trademark]

Zylski didn't you have a thread not to long ago about what you are doing,, I liked the FTS and the basket in your tank,,, As far as I am concerned, if you are getting them to split and them selling them, thats awesome because thats a couple more not getting pulled off the reef. Congrats I love it

[WaffleWalffle22]

There is a fine line between competition and discussion and you just crossed it. This is not a competition in any way of who has the better anemones and who does what better. It's a good think you are letting them farm themselves rather than cutting them up, however making a farm and selling them is no longer reefing, it is trying to make money off of what people enjoy. I congratulate you on successfully farming them. An anemones from a friend is one less from the reef. What works for one person may not work for another. In this case for you, your anemones do wonderful with lots of food, but my anemones do badly with more than a few mysis every few weeks. I am no longer going to fight about what is better, because in the end the thread will end up being locked and Huskysglare1 won't be able to get an answer.

Huskysglare1, try different foods and different feeding schedules. Find what works for you and go from there. Good luck.

[Zylski]

Sorry for asking to compare pics. I was just trying to prove feeding them everyother day does not hurt them it only causes growth.

[WaffleWalffle22]

I'm sorry if I sounded rude or mean. I was just trying to get my point across.

[huskysglare1]

thanks guys for the tips. The anemone looks really healthy and starting to expand quite large. I'll vary it's diet.

[WaffleWalffle22]

Varying the diet is good. I just want to add that anemones with better lighting (like 150w MH-HQI for example) will have a faster metabolism, which is why Zylski has had such great success. I don't have the best lighting in the world, but it is just enough to keep the anemones happy. Since my lighting is lower, I feed less so that food won't rot inside them. If you have lower intensity lighting, then try feeding softer, small portions of food. But if you have a 150w MH over your tank, then you could feed a small chunk of silver side every few days. I don't feed silver side. I just feed small amounts of mysis every couple of weeks. On rare occasions I feed krill. However, you should probably do some research on where RBTA come from and their food source in the wild. For example, you shouldn't feed it tiny pieces of arctic cod, because it doesn't eat that in the wild. You should feed it small chunks of small reef fish. Good luck!

[WaffleWalffle22]

Huskyglare, where did you get that anemone from? I live a few miles from San Jose. And are you a member of BAR or NCRC?

[huskysglare1]

i got it from a guy selling it on craigslist. his Anemone splits to 3-4 peices after he got it 1-2 years ago. I've been looking for a reef club in San Jose. What activities do Bar/NCRC do to enhance their tanks? I am very interested.

[WaffleWalffle22]

i got it from a guy selling it on craigslist. his Anemone splits to 3-4 peices after he got it 1-2 years ago. I've been looking for a reef club in San Jose. What activities do Bar/NCRC do to enhance their tanks? I am very interested.

NCRC Does nothing much. Just a forum with occasional frag swaps.
BAR is a world better IMO. I'm a member. Membership is $20. We have meetings at Chabot College on the 2nd Saturday of every other month. We have a DBTC (don't bread the chain) program, which is where people put up frags of their corals for free and other people grow them out and continue to frag them so that everyone eventually gets a piece. The idea is not to get free corals, the idea is to share. However, I must say, you do get lots of free corals, and after a lot of free corals it feels great to give back! I would encourage you to join. People exchange at the meetings. You have to be a member to attend meetings and use the DBTC program. BAR also does a frag swap, which is where everyone brings at least 3 coral frags (some people have even brought nearly 100!) and you are called up in rounds to take some corals that you pick. It is a great club and even the advice given by the members is worth $20+. I would strongly suggest you make a free account and then become a BAR member. BAR Stands for Bay Area Reefers. Google search it. :thumbsup:

[savageAJC]

goodlooking nem husky, also zylski nice nems! and i say excellent job on farming, i had a heckuva time finding a rbta and any lfs here wanted 169.99 for them. + you put the money up/ do the work why not make money doing it? isnt "farming" rbtas the same as breeding clowns etc.?

imo varied diets are always best, ill drop a silverside to my rbta every once in awhile, usually when people are over and want to see it eat, fascinates people hehe

[huskysglare1]

Thanks Waffle. i think I'll join BAR. Do they ever meet in San Jose? Hayward is a little far. I have about 10-20 small frags right now. The $20 is for life time membership or monthly or yearly?

Are there a lot of reefers from SJ in the club? It would be nice to meet those people and help each other out.