Why are there so few aiptasia in the wild ?

[joegoersch]

I just got back from snorkeling in the Cancun/Riviera Maya region. I saw a lot of fish and some coral, but no anemones. I was just wondering why some people have such problems with aiptasia in their aquariums, but in the wild they seem to be rare ?

any thoughts ?

[ebushrow]

Tons of predators in the wild....not in our tanks :-(

[joegoersch]

that's it ?

[dthorn]

That simple! In a reef tank we have a closed system where things can grow out of control if given the right environment. In the ocean everything is balanced mostly by predation, but also in infinite other ways that we can't create in a closed system. Math and science, the only things you can trust in this world..lol

[Ted_C]

Its also winter-time here. While it may feel nice to you - perhaps the water is cold enough for them to retract.

[Sk8r]

My tank usually has a few---nothing problematic. I think one answer is water quality and health of the competition. Many new hobbyists way overfeed, too, which is guaranteed to produce unwanted 'blooms' of this and that.

[NeilFox]

Aptaisia is very common around mangrove marshes. Not all the species in our aquariums comes from the reef. Not many people scuba/snorkle in a marsh. That's whay you didn't see them.