Marine Depot Forums / TEAM Marine Depot / Marine Systems and Husbandry – by Anthony Calfo / What type of anemone are suitable for farming? / Latest Posts

RE: What type of anemone are suitable for farming?

Anthony Calfo — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 19:49:03 GMT

shipping an anemone with chemical laden/treated/inked newspaper is bizarre. And its as bad as the equally hamful habit of shipping corals wrapped in plastic bags to act as a cushion. Both are excessive forms of contact and both cause the animals to stimulate excess mucous which quickly spuir baceria growth.

Dry shipping means dry shipping bro... anemone, bag... tis all.

RE: What type of anemone are suitable for farming?

vaporize — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 16:20:12 GMT

Anthony Calfo (5/26/2006)

yes, indeed... as long as the temp is stable (76-78F-ish), then "moist" shipping (no water ala low tide) is best for most anemones in the aquarium trade. The rates of survival are much higher and the rates of morbidity much lower.

Since somebody bring up the topic again, I thought I would ask more question

Was talking to a LFS importer, he told me that Indonesia used to ship anemones to him dry without water and only with damped newspaper, however once he opens it, the anemone's tenacles start to fall off with the newspaper. So nowadays, he ask them to ship with water to avoid that trouble.

So would it be best just add little water and the anemone in for shipping? I am afraid that it will stick to some part of the plastic bag and leave without water.

RE: What type of anemone are suitable for farming?

WarDaddy — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 15:23:11 GMT

I am very interested in this, in fact, my friend and I are busy with business plans and setting up a proof of concept tank to get our brood stock numbers up.

My primary questions revolve around circulation and filtration.

Power heads are BAD for these guys, so I am planning on circulation powered by air with Air Lifts and a strong air pump. Is it possible to create enough circulation with air to keep these wonderful animals happy?

Second question is filtration. Is setting up sponges on the intake of the air lift enough (sort of the staple in fresh water that I have seen) or do we want to go with deep sand, canister filters or some other sort of filtration?

Thanks for the insight,
Bryan

RE: What type of anemone are suitable for farming?

Anthony Calfo — Fri, 26 May 2006 16:06:59 GMT

RE: What type of anemone are suitable for farming?

vaporize — Thu, 18 May 2006 20:05:09 GMT

Thanks Anthony, if I remembered correctly you also mentioned that anemone can be shipped without water right (not dry but just minimal water)?

As long as the container temperature is keep relatively constant it should be okay? Would this be applicable to most other corals too?

Thanks & cheers, v

RE: What type of anemone are suitable for farming?

Anthony Calfo — Wed, 17 May 2006 21:24:09 GMT

yes... a very hardy species that I have only had (nothing but) success cutting in half. Well conditioned animals will respond favorably to this.

Please do check out the threads I have listed under "discussions" in the forums and/or "Fav links..." sticky re: more propagation techniques, moving anemones with shadows, ice cubes, etc.

RE: What type of anemone are suitable for farming?

Rich Conley — Wed, 17 May 2006 07:37:43 GMT

Hey Anthony,

I've got a large Sebae (heteractis Crispa I believe, tan/greenish with purple tips). Its now touching the glass on both the front and back of my 58 gallon tank. He was only about 12" when I got him 6 months ago!!.

Have you had any luck chopping there?

Also, his foot is pretty well entrenched in rock..how do I go about dealing with that?

RE: What type of anemone are suitable for farming?

Anthony Calfo — Mon, 15 May 2006 18:13:46 GMT

its true they don't like ice on the pedal base or drops in temps (note... not recommended for anything but pest anemones, and the drop is 6-10F, not C)

RE: What type of anemone are suitable for farming?

vaporize — Mon, 15 May 2006 10:30:45 GMT

yep read most of those threads during my research.

oh btw, you also mentioned that you can use ice cube to rub the food of the anemone to get it off the rocks right?

Or somebody said put it into a colder bucket SW like 10C lower

RE: What type of anemone are suitable for farming?

Anthony Calfo — Sat, 13 May 2006 20:50:30 GMT

ahhh... good to hear

have you checked out the threads detailaing anemone propgation (with pics) and those on greenhouses in my list of "Fav links..." (the sticky atop this forum)? Look under the alphabetical list of (the post called) discussions in that thread.

RE: What type of anemone are suitable for farming?

vaporize — Fri, 12 May 2006 17:53:01 GMT

Thanks Anthony, I will give some BTA a try. I am thinking of trying it in a mini greenhouse using natural sunlight with a heater & powerhead outside.

RE: What type of anemone are suitable for farming?

Anthony Calfo — Wed, 10 May 2006 22:47:02 GMT

cheers, Vapo

thanks for the kind words.

The tank liner is just going to be plastic indoor/outdoor carpeting (Astro-turf)

As for the anemones... I have successfully propagated all on the list you have here save for the pizza anemone and mertensii (never owned either... but suspect they are as good candidates as all others).

The one exception to this list if the ritteri anemone... they are arguably so poorly sustainable in harvests from the reef that they should not be collected. They are also so demanding for light (higher than any sps) and needs (really must be kept without corals in the tank for best success) that few people care for them the way they really need to be cared for.

The rest of the list is just fine and they propagate easily and successfully

Best bets here are Entacmea quadricolor, Heteractis malu (Brown only) and the Macrodactylus species long tentacle anemones.

best of luck/life

Anthony

What type of anemone are suitable for farming?

vaporize — Wed, 10 May 2006 21:17:02 GMT

Hi Anthony,

I really enjoyed your talk at the IMAC this year about farming and propagation, that led me to two more questions:

(1) Since you are one of the pioneer of splitting anemone in workshops I thought I would ask you what type of clown-hosting anemone have you / heard that it is okay to use the split method for farming purposes?

a. Cryptodendrum adhaesivum (adhesive or pizza)

b. Entacmaea quadricolor (bulb-tentacle, BTA, or corn): This one for sure as shown by you.

c. Heteractis aurora (beaded or sand)

d. Heteractis crispa (long tentacle, LTA, leathery, or milk)

e. Heteractis magnifica (magnificent, ritteri, or skunk): This one you recommended not to keep in aquarium, so I guess not.

f. Heteractis malu (sebae, delicate, or sand)

g. Macrodactyla doreensis (long tentacle, LTA, or corkscrew tentacle)

h. Stichodactyla gigantea (gigantic or carpet)

i. Stichodactyla haddoni (haddon's, saddleback, carpet, or sand carpet)

j. Stichodactyla mertensii (merten's, or spotted-base carpet)

(2) You mentioned about using some type of flooring materials so the anemone does not stick to it. What was that thing called?

Thanks & cheers, vapo