Rock Flower Anemone Island- good or bad idea?

[cdw79]

All of a sudden I've had an idea of creating a little island in my sanded and adding several rock flower anemones to it. My thought is that ideally they'd obviously move around on the island but ultimately stay on the island as opposed to moving all over my scape. I've never actually kept any though, and I'm not sure how prone they are to moving across sand, detaching, etc. and what ideal placement is for them (e.g. on rock, between rock and sand, etc.) Any ideas or experiences anyone can share?

 

[JoJosReef]

All of a sudden I've had an idea of creating a little island in my sanded and adding several rock flower anemones to it. My thought is that ideally they'd obviously move around on the island but ultimately stay on the island as opposed to moving all over my scape. I've never actually kept any though, and I'm not sure how prone they are to moving across sand, detaching, etc. and what ideal placement is for them (e.g. on rock, between rock and sand, etc.) Any ideas or experiences anyone can share?

They like sticking their foot in the sand right under a rock. You can easily keep multiple around a rock island, but there's no guarantee they will stay there. I think it was @Ron Reefman who suggested putting them in PVC end cap as a way to keep them in place, then you just bury the end cap in the sand where they will tend to stay put as long as their light/flow/nutrient needs are met.

 

[PastaReefs]

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All of a sudden I've had an idea of creating a little island in my sanded and adding several rock flower anemones to it. My thought is that ideally they'd obviously move around on the island but ultimately stay on the island as opposed to moving all over my scape. I've never actually kept any though, and I'm not sure how prone they are to moving across sand, detaching, etc. and what ideal placement is for them (e.g. on rock, between rock and sand, etc.) Any ideas or experiences anyone can share?

My rockflower chose the sandbed to settle into, i can actually see his foot on the bottom of the tank and side where it attached to the glass. They move a lot until they find there forever spot.

 

[cdw79]

Do they puff up and float the way a BTA would? Or more just walk around? I think I could manage them if they're walking, but if I had a bunch all of a sudden start detaching that seems like it would be a bit of a problem

 

[KrisReef]

None of these creatures comes with a guaranteed pattern of behavior. Rock flowers in general are much less likely to move around than a bra(BTA but spell check new better?)

Spell check is less reliable than either anemone.

 

[PastaReefs]

Do they puff up and float the way a BTA would? Or more just walk around? I think I could manage them if they're walking, but if I had a bunch all of a sudden start detaching that seems like it would be a bit of a problem

Mine detached and floated he actual got cut in half by a wavemaker. He recovered you cant even tell now about the size of a small tea saucer.

 

[Peace River]

I have about 25 RFAs in one of my tanks. Many are in the sand, but some have migrated to the rocks. They sometimes bunch up and don't stay as spaced as I would prefer and other times they go for a walk. That said, it makes me very happy when I discover a new little RFA "baby" and this makes all the rest well worth it.

 

[JoJosReef]

I have about 25 RFAs in one of my tanks. Many are in the sand, but some have migrated to the rocks. They sometimes bunch up and don't stay as spaced as I would prefer and other times they go for a walk. That said, it makes me very happy when I discover a new little RFA "baby" and this makes all the rest well worth it.

I have 4 babies I'm feeding now. Nice to see them grow.

 

[jcmjoe]

I used ronreefmans great idea of putting them in the pvc in the sand and mine have not moved at all.

 

[cdw79]

I used ronreefmans great idea of putting them in the pvc in the sand and mine have not moved at all.

Is there a link to that anywhere, or could you explain what that approach is?

 

[OrionN]

RFA like to attach to a hole. Put them in an appropriate size cap help them feel secure and stay put. Then you can bury the cap anywhere, and as long as the conditions are reasonable, they will stay put.

 

[Ron Reefman]

The idea came from a friend and fellow aquarium keeper here in SW Florida. I've found you can push the end cap down in the sand so deep that it can't be seen and the RFA will stay put. For me, this has worked 95% of the time.

It also means they are easy to be moved around, as opposed to having them set their foot in a rock.