Tufa's tank!!!

[rmlevasseur]

I think if you've made it 5 months you are safe Barb, great job. I have a very healthy RBTA that has been great since day one, but I haven't had luck with other anemones that I've purchased online. Even the RBTA was a clone from an LFS.

Several others on RC recently purchased a gigantea from the same batch at RHS and they all melted in 48 hours. I wish I could figure it out. All my SPS, LPS, softies and fish are doing fantastic, and yet any other nem than an RBTA I can't seem to keep past a month. Ethically I'm really torn on this one. I honestly expect ocean collapse in my lifetime, and I believe it is important to figure out how to keep these guys in captivity. I'm really not sure what else I can improve though, so I'm left thinking that only a few are lucky enough to survive shipment undamaged.

[BarbMazz]

I happen to agree with you about the oceans. I hear you about continuing to try...I just hate it when something in my cares dies.

I think if they die within a month they were starting to die before they even got to you. You can imagine what they go through being collected.

I've been tempted to try a ritteri, but they're supposed to be terribly difficult, too.

[rmlevasseur]

I failed with a Ritteri last fall. I follow the nem boards on all the sites very carefully, and I think there are less than 5 people who report long term success. I wish somebody would give somebody some serious grant money to figure it out. I would think with tissue samples and control nems this could be done. I've often joked to my wife that if I hit the lottery I'd devote my retirement to this issue, but i totally would. Why a blobbie with tentacles captivates me so much I'll never know.

One thing that reallly frustrates me is flow. Everyone reports that magnificas and giganteas love massive flow, but it seems the second I turn it up a tad is when I see decline. I directed a korallia just a little more on my gigantea, and within an hour its mouth started to gape a little. I put the korallia back where it was and instantly it perked back up.

I made a terrible mistake when I ordered my cube. I hate acrylic and I hate rimless. I'm hoping to replace it with a 90 gallon tech soon, and I think I will try a wavebox when I do.

[BarbMazz]

I totally understand your fascination with them. They're always different! In the span of an hour look how much they change! Definitely not a static creature. And what makes them know what they need and want?

I do have a feeling they are each individuals, if that makes any sense. Your statement of flow, for example... I don't think blanket statements cut it for nems. I think a person has to watch their own nem closely to see how they react to different conditions in the tank. I could (and have! lol) sat and watched them for hours. They are so reactive to different things that happen around them! Things you'd think they'd react to don't bother them a bit, and other things DO bother them that would seem like natural occurences.

I've not been able to figure any of it out, except I can tell when they are unhappy. Even when I think they're happy, I'm not really quite sure they are. lol