Is this guy selling apitasia?

[Engloid]

This stuff looks like Apitasia that I have seen in some of the LFS's.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Curly-Q-Anemone...647?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41520cd7df

Perhaps the stores are sitting on a gold mine and just don't know it yet.

 

[TriMax]

Could be!

Maybe all aiptasia are not the same.

From PetEducation.com:

The Curly-Cue Anemone, also known as Corkscrew Anemone, Curly Q Anemone, Curlique Anemone, and the Trumpet or Rock Anemone, is a member of the Aiptasiidae family. It is found in the Mediterranean and Eastern Atlantic Ocean, most commonly from Plymouth to the Gulf of Guinea. The body is opaque amber with yellowish-white spots. The tentacles turn brown to brown/violet as they extend away from the body, are translucent and have spots.

The Curly-Cue Anemone is normally found singly, but, in quiet, shallow water, it may reproduce by cross division and form colonies in the summer. Be sure to supply rock crevices and stone overhangs, as the Curly-Cue Anemone will do best living hidden in these areas.

The Curly-Cue Anemone is a carnivore, and will consume fish, mussels, and crustacean meat. Offer a high quality frozen carnivore preparation, as well as fresh, chopped fish. Iodine and trace elements should also be added to the aquarium for the Curly-Cue Anemone to thrive.

 

[macclellan]

Many species "look like" other species. That's a Bartholomea annulata, which is in the Aiptasiidae family, but is bigger and less invasive than "aiptasia." So, no, he's not selling aiptasia. He's selling another Aiptasiidae.

 

[Flavum]

yea its pretty much a glorified Aiptasia but cool if you ask me.
You can also get a curlyq shrimp to host with it

 

[DevinWolfe]

HEY, Aiptasia is really cool to someone who doesn't realize how bad it is. I thought it was the coolest stuff in the world when my first tank was cycling. "YAY, I got some cool anemone things as hitchhikers." A month later they were EVERYWHERE.

Then I found RC and did some reading... I felt stupid.

 

[Runner]

It is a great thing to have if you want nothing else in the tank.

 

[Engloid]

One man's trash is another's treasure. haha!!!!

 

[Spongie]

Anthony Calfo (a big aquarium book writer) once wrote about using aiptasia as a filter media. I remember thinking that this guy is crazy. However that being said I think that aiptasia are still one of natures little balancing acts. Much like a chemical equation, the nutrient import and export have to be balanced. If your skimmer and water changes don't keep up, that's when mother nature comes and and creates stuff like aiptasia, bubble algae, and filamentous algae to aid in nutrient export/storage. While they may be a nuisance to some because of their stinging potential to fish and corals, they do serve a purpose in removing excess food from the water column that would normally just foul tanks up. Ideally by balancing the amount of nutrient import and export from the tank aiptasia will become a non issue, however they are also able to create some nutrition on their own via photosynthesis, along with their ability to reproduce extremely rapidly makes them an issue long after the excess nutrients in the system have been removed.