<b>Well I know some have ripped you for doing this and said the success rate is minimal blah, blah blah.</b>
Yeah, not really ripped, preached or lectured is more like it but its ok for it is done before to me (dsb heresy, T5 light intensity, zeovit filtration method, keeping ritteri with corals, and so on..) with the same results.
It is widely accepted believe that you cant frag em because they do not divide in nature so their regenerative abilities were lost somewhere in time, to evolution.. When couple of seasoned anemone keepers fails to divide em and such a logical explanation arrives from some marine biologist why would even anyone disagree with the conclusion? IMO things are not so black or white, its just whole grey spectrum in between that matters. Id say THEY ARE losing their regenerative magics but didn't lost em to time just jet. Few million years from now likely but not just jet. Sure, it cant be compared with healing abilities of one entacmea quadricolor, anemonia viridis, aiptasia mutabilis or some other nem that i've been observing or dividing in quarium but still they are related. Another interesting thing would be IMO to specify the carpet anemone we talk about.. People generally talk about splitting or fragging the carpets. If its stichodactyla is it gigantea, mertensii or haddoni? First two are hard to keep alive animals, or at least it is said so. It looks to me that dividing such animal would take greater risks than doing it to one "easy to take care of" haddoni. Talking haddoni, this is not the only divided specimen with both clones surviving. There are another <b><a href="http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1470600" target="_blank">examples</a></b> of it . All together about 5 folks I came across, some here at RC, some from international forums and some from my local scene.
Still, because it take so long for them to rebuild its something for folks who are willing to devote time & space to their anemones. Coral lovers are much better off with lets say dividing BTAs.
<b>the haddoni won't eat or you just don't try to feed? In 7 months it seems like it would be eating. I had mags that divided on their own, it took a few weeks, but after they they were able to take small foods, as I recall. I didn't read the whole thread, but has the frag been increasing in diameter without target feeding?.</b>
I feed it mysids every now and then, when i feed my LPS. That seems more-or less ok, it would take a shrimp or two, nothing spectacular but still accepted. I quit giving it bigger foods after it deflated last time. That reminded me at Phill's carpet deflating after feedings so I decided not to push it towards the wrong end. Yes it grows bigger, looks to me that zooxanthellae can fulfill all iits needs at this stage. Every now and then I offer little something and observe the way it accepts it. Anyhow it cant starve so ill just wait for it to get ready.
Other experiences would be appreciated for it st clearly interesting issue, an controversial subject. Idea of dividing carpet here at RC greatly discriminated but at the same time encouraged by some of the highly respected players in the industry.
