RBTA Farm Build
- Thread starter cisco006
- Start date
nice!
corey c
New member
Its Drum fishing time in the Pamlico Sound. The Yearlings (12 to 28 inch) are hear i will be a month or two before the big boy's get here i can't wait. Im a drum fishin fool!!
Red i cut mine and kept it in a bucket for 45 min then placed it in a rubbermaid bowl with holes in it and used my frag mag to hang it in the tank also i put two small rocks in with them. This morning they look good and they both are on a rock . You should be fine. If you read up on Calfo's BTA posts he clears up alot of things. I have been reading for weeks about cutting just got up the courage to do it lol
Red i cut mine and kept it in a bucket for 45 min then placed it in a rubbermaid bowl with holes in it and used my frag mag to hang it in the tank also i put two small rocks in with them. This morning they look good and they both are on a rock . You should be fine. If you read up on Calfo's BTA posts he clears up alot of things. I have been reading for weeks about cutting just got up the courage to do it lol
redfishsc
New member
^Thanks, where do I find Calfo's articles on BTAs?
And I'm green with envy. I'm landlocked here in the Wake Forest/Raleigh area, I seldom get to the coast anymore. Going out on the Continental Shelf in May, hoping to snag a nice grouper (managed a 13# gag last time, better than a perch out of Falls Lake lol).
And I'm green with envy. I'm landlocked here in the Wake Forest/Raleigh area, I seldom get to the coast anymore. Going out on the Continental Shelf in May, hoping to snag a nice grouper (managed a 13# gag last time, better than a perch out of Falls Lake lol).
sweetdreamfiji
New member
Can someone post a link to Anthonys articles? Are they on reefcentral or another site?
corey c
New member
Marine depots site HERE
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=CALFO+SPLITING+RBTA&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=CALFO+SPLITING+RBTA&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
JNicho
New member
Two potential issues I see that have been brought up already in this thread.
1) Specific mono-cultures...with just a handful of nems you won't see major issues, but once you get a larger number of them, having nems that are not all "clones" of each other will cause problems...I've seen where entire large "crops" die because of this even though they were all the same type of BTA, but not "genetically" the same.
2) Separate systems...again with just a few specimens not an issue...but with a larger number being cut you'll find your reef tank will not be happy sharing the same water.
I'm by no means an expert, but I know these are both issues that people have seen and dealt with in the past...from what I've seen and heard I would suggest trying to address them before you get too far involved and risk your investment.
1) Specific mono-cultures...with just a handful of nems you won't see major issues, but once you get a larger number of them, having nems that are not all "clones" of each other will cause problems...I've seen where entire large "crops" die because of this even though they were all the same type of BTA, but not "genetically" the same.
2) Separate systems...again with just a few specimens not an issue...but with a larger number being cut you'll find your reef tank will not be happy sharing the same water.
I'm by no means an expert, but I know these are both issues that people have seen and dealt with in the past...from what I've seen and heard I would suggest trying to address them before you get too far involved and risk your investment.
Im with Fragmented Ever 2 months is realistic anything more is murder 
. I have tried slicing bigger ones into 4 , medium ones into 2 and have lost maybe one in the past year. I usually keep about 20 in a 55 gallon tank and over rated skimmer. This year i plan to seperate the tanks and shoot to separate it from my other systems and run nitrates higher. I feed mine about every 2 days with squid strips and brine and every now and then shrimp pieces. I can say ive split some in quite a few tanks and have never seen them at the point where i would cut them in less than 2 months. To make it rich on them it may be possible but not as high or as easy as Calfo would make it seem. Dont get me wrong he has great ideas and maybe it can be done but not by any means ive tried. Anyone else had luck? Green house may be the ticket but i will say i have some friends with green houses that grow and supply coral on the east coast and they cant do no better than me as of yet
. I have tried slicing bigger ones into 4 , medium ones into 2 and have lost maybe one in the past year. I usually keep about 20 in a 55 gallon tank and over rated skimmer. This year i plan to seperate the tanks and shoot to separate it from my other systems and run nitrates higher. I feed mine about every 2 days with squid strips and brine and every now and then shrimp pieces. I can say ive split some in quite a few tanks and have never seen them at the point where i would cut them in less than 2 months. To make it rich on them it may be possible but not as high or as easy as Calfo would make it seem. Dont get me wrong he has great ideas and maybe it can be done but not by any means ive tried. Anyone else had luck? Green house may be the ticket but i will say i have some friends with green houses that grow and supply coral on the east coast and they cant do no better than me as of yet 
erics3000
Active member
HAHAHHAHAH..I don't think no one go that. Was it internal flash or a pcmcia flash card? hahahh
FINNNAAAAAAALLLLLYYY!!!!
Somebody got it!
I thought the Cisco006 would get it but did not get a word about it.
erics3000, love your humour!
Well there are still some "old" Cisco kit out there... :celeb1:
Back on track!
Anemones are doing well, It has been a slow process. While some of the anemones have grown very well and split naturally a few times, others have withered away. I think that starting with so many different anemones has been both a blessing and a nightmare. A blessing because I have been able to pick which are the fastest growing, hardiest, and most beautiful. A nightmare, because I have had to get a rid of quite a few anemones.
I have cut some anemones also, some respond better than others, none of the cut specimens have died. I think that a clean well placed cut is crucial for success, but I have noticed that the naturally split anemones fair much better than the cut anemones. I accidentally had 2 anemones go through some rain gutter material, and that event produced a great split, I will be attempting to replicate this and I would like to use this as my propagation method in the future.
I am now 6 months into it RBTA propagating, I started with 8 anemones. 2 died, 3 were ugly, and Im left with 3 anemones, that have turned into 15 anemones over the course of the 6 months. Most of the clones are natural splits. I can already split most of the 15 anemones that I am left with, but I am focusing on growing them out at this point. Large anemones make for large clones, and large anemones are much easier to sell for good money, than tiny ones.
From my research in S.Florida, Local Fish Stores will pay anywhere from $20 to $50 for an anemone, and that price varies with size and color. A large vibrant anemone will fetch $50, and a small dull colored anemone will fetch much less, and will be more difficult to sell. A Local fish store will only buy a small amount, say 5 anemones, so to sell at this price level, you will have to sell to many stores to make any decent money. I contacted a wholesaler who said they pay anywhere from $5 to $20 for anemones. They will buy several hundred from you and they will pay for the shipping, but the price they pay is a severe downgrade from what the retailers will pay. Mind you, they will pay $20 for huge premium anemones only. For average 4" anemones you will be lucky to get $10.
If you are debating whether to setup a RBTA propagation system, please don't do it for the money! You and your family will starve way before you ever get a penny back. There are alot better business opportunities out there than coral propagation. Unfortunately, wild harvesting will keep the prices of aquaculture products down. I also want to inform you guys that its not as easy as some forum authors make it sound. Most first timers will not see the growth and success rates that are preached on some forums. I am not trying to discredit any of the information that has been very graciously given by experts in the field, the information I have found online has proved invaluable for me, but I do have a few suggestions.
Some of the threads suggest that you can get away with T8 lighting from Home Depot.... I dont think so. There still anemones and they love light.. I would recommend MH lighting, either several 150 watts or even 250 for some setups.
Another Suggestion of mine, would be to take into account a substrate for the anemones. Bubble Tips love to latch on to rocks and overhangs and extend themselves out into the light.... It is very important that you give the anemone the ability to control its light intake. rocks are a bad Idea, because it is very difficult to get them off without damaging them. I have experimented with 1.5inch PVC 90degree elbows. I just threw like 50 of them into my rubbermaid 50 gallon stock tank. I don't think it's the perfect solution, but much better than putting nothing. I welcome suggestions.
Plan on spending atleast a year, if not more on developing your stock, you need to get to a large number of healthy reproducing anemones before you can even consider selling one. If you sell one too early, you are missing out on the exponential growth of an anemone farm.
thats my update, let me know if you guys have any thoughts or suggestions.
Cisco
I have cut some anemones also, some respond better than others, none of the cut specimens have died. I think that a clean well placed cut is crucial for success, but I have noticed that the naturally split anemones fair much better than the cut anemones. I accidentally had 2 anemones go through some rain gutter material, and that event produced a great split, I will be attempting to replicate this and I would like to use this as my propagation method in the future.
I am now 6 months into it RBTA propagating, I started with 8 anemones. 2 died, 3 were ugly, and Im left with 3 anemones, that have turned into 15 anemones over the course of the 6 months. Most of the clones are natural splits. I can already split most of the 15 anemones that I am left with, but I am focusing on growing them out at this point. Large anemones make for large clones, and large anemones are much easier to sell for good money, than tiny ones.
From my research in S.Florida, Local Fish Stores will pay anywhere from $20 to $50 for an anemone, and that price varies with size and color. A large vibrant anemone will fetch $50, and a small dull colored anemone will fetch much less, and will be more difficult to sell. A Local fish store will only buy a small amount, say 5 anemones, so to sell at this price level, you will have to sell to many stores to make any decent money. I contacted a wholesaler who said they pay anywhere from $5 to $20 for anemones. They will buy several hundred from you and they will pay for the shipping, but the price they pay is a severe downgrade from what the retailers will pay. Mind you, they will pay $20 for huge premium anemones only. For average 4" anemones you will be lucky to get $10.
If you are debating whether to setup a RBTA propagation system, please don't do it for the money! You and your family will starve way before you ever get a penny back. There are alot better business opportunities out there than coral propagation. Unfortunately, wild harvesting will keep the prices of aquaculture products down. I also want to inform you guys that its not as easy as some forum authors make it sound. Most first timers will not see the growth and success rates that are preached on some forums. I am not trying to discredit any of the information that has been very graciously given by experts in the field, the information I have found online has proved invaluable for me, but I do have a few suggestions.
Some of the threads suggest that you can get away with T8 lighting from Home Depot.... I dont think so. There still anemones and they love light.. I would recommend MH lighting, either several 150 watts or even 250 for some setups.
Another Suggestion of mine, would be to take into account a substrate for the anemones. Bubble Tips love to latch on to rocks and overhangs and extend themselves out into the light.... It is very important that you give the anemone the ability to control its light intake. rocks are a bad Idea, because it is very difficult to get them off without damaging them. I have experimented with 1.5inch PVC 90degree elbows. I just threw like 50 of them into my rubbermaid 50 gallon stock tank. I don't think it's the perfect solution, but much better than putting nothing. I welcome suggestions.
Plan on spending atleast a year, if not more on developing your stock, you need to get to a large number of healthy reproducing anemones before you can even consider selling one. If you sell one too early, you are missing out on the exponential growth of an anemone farm.
thats my update, let me know if you guys have any thoughts or suggestions.
Cisco
ls7corvete
New member
THanks for the update. Is your current setup the same as before? What are you spending in food?
reefer31
New member
I have to chime in here from my own experience with my own RBTA farm. 
I have had my anemones in my 30 gallon or so tank with 4-40w t12 bulbs from HD since January. I have been feeding heavily and I believe that these bulbs can work.
However, I recently as of today put 2-t5 bulbs over the tank. I believe the color was not that great on my anemones and the healing process was a bit slow, which is a product of lower light I believe. So that is why I decided to put more light on the tank. Hopefully I will have some updates for you guys to kind of compare the growth/health of the anemones from t12 bulbs to t5 bulbs.
And excellent job Cisco! I applaud your efforts in propagating these wonderful creatures. BTW if you could PM the name of the wholesaler you contacted because the ones I have tried to contact dont give me the time of day.
Ian
I have had my anemones in my 30 gallon or so tank with 4-40w t12 bulbs from HD since January. I have been feeding heavily and I believe that these bulbs can work.
However, I recently as of today put 2-t5 bulbs over the tank. I believe the color was not that great on my anemones and the healing process was a bit slow, which is a product of lower light I believe. So that is why I decided to put more light on the tank. Hopefully I will have some updates for you guys to kind of compare the growth/health of the anemones from t12 bulbs to t5 bulbs.
And excellent job Cisco! I applaud your efforts in propagating these wonderful creatures. BTW if you could PM the name of the wholesaler you contacted because the ones I have tried to contact dont give me the time of day.
Ian
reefer31
New member
Totally agree with what has been said. I was really enthusiastic with my anemones growing so fast and making tons of money but its taking a long time to get there. You need a ton of patience and lots of time to get the anemones up to where they need to be before they split.
Ian
reefer31,
To tell you the truth, I dont remember the name of the wholesaler, but I think its all in the approach, don't let them know right off the back that you are a home grower. Its not that they wont deal with home growers, its just that most home growers who call them are rookies in the business, so they are weary. You need to let them know that you can be a reliable and viable supplier. I would not bother calling unless you are ready to sell them at least 50 anemones.
As for your home depot T12 experiment, I think you just proved my point... the home depot lights werent enough, thats why you upgraded to T5's, and my suggestion is if you stick with it, you may wanna give MH a try. Thanks for your kind words and Good Luck.
cisco
To tell you the truth, I dont remember the name of the wholesaler, but I think its all in the approach, don't let them know right off the back that you are a home grower. Its not that they wont deal with home growers, its just that most home growers who call them are rookies in the business, so they are weary. You need to let them know that you can be a reliable and viable supplier. I would not bother calling unless you are ready to sell them at least 50 anemones.
As for your home depot T12 experiment, I think you just proved my point... the home depot lights werent enough, thats why you upgraded to T5's, and my suggestion is if you stick with it, you may wanna give MH a try. Thanks for your kind words and Good Luck.
cisco
LS7 Corvette,
Setup is pretty much the same except that I added another 150 watt MH, for a total of 2x150watt 14k bulbs over a 50 gallon rubbermaid stock tank. I feed frozen krill, and compared to the rest of my reef spending, feeding them is almost an insignificant cost. I do use lots of selcon, and that stuff is kind of pricey. In six months, I have bought 2 boxes of frozen krill (there's alot of shrimp in a box) and 3 small bottles of Selcon... about $50 in total.
Cisco
Setup is pretty much the same except that I added another 150 watt MH, for a total of 2x150watt 14k bulbs over a 50 gallon rubbermaid stock tank. I feed frozen krill, and compared to the rest of my reef spending, feeding them is almost an insignificant cost. I do use lots of selcon, and that stuff is kind of pricey. In six months, I have bought 2 boxes of frozen krill (there's alot of shrimp in a box) and 3 small bottles of Selcon... about $50 in total.
Cisco
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