Reefahholic
New member
First of all, I want to say that he is a dedicated and knowledgeable aquarist who seems to really care for his animals. I have nothing but good things to say about him. He responded very professionally and I have a lot of respect for him.
So here's the email that appears to have been already passed around everywhere:
Jared,
Good evening and I hope this email finds you well. Thank you for taking the time to contact us with questions pertaining to our protocols we have in place to combat infections that affect more delicate anemones we offer in the Divers Den. I understand by reading your threads on RC that you frequently medicate anemones and offer them for sale as well to consumers in Texas. I am glad to hear that you also take proper care and husbandry seriously to reduce the mortality in the trade of delicate Cnidarians such as Stichodactyla gigantea, Heteractis magnifica and others.
One of the moderators was kind enough to post my response back to you and others on RC as I was just going to his "œPost" and the thread was locked. I asked one of the mods to post on my behalf so everyone who frequents RC can read my response, but I wanted to get back to you personally.
At the beginning of this year I set up a specialized, smaller system to house our spawning pair of McCulloch's Clownfish, a Latezonatus pair I have been working with for a few years now, and two Super Premium Bali Aquarich Picasso pairs which we have held onto for quite some time now. This system also houses the more delicate Divers Den anemones we receive from time to time, consisting primarily of Gigantea, Magnifica, Haddoni, and even Mertensii.
Prior to introduction into this specialized system, we treat every single Gigantea, Magnifica, Haddoni, and Mertensii in Ciprofloxacin for seven consecutive days, at a rate of 250mg/10 gallons with a 100% water change performed daily. I personally have found this regiment to be the most effective. The medication starts immediately upon arrival of the said anemones after proper acclimation from overseas exporters, importers, or other suppliers we deal with. After the 7-day treatment, if any of the anemones out of the batch are not in optimum health, we start all over again and continue with the protocol at a higher dose. If the anemone(s) pull through, perfect, if not they are unfortunately destroyed, or perish on their own in a different holding tank(s). We typically hold all of the above mentioned anemones for a minimum of 3 weeks total, oftentimes much longer as I want to only offer them for sale if they are in optimum health.
This protocol has increased our survival rate on these very delicate anemones significantly, and I am kicking myself for not implementing it sooner. Is it perfect, NO, is it the right thing to do for our valued customers and the animals in our care, I feel it is. Obviously, other stressors can play a part in how these anemones fare long-term. From post-harvest handing, export, import, and trying to adapt to suppliers holding systems, Gigantea, Magnifica, Haddoni, and Mertensii can be incredibly sensitive in adapting to changes in their environment. Even after all of our extensive efforts, some anemones never adapt or recover from the final shipping stressor or adjusting to the new environment in hobbyist's aquaria, which is incredibly frustrating to me also.
As a dedicated hobbyist and professional who has worked in the marine ornamentals industry for 30 years now, my goal is to see every single animal we offer in our Divers Den thrive in our valued customers aquaria. I know that is not achievable, but if one sets the bar very high, we can hope to come close and continue to make improvements each day.
Lastly, I would like to personally invite you to Rhinelander Wisconsin to attend one of our Drs. Foster and Smith Aquaculture Coral and Marine Life Facility open house events. We open our doors to the public several times a year so our valued customers and families can see our facility, the amazing animals we are so fortunate to house and care for, and meet and converse with our dedicated staff and myself. Let me know if this can ever be arranged and I will personally show you around and answer any questions you may have.
Please let me know if you have any other questions and I would be more than happy to answer them for you. Like you, we passionate care for the animals we are so fortunate to keep and want to do the best we possibly can to reduce mortality in the trade and ensure hobbyists are as successful as possible with marine aquarium keeping.
Thank you.
Kindest Regards,
Kevin Kohen
So here's the email that appears to have been already passed around everywhere:
Jared,
Good evening and I hope this email finds you well. Thank you for taking the time to contact us with questions pertaining to our protocols we have in place to combat infections that affect more delicate anemones we offer in the Divers Den. I understand by reading your threads on RC that you frequently medicate anemones and offer them for sale as well to consumers in Texas. I am glad to hear that you also take proper care and husbandry seriously to reduce the mortality in the trade of delicate Cnidarians such as Stichodactyla gigantea, Heteractis magnifica and others.
One of the moderators was kind enough to post my response back to you and others on RC as I was just going to his "œPost" and the thread was locked. I asked one of the mods to post on my behalf so everyone who frequents RC can read my response, but I wanted to get back to you personally.
At the beginning of this year I set up a specialized, smaller system to house our spawning pair of McCulloch's Clownfish, a Latezonatus pair I have been working with for a few years now, and two Super Premium Bali Aquarich Picasso pairs which we have held onto for quite some time now. This system also houses the more delicate Divers Den anemones we receive from time to time, consisting primarily of Gigantea, Magnifica, Haddoni, and even Mertensii.
Prior to introduction into this specialized system, we treat every single Gigantea, Magnifica, Haddoni, and Mertensii in Ciprofloxacin for seven consecutive days, at a rate of 250mg/10 gallons with a 100% water change performed daily. I personally have found this regiment to be the most effective. The medication starts immediately upon arrival of the said anemones after proper acclimation from overseas exporters, importers, or other suppliers we deal with. After the 7-day treatment, if any of the anemones out of the batch are not in optimum health, we start all over again and continue with the protocol at a higher dose. If the anemone(s) pull through, perfect, if not they are unfortunately destroyed, or perish on their own in a different holding tank(s). We typically hold all of the above mentioned anemones for a minimum of 3 weeks total, oftentimes much longer as I want to only offer them for sale if they are in optimum health.
This protocol has increased our survival rate on these very delicate anemones significantly, and I am kicking myself for not implementing it sooner. Is it perfect, NO, is it the right thing to do for our valued customers and the animals in our care, I feel it is. Obviously, other stressors can play a part in how these anemones fare long-term. From post-harvest handing, export, import, and trying to adapt to suppliers holding systems, Gigantea, Magnifica, Haddoni, and Mertensii can be incredibly sensitive in adapting to changes in their environment. Even after all of our extensive efforts, some anemones never adapt or recover from the final shipping stressor or adjusting to the new environment in hobbyist's aquaria, which is incredibly frustrating to me also.
As a dedicated hobbyist and professional who has worked in the marine ornamentals industry for 30 years now, my goal is to see every single animal we offer in our Divers Den thrive in our valued customers aquaria. I know that is not achievable, but if one sets the bar very high, we can hope to come close and continue to make improvements each day.
Lastly, I would like to personally invite you to Rhinelander Wisconsin to attend one of our Drs. Foster and Smith Aquaculture Coral and Marine Life Facility open house events. We open our doors to the public several times a year so our valued customers and families can see our facility, the amazing animals we are so fortunate to house and care for, and meet and converse with our dedicated staff and myself. Let me know if this can ever be arranged and I will personally show you around and answer any questions you may have.
Please let me know if you have any other questions and I would be more than happy to answer them for you. Like you, we passionate care for the animals we are so fortunate to keep and want to do the best we possibly can to reduce mortality in the trade and ensure hobbyists are as successful as possible with marine aquarium keeping.
Thank you.
Kindest Regards,
Kevin Kohen
