Blue Gigantea - New Introduction (Wish me luck)

[DP Reef]

I thought I would track my new carpet anemone introduction on RC and solicit advice from other reefers to ensure the best chance for success.

The blue Gigantea Anemone is in a 50g with 20g sump. He was held at the LFS for past 5 weeks and was reported to be in good health (not deflating/inflating). The LFS had cipro, but I don't think he used it. I took the anemone along with the rock it was on to minimize disturbance. Dripped for 2-3 hours yesterday and did transfer with no air exposure.

Tank Stats (Apex tracked):
~1 year old Tank
Alk Steady last month 8.5-9.0
PH Steady last month 8.2-8.3
Salinity Steady last month 34.5-35ppm
RLSS R6 Skimmer (Slightly Wet Skim mate), Chaeto (reverse cycle)
Carbon and GFO last changed last week. Had a BTA but was removed 1 month ago.
2 x Radion Pro
2 x MP10

I currently have 1 Radion pro on the left @50% (normal setting) while the other I reduced to 20% max intensity (above anemone).

MP10's are scaled down to 20% Left, 5% right (Anti Sync, Reefcrest with 1 hour pulse a day). Should I go higher or let the gig settle in for more than a day.

 

[DP Reef]

First time I've seen it this small. Is this overly deflated? He's been this way for last hour.

 

[OrionN]

He is not deflating. Just getting use to new condition

 

[worm5406]

How is it now?

 

[flakey]

thats really nice. best of luck

 

[hecdr34]

Very nice. Good luck

 

[OrionN]

The last pictures you have, the anemone is contracted. Often they do this when disturbed or when settle into a new tank. As long as they don't continue to do this you are fine. If this is a recurrent event, I would consider treating him.
Make sure your tank condition is up to par, which it should be seeing the tank's picture. They are very sensitive to pH changes so watch your Kalk dosing.

If he does well, he will move. Unlike Magnifica, Gigantea do not like to stay on top of a rock. They often hid their foot in a crevice or at the very least, attach on the side of the rock. When he does this you may have to move the rock a little. Your tank is full. He will kill all the coral he come in contact with.

 

[DP Reef]

I decided to shift some sand near him and kicked up a small cloud. This contraction happened about 5-10 minutes after the cloud so maybe it was connected. The LFS said the anemone did the same thing when he first arrived at their store but did not do it again. He was contracted like that until at least 8PM (3 hours). I went to sleep so I don't know how long he stayed that way. This morning he was fully open as if nothing happened.

Maybe it was the cloud/sand/dust. I am getting conflicting information if I should start with low light settings and ramp up slowly or not. I've noticed people are doing different things for haddoni's and gigs, but could not find any consensus on "best" way to acclimate a gig.

Any thoughts on the light/flow?

 

[DP Reef]

Thanks for the advice on him moving. He had stayed on the top of that rock at the LFS for over a week so I sort of assumed he was happy sitting on top of it. Probably a poor assumption... Hopefully he gets off of it and I can remove it out of my tank.

I cleared out the right side of the tank to allow some movement and getting an IP camera to watch him while I am at work. Hopefully he doesn't make a run for the left side of the tank!

 

[OrionN]

I would start light at about the same level at the LFS and increase from there. For healthy Gig, sudden increase in light should cause no problem. Flow Moderate to high. They tend to like high flow. Will move if there is too much or too little.

 

[DP Reef]

Ok. I was just worried that I have Radion Pro's and that he was sitting "under" a metal halide for the last month. Part of me was worried about the spectrum change/light difference. Glad to hear a healthy one is not too sensitive to light.

He was under a metal halide about 3' above it and a few feet off center. A few clams were large and healthy ~2.5 feet over directly under the metal halide

If I go straight to my normal light setting (50%), how do i know if I blasted him with too much light?

 

[OrionN]

2 Radion pro for a 50 g is a lot of light. If he is under 250 W MH off center, 3 foot away, is not any where near your Radion Pro then I think 50% of your light on his side would be fine. slowly increase the light and he will really color up and really stay blue.
He looks great, good luck with him.

 

[DP Reef]

He was in a shallow tank where he could almost touch the surface of the water. The first picture I've attached is him in that tank.

I had a maxspect 27" that didn't have good spread on it being mounted on the tank stands provided so was going to pick up 2 Radion's (so i could also upgrade my tank next year) and got a good deal on 2 pro's.

Next 4 shots are today Feb 3 at 2PM, 4PM, 5PM, and 6PM. Got a ip camera today so I can track if he is inflating/deflating when I am not there. My light currently peaks at around 3PM, holds 3 hours and starts ramping down.

 

[davocean]

Wow does that guy look gorgeous and healthy!

 

[DP Reef]

Thanks davocean.

Another shot today of the mouth. I've not seen an open/gaping mouth. Hopefully he is just a little stressed and gets over it.

 

[Pinkskunk]

hi Dennis

Good luck with that beauty, nice score. have meds and ht on hand "just in case".

i would NOT feed it if i were you.

 

[OrionN]

Very nice. Don't worry too much about the mouth. My Gigantea mouth is open like that for a very long time, even now several years in captivity.
With your bright light, you should be able to keep his bright blue color.
I am in the process of putting a retrofit Radion Pro G3 right on top of my purple to see if I can get some of the color to turn brighter.

 

[marcoral]

Hi
good luck...and so pretty anemone

 

[worm5406]

Any updates today?

 

[D-Nak]

Despite the consensus on this thread that the nem is fine, I have a differing opinion. What concerns me are the photos from 2pm and 4pm. The photos in post #2 also cause concern. I would keep a close eye on it. If it looks like it does in those photos on a consistent basis, you may want to consider treatment. As discussed on other threads, the demise of a gig can take as long as a month, and the signs are not apparent from the onset, and only appear when the nem is already very sick. I know you said the LFS held it for 5 weeks, but can you confirm that length of time? If you can, then I think you don't have to worry as much.

One of my gigs contracted for the first time in many months, but it always appeared to have fully inflated tentacles, it just pulled it body very close so it looked like a piece of purple wall-to-wall carpet. It gradually expanded to normal size.

In your case, in all of the photos I've mentioned, the nem's oral disc appears very flaccid which typically doesn't occur with healthy gigs. Hopefully it's nothing to worry about, and the nem is just doing odd things while acclimating. Good luck!