Bought a stichodactyla gigantea?

[Kiel'thalin]

I purchased a Gigantea from my LFS, well at least I think I did. It is a two tone color Anemone with tentacles longer than the haddoni variety, they had it listed "carpet anemone". Right now it is about 3-4 inches across and likes to be on a rock, at the LFS he was and now at my house he hasn't moved from the rock I placed him on. I kinda wonder if it a Gigantea, I "heard" they are kinda hard to come across? He does look alot like all the gigantea's I see posted and in the FAQ but smaller. I don't have a clear picture of him atm. I will get one posted if I can ever get my digi to focus correctly. Is there anything else I should know to help correctly identify him?

Thanks

 

[WDLV]

I've been keeping an eye out for one for about 9 years without success.
From the size you've described it could be a Corn anemone or possibly a Ritteri. Before jumping to conclusions let's see a pic.

 

[Kiel'thalin]

I will try to get a good pic, the ones I took were all blurry. The coloring looks exactly like one in the FAQ, in matter of fact it looks almost identical in color and how the edges are rolled:

FAQ Picture..................

 

[phender]

If their are blue or purple spots on the underside (verrucae) then it is a gigantea. If there are no spots it is likely haddoni. However, it is not unusual for giganteas to not have spots.
They seem to appear more during certain seasons, summer being one of them. I just saw a ~2" one yesterday at a LFS.

 

[WDLV]

That looks like the classic description of a Gigantea to me. It is definately not a haddoni. The tentacles are too long.

 

[Kiel'thalin]

Yes, it does have the spots on the underside, it was only $35 and the LFS had no clue on what variety the carpet was. They started pulling out books and I showed them the paperwork I brought in since I have been in there a couple times pondering what species it was. I wanted a Gigantea, this one was definatley was not a haddoni, they had one in with this one and it looked totally different. When I got it home I was very surprised, I just thought it was a brownish type with little color. My lights brought it back to life, pretty much resembles the FAQ picture I posted. I fed it a piece of silverside and I think he was hungry because he downed it. I am just so exited with it, hopefully I can get a good pic of him, wish me luck...

 

[WDLV]

Nice find. Good luck.

 

[Kiel'thalin]

Awesome.. My wife just called me and said the clowns (pair of ocellaris) are all about the new anemone. They are rubbing against it, testing it out. Finally, I was wondering about them, they couldn't decide where to go ever since I got them.

 

[Kiel'thalin]

Here is the picture of him, He has stretched out quite a bit and his damaged tenticles seem to be recovering. His color is a bit off in the picture, do you still think this is a gigantea?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Your anemone does not look like a gigantea carpet anemone.

 

[Kiel'thalin]

Well, any suggestions on what it is? He has really stretched out and now that I compare to other pictures I am confused yet again.

When I say stretched out, I mean he has almost doubled in size since I got him.
Another Pic, I would say about 6-7 inches across:

 

[SVXH6]

posta pic of the underside..

 

[Kiel'thalin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7791571#post7791571 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SVXH6
posta pic of the underside..

No need to it is a Sun Anemone (Stichodactyla Helianthus) From the Atlantic. Well, I hope my Clowns stay as a host to him.

 

[Kiel'thalin]

Oh, and thanks for all the help. I just wish it was a Gigantea.

 

[WDLV]

They look very similar. It could go either way. At this point I would ask the LFS that you got it from where the order came from. That will help to nail the ID. It seems they were pretty vague. So it could very well be an Atlantic species.

 

[OrionN]

S. gigantea tentacles is constantly moving, wiggling like worms. I think this characteristic is unique to S. gigantea. Your anemone does not look like S. gigantea. Did your clowns go into it?

 

[phender]

I think your ID of Stichodactyla helianthus is correct. There is not much of a chance of your clowns accepting it as a host. It may even eat your clowns.

 

[Amphiprion]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7793567#post7793567 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by phender
I think your ID of Stichodactyla helianthus is correct. There is not much of a chance of your clowns accepting it as a host. It may even eat your clowns.

I agree. Be very careful--I caught someone at my workplace putting clownfish with this species. One of the clowns was promptly eaten.

 

[Kiel'thalin]

Well, you are right, the clowns stay away now, they got "grabbed" and had to flee. I guess they got stung pretty bad because they had marks where he had a hold of them. It is strange that my Skunk Cleaner Shrimp will not leave its side, he even walks across it without no problems. I did go ahead and take a shot of the underside, still up in the air about it, but I am pretty sure it is the Stichodactyla helianthus:

 

[Flighty]

Great thread, I wasn't familiar with that type of anemone. Still a beautiful specimen. Could make a nice display with some anemone shrimp or crabs.