Carpet Anemone Troubles

@Gary - my apologies. I do not want to start a war. I was speaking specifically in regard to bleached anemones. It is my understanding that care for bleached anemones is different than that of healthy anemones, regardless of species. I have had success with the above mentioned method on 3 species which is why I recommend it. However I have no experience with Gigantea, so if it is your belief that a bleached Gig. should be treated differently then I won't argue. I was hoping you would explain why but that won't be necessary.

@OP - good luck with your anemone. I hope it does well for you.
 
First of all, Happy New Year to all and thank you very much for your comments as they are all appreciated. Reefkeeping in my opinion is a combination of science and art, because if we knew exactly how to care for these, we would never lose any.

Here are some updated pics. Much to my dismay, the anemone seems worse tonight than other nights. He is no longer inflated like other times and it seems like he may be taking a turn for the worse.

smpurpleanemone3.jpg

smpurpleanemone4.jpg

smpurpleanemone5.jpg

Do you think the black clowns are stressing the anemone? should i build a "cage" around the anemone to avoid the clowns adding any stress? I would hate to lose this anemone, so all comments are welcomed.

Thanks

Leo
 
jmo

jmo

I'd remove the clowns- and the clown Trigger!
Don't mess with water parameters now. Get water circulating around the anemone.
 
Everyone has an opinion :) I don't want to ruffle any feathers on this subject but I am with Gary on this one. S. gigantea needs a TON of light. If you have a bleached gigantea way down that deep in your tank, I don't think he will get enough.

In the wild, the DEEPEST this species is typically found is 3' of water. That is one reason why you see very few photos of giganteas in the wild - you generally have to be snorkeling to view them.

Personal opinion. Super bright light & high flow is the key to a happy gigantea.
 
IMO, a bleached Gig, should be shaded. After it recovers blast it with all the light you can give it. I never stated that Gigs don't require a ton of light, but did state that a bleached one should be adjusted to that ton of light.
 
thanks again for all of your comments. i am going to try to build a "cage" for the anemone to keep the clown fishes out.

overall the clown trigger mines his own business and does not really bother the anemone, the clowns on the other hand are on him 24/7. I am not sure if this is wishful thinking on my end, but the anemone does seem to have more color lately. Trust me, I feel like I am grasping at straws here to keep the faith that this guy wil make it through.

As far as lighting goes, given the location of the anemone in the tank, it is definitely not receiving the full brunt of the lighting system. My concern by creating shade is that it will cause the anemone to feel more uncomfortable and start looking for more lighting and thus adding to his stress. When the anemone was placed in the tank he walked around for a bit before he found this spot, so I am assuming he wants to be there because if not he would have kept moving.

Well again thanks for everyone's comments and opinion. I will post some more pics after I make a cage for the anemone to keep the clowns out.
 
Toddrtrex said:
IMO, a bleached Gig, should be shaded. After it recovers blast it with all the light you can give it. I never stated that Gigs don't require a ton of light, but did state that a bleached one should be adjusted to that ton of light.
Click to expand...

+1 word for word my thoughts exactly.
 
From what I have seen and IMO with S. Gigs since jumping on the bandwagon a few months ago is that the more light you give them, the better and his lights are pretty high above the water and its such a deep tank. I would have to say the way his lights are set, he already has some screening on his tank basically due to that. It appears that the gig seems to want to move in the last pictures from what I can tell. Don't be suprised if he starts wandering. I would see if he detached from the glass that you move him up onto the rock work and give him a hole to easily attach too. Also from what I have learned from mine and others. Give it more flow. Flow is huge with gigs and the more they get, the better off they are. I have two K3's and two K Nanos in my tank along with the return. Both of the Nanos are pointed directly at the gig and he loves it

Conrad
 
with the kind of flow this species requires I would think a 'cage' type arrangement that would remain anchored in place would be difficult to come up with.

This anemone requires some TLC in order to acclimate. It's a nice looker and deserves everything you can do for it IMO.
 
This morning he did not look so good, but much to my surprise once the lights came on he started to puff up again. Here are some recent shots of him. I will try to redirect some flow towards him, but since he is at the bottom of the tank, I dont want to kick up the sand, the red coris does that on his own.

smpurpleanemone6.jpg

smpurpleanemone7.jpg

smpurpleanemone8.jpg

do you think i should try to feed him some silver slides (small pieces of course)?
 
Um, I really REALLY am not trying to make a fuss but, looking at the new pics, how can we be sure this ISN'T a Haddoni? It looks pretty similar...
 
If you can tell me some of the differences, I will definitely be glad to look out for them. I have a neon green carpet anemone that I have had for a couple of years and I am not sure what that is either.

I read somewhere that the color of the foot helps determine the species. Both of mine look bluish in color. HTH's.
 
I just added an additional pump pointed at the anemone to add more flow. the only one i had was a k4 pointing at him. i am just hoping its not stressing him out more than i need to.
 
As I understand it, Haddonis don't like flow. So I would say IF its a Haddoni then that would annoy it.
 
I am more inclined to believe that they are gigs. These two anemones appear to me to be very similar and the green one loves the flow. He actually spreads out to get ad much of it as possible.

At this point it's just wait and see. The purple appeared to have enjoyed the extra flow as it opened up and inflated even more. Just worried as he is still not eating and the mouth is loosey goosey.
 
Well the green one definitely is. The only one in question is the purple tipped one. But if you read the link I gave and based on that info you think it is a Gigantea then that settles it.
 
it's obvious from the pictures

it's obvious from the pictures

they are definitely both gigantea.

Don't blast either one with direct water flow- circulate flow around each anemone. Flow type powerheads are a good choice.


I don't like the cage idea.

The Clown Trigger will cause Clownfish to seek protection in the anemone. I suggest moving the trigger or clownfish (or all of them) to another aquarium.
 
The blue anemone is a gigantea, 100% certain.

If you want to see a flow example, check out this video of a large purple gigantea and a surge setup with strong alternating flow. (Sorry about the video quality it is about 8 years old). This anemone was less than 12" below a 175 watt 20K MH. The flow was not blasting directly at it, but horizontally above it. If it wanted more flow, it could extend upwards, and if it wanted less it could pull down. It extended directly up into the flow so the entire body would wave back and forth with the water. This was one extremely healthy gigantea that thrived in these conditions.
 
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