Carpet anenome ID and current health status

[chasedasea]

Hi everyone, I purchased a carpet anenome two days ago and would like to know the proper name. He is over 18 inches across when fully inflated so I assume he is of the giant variety. He has a slight turquise tint that may not show on the photo's.

I will admit it was an impulse buy, I was attempting to buy a bubble anenome but the LFS offered the carpet nem to me for about $50 and really wanted it out of the store so they could use the space for coral frags.

I have been in the reef aquarium hobby since 2001 and this is my first purchase in a few years as all of my current corals and creatures have been thriving and growing.

Please take a look at the photos I attached and let me know if you know the name and whether the nem looks healthy or not.

Thank you in advance and I am fully aware of the cons of having a carpet anenome but any advice will be appreciated. I will add more info when I have completed my water tests.

Forgot to add that I do not use sand as a substrate which I know is not ideal for this nem but I may add some to a tupperware and see if the nem would like that.

 

[chasedasea]

Here is another photo of the nems mouth, is this considered closed? Most photo's I have seen the mouth is circular when closed. Also is this considered deflated?

 

[nikon187]

looks like a gigantea anemone. They are one of the more difficult anemones to care for and need high lighting, water flow and near perfect water quality.

 

[OrionN]

That is a S. gigantea. it doesn't seem to be too healthy. If it deflates off and on, then it is a gonener and will not survide. They are very difficult to get healthy and they are the most difficult anemone to keep in captivity IMO

 

[bues0022]

I don't know much about gigs, why do you say it's unhealthy?

 

[chasedasea]

Thanks for the replies.

These pics were taken about an hour after lights went on this morning and after it ate a small chunk of sardine. Currently it is pooping brown bits and it pooped a little yesterday as well. It has only once fully deflated and that was yesterday right after it pooped and it then fully inflated about an hour later.

Do they usually have a rough period after being introduced to a new tank?

 

[chasedasea]

I don't know much about gigs, why do you say it's unhealthy?

Are you asking me? If so I really don't know what a healthy one should look like other than a tight mouth. The one I have is pretty large and it's mouth seems off to me. I have no idea about the body of the nem, that looks okay to me.

 

[bues0022]

I was asking OrionN about the health.

What I saw is in general about anemones: That sardine was raw, right? Nems seem to prefer smaller ground-up chunks of food - it's easier to digest. Think no larger than about pencil eraser size. Also, very frequently, anemones have a "break-in" period where they are adjusting to the tank. Sometimes it's more obvious than others, but I don't think yours looks too bad at all, that's why I was asking my question about apparent health problems.

 

[chasedasea]

I don't know much about gigs, why do you say it's unhealthy?

What I saw is in general about anemones: That sardine was raw, right? Nems seem to prefer smaller ground-up chunks of food - it's easier to digest. Think no larger than about pencil eraser size. Also, very frequently, anemones have a "break-in" period where they are adjusting to the tank. Sometimes it's more obvious than others, but I don't think yours looks too bad at all

Okay, thank you for the info.

Yes it was a raw thawed out chunk of sardine about the size of an eraser, I will feed it more after it finishes digesting the last bit and I will also do even smaller chunks. The LFS said bits about the size of the mouth but that would be about the size of a strawberry or small apricot, lol.

 

[TDesaulniers]

I don't know much about gigs, why do you say it's unhealthy?

You can tell by the tentacle length and width. The tentacles are smaller indicating a starved/unhealthy Gigantea. A healthy Gigantea should have much fuller tentacles and the mouth in the center of the oral disc should not be protruding as much as the Gigantea in the pictures.

 

[chasedasea]

The tentacles are smaller indicating a starved/unhealthy Gigantea. A healthy Gigantea should have much fuller tentacles and the mouth in the center of the oral disc should not be protruding as much as the Gigantea in the pictures.

Thank you, should I begin feeding it a few times a day or once a day? Today is the first day it took any food since I brought it home Wednesday. My nem just took five more pieces of sardine. Also what does a protuding mouth mean on a Gigantea? I noticed that the tenticles are a bit more stringy than they were at the LFS. I do have MH, I will find the ratings when I do my water test later.

 

[chasedasea]

Water parameters

Water parameters

Water parameters -
Specific gravity: 1.027
Temp: 80' F
pH: 8.3
Alkalinity: 10.5 dkh
Ammonia: 0 undetectable
Nitrite: > 0.1 undetectable
Nitrate: > 5 undetectable
Calcium: 450

I do not test for anything else because I do not add supplements to my tank.

Equipment -
90 gallons with 80-90 lbs of live rock and shells as substrate
Three Koralia jets: two pointed at anenome
Outer Orbit 2 x 150W HQI with lunar lights, running 2 10,000K compact flo and 2 actnic with two 20000K MH.
Fluval 405 canister filter
Remora hang-on protein skimmer

Please advise on what else I should test for specific to this anenome and what results are unadvisable for the nem. Also equipment specific to caring for this anenome would be helpful as well. Thanks again.

 

[Guy340]

Good luck with the nem. They're hard to keep, but if you can make them healthy, they're beautiful.