Carpet ID

[sdunkin]

I picked up this Carpet Anemone from the LFS today, and I'm curious to know what species it is. Also, does it look okay? It is extremely "sticky" and has had a closed mouth ever since acclimation. Pictures were taken about 6 hours after being added to the tank.

The clowns getting in the way

 

[elegance coral]

That's an Atlantic carpet. Flush it.

 

[traveller7]

Looks like S. helianthus to me as well. Porcelain crabs, and Carib anemone shrimp like them

 

[sdunkin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13446872#post13446872 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by elegance coral
That's an Atlantic carpet. Flush it.

Why should I flush it? I'm not against doing so, I just would like to know the reasoning behind it.

 

[sdunkin]

Sorry, just googled it. It will be returned to the LFS. Thanks for the help.

 

[tufacody]

DANG EC! Do not flush this beautiful animal. Why do people think that they can just deal with their mistakes through the toilet bowl? Please, either return it to the LFS or provide an adequate home for it. You bought it w/o doing the research, and as an animal owner you have a responsiblility to it.

 

[sdunkin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13448718#post13448718 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tufacody
DANG EC! Do not flush this beautiful animal. Why do people think that they can just deal with their mistakes through the toilet bowl? Please, either return it to the LFS or provide an adequate home for it. You bought it w/o doing the research, and as an animal owner you have a responsiblility to it.

I said previously that it will be returned to the LFS. It will not just be "disposed of". The tank that it was in had multiple small false percs in it that were in the anemone, so I assumed that it was a host species. It was not just bought on a whim.

Out of curiosity, if this species is so aggressive how were the little clowns able to survive after being stung by it? Their were 4+ clowns in it that I saw, and they all seemed fine.

 

[traveller7]

While not a natural host, quite a few clowns will tolerate them and call them home.

If it is S. helianthus, I like them. Great for Carib biotopes. Then can be fish eaters though.

fwiw: Small carpets can be tough to ID, if you want to be closer to 100% certain, post a picture of the column, especially the underside of the oral disk.

 

[sdunkin]

Here are the best pics I could get of the column and the underside of the oral disc.

 

[JJFly]

These are "known" fish eaters because of their potent sting/stickyness. Having said that, most clowns will adjust to them if they are allowed to introduce themselves slowly. They build an immunity to them. I have personally seen several people with Clarkii in their "Atlantic Carpet." This species is not any worse then the Cryptodendrum adhaesivum aka: "Pizza" carpet. Don't take it back just yet, give the clowns a little time and see if they adjust to it. It is a beautiful specimen.

 

[traveller7]

Pics would seem to confirm S. helianthus; common names Atlantic Carpet and Sun Anemone.

 

[Heterodonut]

Take the nem back to the lfs and get those gorgeous clowns a healthy sebae if you can find one. How long have you had the clowns and where did you get them? They are awesome!!!

 

[elegance coral]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13448718#post13448718 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tufacody
DANG EC! Do not flush this beautiful animal. Why do people think that they can just deal with their mistakes through the toilet bowl? Please, either return it to the LFS or provide an adequate home for it. You bought it w/o doing the research, and as an animal owner you have a responsiblility to it.

I don't want to sound harsh, but it's my opinion that the anemone should be disposed of, or placed in a species tank, if possible. The OP made the same mistake that many many many other people have made. Returning it to the LFS will just continue this cycle. Very few people that know what this animal is would buy it. That leaves the unsuspecting hobbyist to purchase it and have it kill their animals. If everyone kept returning it to the LFS after it killed their animals, what would the death toll be before someone euthanized it? I understand that the Idea of killing one of the animals we keep is horrible, but what are the alternatives? Most people can't go out and spend a couple hundred bucks to set up a species tank for a 5 dollar anemone. Turning an animal like this lose on unsuspecting hobbyists and their livestock isn't right. Euthanizing it is the least of two evils in my opinion.

I personally don't think these anemones should be collected, or at least not in the numbers that they are. They are only suitable for a species tank, and there are very few people willing to set up a species tank for one of these animals.

 

[tufacody]

The best way to stop the import of these critters is to either not buy it or return it. Buying it and flushing it will just cause the LFS to order more.

I respect your opinion on the care of these critters immensely EC, but its my humble opinion that our care should not extend to only those animals which we deem "appropriate", and that this philosophy should extend not only to our tanks but to the wild as well. Disposing of an animal because it is doing what nature intended it to do doesn't seem right to me.

That's all I'll say on this. To each his own, thats just how I feel about it.

 

[wicked_NaCl_h2o]

Lots of crabs, shrimp and fish associate with this anemone. If I had this anemone and I was going to keep it. I think it would look cool to put a few caribbean anemone shrimp or porcelain crabs with it. Condys have been known to be fish killers too but they are still welcomed to a lot of aquariums.

 

[rkelman]

It is absolutely a Atlantic or Sun Anemone. Nasty stingers. They aren't just fish eaters they are way nastier than a Condy or a Haddoni. I'd give the LFS a piece of my mind for not knowing what the heck they are doing / selling people and get my money back. They should not be selling them. I agree also they should not be collected to begin with unless they are going in a species tank.

 

[sdunkin]

The nem was has been returned to the LFS.

Heterodonut- Thanks! I've had the clowns for about 7 months, and I got them from the LFS.