Carpet question.

[matty0206]

So I recently acquired a very nice and very large green haddoni carpet, it has been doing well and eats anything I feed it. The question I have is does it look healthy? The reason I ask is, it seems to be very expanded and not ruffled on the edges like I see many carpets look. I have noticed that my 2 BTA's are very expanded and do not bubble at all also. I am kinda wondering if I am giving them enough light? The tank is a 40 breeder and I am using a Maxspect razor 160w at 65% on channel a (white) and 100% on channel b (blue) and it is hung at 10" above the water. My water stays pretty perfect and I run an over sized skimmer and a reactor with gfo and carbon and another with biopellets, I have had a real issue with my dry rock leaching phosphates is the reason I run all of that. I will say that I have thin sand bed but the guy I got it from had very little sand also and said it always did well. It's foot is under the rock work and it is attached to the glass underneath. Here are some pictures:



This is when I first brought it home:


Thank you for any help.

 

[Daniel62]

Hi,
I also run the 160's and also at abouth the same %, but mine are only about 7 inches off the water, 17" to the top of the sandbed. I also run a 4-6" sand bed.

In some of your pictures, your nem looks a little thin in regards to tentecal spacing. How often are you feeding him? Also some people say you can mix species and some people say you can't. I have only haddoni & maxi mini in my tank, my bta are in another tank. As for bubbling sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. No one really knows what causes them to bubble.

I love these big Nems, good luck with your's

 

[matty0206]

I feed it just about daily with a small amount of rods food. It is very sticky and folds in quickly when food is on it.
On a side not I noticed last night that it started to fold in on the edges a bit before lights out. When I got up this morning it is completely sucked into the cave where it's foot is. It's mouth is puffed out but not gaping. Might be nothing but this is the first time it has done this.
Does anyone know if the 2 bta's and 3 mini carpets can cause issues for it? I read some threads that say you shouldn't mix species but the tank this carpet came from had several bta's and a few mini carpets so I figured it would be ok.

 

[cichlidconvert]

I was surprised you had bta's in the tank. Haddoni and bta don't typically play well together. I would separate to a different system if possible. Because your haddoni looks stressed and I bet that's at least part of the problem.

 

[matty0206]

I was surprised you had bta's in the tank. Haddoni and bta don't typically play well together. I would separate to a different system if possible. Because your haddoni looks stressed and I bet that's at least part of the problem.

What makes it looks stressed? I am honestly asking.

 

[cichlidconvert]

The open mouth in the last pic and tentacle spacing. And if it's pulled into a cave. It doesn't look sick or anything terrible really. But allelopathy works in subtle ways. If it seems healthy though then maybe Im wrong. I hope it works really I'd love nothing more than a multi-species nem tank. I have a temperate one like that but I'd love carpets LTA, BTA, mags, and rock flowers! Lol

 

[matty0206]

The open mouth in the last pic and tentacle spacing. And if it's pulled into a cave. It doesn't look sick or anything terrible really. But allelopathy works in subtle ways. If it seems healthy though then maybe Im wrong. I hope it works really I'd love nothing more than a multi-species nem tank. I have a temperate one like that but I'd love carpets LTA, BTA, mags, and rock flowers! Lol

Oh ok I see. Yeah that last pic was when I first brought it home after being in a bag for a bit. The first pic is about a month later I would say. I really hope I can make this work but I suspect that I may have issues. From the reading I have been doing this morning it seems they will fight which I never knew. I am now wondering if my maxi mini's are the reason my BTA's have never looked great, they seem healthy but always seem to deflate and be stringy.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

things look fine to me

things look fine to me

a big piece of raw shrimp should help fatten up the Haddon's

 

[cichlidconvert]

I imagine the culprit is your haddoni. IME and from what I've seen mini-maxis are pretty neutral. But haddoni are very aggressive and battle most nems. But man I love them

 

[matty0206]

Well I think I figured out what has my Hadonni all ****ed off. Now that my lights are on and I am able to see better I notice that my rose BTA split sometime last night. It is not all the way separated but it's getting there. Would that be releasing more of whatever it releases that they fight with during a split?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

definitely maybe