Does purple Veracue mean its a purple gig

JasonD

Active member
My local fish store got in about six 'purple giganteas' yesterday and called me in. He claims they are purple Giganteas because the Veracue are purple. Couldn't resist purchased one for a reasonable price.

Heres a picture of the ones he had

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127487542@N07/sets/72157646817521420/

I'm not treating this specimen just going to see how it does in my tank. More pictures to follow. All the Gigs seem to have purple veracue, and since they are the price of regular gigs from live aquaria decided just to try. All the mouths were nice and tight. Put in tank last night did ok, then it skirted between two rocks we will see.

Jason
 
Does purple Veracue mean its a purple gig

My local fish store got in about six 'purple giganteas' yesterday and called me in. He claims they are purple Giganteas because the Veracue are purple. Couldn't resist purchased one for a reasonable price.



Heres a picture of the ones he had



72157646817521420




I'm not treating this specimen just going to see how it does in my tank. More pictures to follow. All the Gigs seem to have purple veracue, and since they are the price of regular gigs from live aquaria decided just to try. All the mouths were nice and tight. Put in tank last night did ok, then it skirted between two rocks we will see.



Jason
Photo doesn't show.
 
My green multicolor has very noticeable purple verrucae. It is a trait of S.Gigantea to have purple verrucae, but their color is independent from their tentacles.
 
People have been asking me what store its:

Reef Dreams in Pacific Beach. The owners name is Derek very nice reasonable guy.

his number 858 886 9069. He responds to text as well as calls.

He claims he can get red haddonis also, says he has a diver which he communicates directly with. If I was in the market I might try to see if he could get me a red haddonis The reds definately arent cheap
 
Good point, and maybe they are too healthy to be a gig. One thing I noticed was that the individual tentacles were vibrating here and there. Also they did have the veracue. Hmmm we'll se how it does in the tank
 
Good point, and maybe they are too healthy to be a gig. One thing I noticed was that the individual tentacles were vibrating here and there. Also they did have the veracue. Hmmm we'll se how it does in the tank


I agree with CoralsAddiction, tentacles look very round and the verrucae seem irregularly placed. On Gigs they tend to be in regular rows and roundish.

Can you post more pics from your own tank, possibly without blue light?
That way we can positively ID.
 
I agree with CoralsAddiction, tentacles look very round and the verrucae seem irregularly placed. On Gigs they tend to be in regular rows and roundish.



Can you post more pics from your own tank, possibly without blue light?

That way we can positively ID.
I sure would love to take credit for insightful posts but that wasn't me. Lol. It was addicted reefer 😀
 
These look like the beige gigantea that have been in abundance lately, though it's very difficult to tell under actinic light. They should definitely not be called purple gigs just based on verrucae color.

If the verrucae are purple then it points to gigantea rather than helianthus. All of the helianthus I've seen have brownish-orange verrucae. Regarding tentacle length, the photos appear to show what I would consider to be standard tentacle length of an acclimating gig (short and stubby, almost haddoni-like). The tentacle pattern would also indicate gigantea, which is more of a random placement, sometimes in rows of three, radiating out from the mouth (think rays of sun). Helianthus have a more uniform pattern.

If the cost is around the same as a gig that you can purchase from LA (versus LA DD) then this also puts them in line with other gigs that can be found occasionally at places like Blue Zoo and Petco.

If the mouth stays tight and it doesn't deflate I think it'll be fine. Good luck!
 
My local fish store got in about six 'purple giganteas' yesterday and called me in. He claims they are purple Giganteas because the Veracue are purple. Couldn't resist purchased one for a reasonable price.

Heres a picture of the ones he had

https://www.flickr.com/photos/127487542@N07/sets/72157646817521420/

I'm not treating this specimen just going to see how it does in my tank. More pictures to follow. All the Gigs seem to have purple veracue, and since they are the price of regular gigs from live aquaria decided just to try. All the mouths were nice and tight. Put in tank last night did ok, then it skirted between two rocks we will see.

Jason
No. My green Gigantea have purple veracue.
 
There is that huge purple Gig. Then there is a smaller Gig that will likely color up but will not be Purple.
Got it? :)
 
Ok cool Derek told me the yellow gig was purple, it looked purple under actinics. Ol well price was reasonable, not as cheap as petco though.
 
It looks really good in your tank, especially for being a new addition. Your purple gig is a monster! Congrats!
 
Thanks d-nak

The purple Gig was raised by a fellow reefer and over grew his tank, he basically takes up half my tank. Told Derek wanted another and he said he could get me another one. What blew me away is that he got six of them and all healthy. For the price he was charging I figured worth the risk. I almost didn't do it, but I'm glad I did

Happiness is having one Gig in your tank, so I figured two would be bliss.
 
JasonD,
I am not anywhere near as fearless as you. I would not have added that second Gig to my tank unless I QT him. I guess once I was burned, I am afraid of fire.
 
JasonD,
I am not anywhere near as fearless as you. I would not have added that second Gig to my tank unless I QT him. I guess once I was burned, I am afraid of fire.

I have to agree with Minh. You have such a beautiful huge purple gig, I would be paranoid to introduce anything in my tank without prior qt and further observation ;)

That new gig looks healthy.
 
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