Existing Mixing Nem question

[Conrad25]

Hello, been a long time since I have had to post a question, but in need of answers from the experienced:dance:.

I have had a Purple S. Gigantea since October 2010 and have had a Purple/green tipped H. Mag nem since March 2011. I have since moved into a house late last year and have adding more and more volume to my tank. I currently have a 75G Display tank with a 55G sump and a 50G sump down in my basement. I am running bio pellets,a skimmer and carbon off and on. Also have cheato growing very well in the refuge. Also running LED pendants over the tank.

Now off to the questions since you know a little about my system.

My H. mag nem has had shorter tentacles since I have had him. I have never seen him with nice longer ones. He has colored up big time though since I have had him and gotten sticky. So i'm wondering if anyone thinks this may be some kind of a chemical warefare deal between the nems as my S. Gig seems perfectly fine always and huge. They also both eat regularly.

I'm going to be adding a new 2nd display tank which will be a 27G cube and was going to put the H. Mag nem in it. Now I'm wondering though if I should keep the systems seperate or put it all together. I would like to throw them all on one system for convience and electrical savings. but if it would benefit way more for the H. Mag, than I will make a seperate sump for him and run everything seperated.:bounce3:

Hope people can chime in here as from what I have read. Usually the chemical warefare equals out to them moving around and never settling in or finding each other and killing which is not what is happening.

Thanks
Conrad

 

[garygb]

As far as H. mags and tentacle length, I believe it is largely genetic. I have a purple based H. mag under the same light as a reddish based, and the purple based mag always has shorter tentacles compared to the reddish based. As far as mixing those two species, I know some have had success, e.g., Elegance Coral. I personally do not have any other species in the system w my mags, so I can't speak from personal experience.

 

[Conrad25]

Well thank you for your insight to someone else having a shorter tentacle H. Mag., Guess I never really seen shorter tentacle ones. Maybe EC can chime in at somepoint. I know they are both happy though eating regularly etc. I wanted to give the nem a clown as I have a 8G biocube that I want to move into the 27G, one evil clown in the tank alone that would love a nem again lol

 

[Conrad25]

Heres the nem I was talking about. Pictures always help

 

[shred5]

As far as H. mags and tentacle length, I believe it is largely genetic. I have a purple based H. mag under the same light as a reddish based, and the purple based mag always has shorter tentacles compared to the reddish based. As far as mixing those two species, I know some have had success, e.g., Elegance Coral. I personally do not have any other species in the system w my mags, so I can't speak from personal experience.

I thought I read they eventually got each other and he found one upside down in the other. I think it was him, He will probably chime in here eventually anyway.

That mag does not look too good in that last pic anyway, it kind of look crumpled. A 75 gallon is pretty tight for two anemones of that size, that Stichodactyla gigantea is huge.. Considering they are on both sides of the tank I think each knows the other is there.

 

[Conrad25]

Yeah I'm not sure what to think. He's always been that way, but than again I have always had the S. Gigantea in the tank with him and the mag has colored up nicely compared to when i first got him and he was pretty bleached out. My gig is def. on the large side. I may just seperate the system for 4-6 months and see how he fairs than. I just don't know exactly what to think, if its some sort of chemical warefare or if its the enviroment itself. But the entire system is doing great and look how they should except for him. He did move down from the lights as he used to be up on the top of the left side rockwork a couple of months ago

 

[phender]

Have you always had that big leather coral as well. IMO, there is something bothering him, but I would look at the leather as the cause before the gigantea.

 

[Conrad25]

Really? The leather could be bothering him... I never even thought that it could be him. I have had that leather since it was a tiny frag the size of a quarter. I wouldn't mind selling that as it really doesn't do anything for me. But I have had it since I started the 20G Hex in 2009

 

[Conrad25]

If I have them in different tanks under the same system, do you think it will travel through the water column if its the leather? I never heard of a leather coral bothering anything.