flow for a saddle carpet

[jon1985]

I placed a saddle carpet nem in my tank last night. I dig a hole big enough for its foot in the sand then gently covered the fot with sand, it still floated up out of the sand so I placed a bowl over top of it to prevent the flow from disturbing it. I think it has attatched atleast part of the foot because it no longer floats away, also my nem crab has found it and made its self cozy. My question is how much flow should it get? it is moving very gently, would it be better for it not to move at all?

Also its mouth was closed at the LFS but now it seems to be open. If I place a peice of small shrimp on the carpet it closes around it but wont eat it. Should I be worried or just let it settle in more?

I had it on hold at the LFS for 5 weeks hoping that in that time it would show any shipping or feeding issues in that time and they havent had any issues so I think its healthy.

Thanks for reading the long post.

 

[elegance coral]

With anemones, I believe it is a bad idea to let them sit at the LFS to see if they are healthy, or to recover from shipping stress. Most LFS's are not equiped to deal with all the different needs of the different host anemone species. All of these anemones are stressed from their trip half way around the globe. When they sit in the poor conditions at the LFS, they simply continue to get worse.

Anemones "breath" through their oral disk. Placing a bowl cover on them will basically smother them.

To answer your question. These anemones require suprisingly little flow. If the flow is moving the polyp around, it is probably to strong.

 

[Toddrtrex]

Not much more I can add.

Mine can handle their oral disc being being gently lifted every once in a while, but any more then that -- they are moving.

What are your current parameters ? (( with numbers ))

What lights do you have, and what lights was it under at the LFS? (( if there is a difference, are you acclimating it to the lights? ))

 

[tufacody]

I usually don't disagree with EC, but on this one I do. Healthy nems are much more resilient than they get credit for, whereas sick or dying ones rarely recover. Those first 30 days are crucial. If the nem survives at the LFS your chances of it staying healthy in your tank are greatly increased.

 

[jon1985]

Well truth be told, the owner of the LFS has a lrge reef tank at home that he kept the nem in for me.
To address the bowl it wasnt ight over top of the nem there was about an inch open about half the way around the bowl.
The polps move but very little. I will adjust the flow.
All the reading I have done has confused me about how often I should be feeding. It ranges from daily to 2 or 3 times a month. suggestions?
What about the mouth being open? worry? not worry?

 

[Toddrtrex]

The mouth being open could be a concern, but answering the questions I asked should help determine how much of a concern.

Personally I only feed mine about once every 3 weeks.

 

[jon1985]

lights-4 T5s about 20" away- was under same lights (same fixture same bulbs)
nitrate-2ppm
ammonia-0ppm
ph-8.4
sg-1.025
temp-79f
calcium-390 (water change due tomorrow, usually 425-450)

Thats all I test for right now.

Todd-what do you mean by oral disc lifted?

 

[Toddrtrex]

No offense, but I am going to assume that you don't know what the oral disc is (( just so that you wouldn't have to ask another question )).

The oral disc of an anemone is the main part of the anemone that you see, the tentacles are attached too it. Normally for Haddonis, the oral disc will be laying flat on the sandbed and/or the rock, depending on what part is being moved (( All of my Haddonis attach to the bottom of the tank at the sand/rock interface )). If the flow is too high (( or in the wrong direction )) the disc will start to be lifted off the sandbed/rocks. IME, if that happens too often it will cause the anemone to move. (( "often" really depends on each tank and anemone. ))

 

[jon1985]

ok well right now its not laying flat on the sand but slightly folded. It seems to be fully inflated like when I picked it up (it was stil in the tank when I got there) but folded. It isnt folded because of the flow as its not that strong. Is it just getting settled in?

As for the nem moving, I dont have any coral on or near the sadbed so if it moves thats fine as long as it stays in the light.

I guess Ill give it a few days before I get to worried, the guy was feeding it weekly and it was doing fine so Im sure its just getting settled in.

 

[Toddrtrex]

Depending on how they are situated, they can either have folds, flat, or a combo of both --- I haven't seen that being any indication of health one way or the other.

Were you able to pick it up with your bare hands without it sticking like Velcro to your hands ?

 

[jon1985]

Well I used gloves when handling it to try and prevent any oils off my hand transfering but yes it stuck to the gloves. It wasnt so sticky that I couldnt remove it but it would stick and be able to hold on if I removed support from the base.

Any other important params I should be checking for? going to the LFS tomorrow to buy salt.