Gigantea with Red Lipstick?

[illcssd]

My gig has the same blue color base. But the verrucae are more oblong than round.



I read Bonsai's post to mean that haddoni usually have a tan base.

How about the tentacles? Do they "vibrate" if you turn off the flow in the tank?

Could this possibly be a hybrid that I've read about? I guess we'll need to give it more time to settle in. I'd say we check again in about a month. My experience with gigantea tells me that it'll either be flourishing or dead at the one month mark.

They don't vibrate, as far as I've seen; but it is in a stock tank so I have to watch from the top down at all times. It also will not plant it's foot in the sand, only rock.

I think hybrid could definitely be a possibility, but I doubt there is a way to know for sure.

 

[phender]

I'm not sure how you guys can be so positive that it is gigantea. To me the shape and arrangement of the tentacles look like haddoni. The shape and color of the mouth look like haddoni. The verrucae, although colored, do not look like gigantea verrucae. The only thing that hints at gigantea to me is the blue base. I have not seen a haddoni with a blue base, but I have seen one with a purple base and just because I haven't personally seen it, doesn't mean they don't exist. Its not in the sand, but from the pics, it doesn't look like it has access to the sand. Besides, being in the sand is a clue to the species in nature. In an aquarium, behavior is not as reliable as an indicator of species.

I am always a little skeptical when people say things are hybrids. I think it is more likely that unusual specimens are just that, just extremes in the natural variation within the species. Without a genetic test, hybrids are impossible to prove. In this case, I suppose it is possible, but without genetic proof, I would rather say that it is just an unusual (and beautiful) variation of a haddoni.

 

[BonsaiNut]

Bonsai,

I have 100 percent without a doubt seen a gigantea with that color base. The base color turned to tan after a couple weeks.

Yeah Reef - I think I was misunderstood. I have seen a fair number of giganteas with blue columns. I have never seen a haddoni with a blue column. However if I had to choose, I would say that this anemone looks (to me) like a haddoni with a blue column - because the verrucae look to me like haddoni verrucae, the mouth looks like a haddoni mouth, and the anemone in general looks like a haddoni except the coloration.

Here is a photo of a blue column gigantea - and what the verrucae look like:

 

[elegance coral]

Haddoni does not have little, blue, round, verrucae. If an animal has wings, it can not be a dog. If an animal has gills, it can not be a bird. If an animal has little, blue, round, verrucae, it can not be a "full blooded" haddoni. It is physically impossible. The anemone in question clearly has little, blue, round, verrucae. With haddoni absolutely excluded as a possibility, we need to look to anemones that do have little, blue, round, verucae. Gigantea fits that description perfectly. Combine that with the length, shape, and color of the tentacles, the overall shape of the anemone, the color of the column, the ability of the anemone to move tentacles in random directions, and it clearly points to gigantea as the obvious species. The only thing I see about this anemone that's unique, is the color around the mouth. Color is a poor tool to establish a positive ID. So, at best, we could say this anemone may be some form of hybrid, due to the red coloration around the mouth, but after seeing the later photos, it simply looks like a gigantea with an abnormally colored mouth.

Toddrex,
Where are you at with that pic of the haddoni verrucae???????

 

[elegance coral]

Haddoni column. Note the absence of little, blue, round, verrucae.

Little, blue, round, verrucae of gigantea.

 

[BonsaiNut]

Haddoni does not have little, blue, round, verrucae.

The presence of verrucae is a genera defining characteristic. All Stichodactylae have verrucae. I don't know what the verrucae on a haddoni with a blue column look like because I have never seen a haddoni with a blue column before I know someone posted photos of haddoni verrucae recently, but here's the best I could do atm:

Strangely, while I was looking for haddoni verrucae, I also came across this other picture which seems to show a haddoni with a blue column (?)

 

[BonsaiNut]

Here's a couple better ones from the wild:

 

[illcssd]

Some more pictures from today. This is quite interesting to me, very curious anemone.

Click to play


More pictures here:
http://s97.photobucket.com/albums/l217/goforzer0/anemones/April 26th/

 

[BonsaiNut]

LOL it's a new species! Stichodactyla haddontea

 

[D-Nak]

I'm going to go with gigantea.

1. I just watched the videos and the tentacles are clearly moving, not a lot but they are doing the classic gigantea "teeter totter".

2. The verrucae are starting to look more like a gigantea -- when expanded they appear oval and stretched, when the oral disc is moved, they look more round

3. The blue tinge is exactly the same color as my gig

4. Pattern of tentacles now look like a gig

5. Some of the photos show pointed tentacles, much more gig-like than bulb-like of a haddoni.

These are not conclusive traits, but to me it's beyond the shadow of a doubt a gigantea. As I stated before, when we get to the one month stage, we'll need to see more photos, but I'm willing to bet that it will look 100% like a gigantea.

How are the other gigs doing? If I remember correctly you started with more than a half dozen?

 

[BonsaiNut]

Yeah, this latest round of photos look more like a gigantea/haddoni than a haddoni/gigantea However I HAVE seen haddonis when they exhibit elongated tentacles that pump in the water. We'll see in a few weeks...

Little, blue, round, verrucae of gigantea.

For the record, and I'm assuming you know this - gigantea verrucae are not always blue...

 

[Reefvette]

Hybrid

Hybrid

Bonsai this i could see being a hybrid cause it looks like almost mertens. I have never seen a haddoni with a verracruce that is color differently then the base. Most times they are usually just a darker shade of the base.

In mertens and gigs they are come pletely different colors.

Here's a couple better ones from the wild:

 

[BonsaiNut]

Bonsai this i could see being a hybrid cause it looks like almost mertens. I have never seen a haddoni with a verracruce that is color differently then the base. Most times they are usually just a darker shade of the base.

In mertens and gigs they are come pletely different colors.

Reef; I agree with you about haddoni verrucae being close to the same color as the column of the anemone. In some cases they are almost invisible, in some cases they are visible as raised bumps only, but in some cases they are a different tone or shade of the color of the column. I have never seen them as a completely different color (like gigantea, mertensii) but I have seen them as a different shade. In this way they are similar to H. magnifica verrucae - sometimes invisible but sometimes very visible. I have no experience with what they might look like on a blue column haddoni... but I assume they would be a different shade of blue.

As far as the other anemone photos go (that I just posted) I am confident that is a haddoni. One, I am pretty confident with the source (since they look at these anemones all year round) and two, the exocoelic tentacles. Haddonis don't always show them elongated or a different color (often white or white-tipped), but when they do, you know it is a haddoni, since gigantea and mertensii don't show show them like this. (My photoshopping to emphasize the tentacles I'm talking about).

 

[ousnakebyte]

The absolute best part about this thread is all the eye-candy of anemones I'm getting to look at... :beer:

Mike

 

[Reefvette]

i can only notice the verracruce on a mag when im up close 3 to 4 feet away its unoticeable.

 

[shred5]

whats are the characteristics of Stichodactyla. I might have to look it up. I mean what defines them. I think this class might need to be broken up.

Edit:

Stichodactyla possess Stichodactyla toxin, a toxin that can produce an allergic reaction in the human body.

 

[jscarlata]

They don't vibrate, as far as I've seen; but it is in a stock tank so I have to watch from the top down at all times. It also will not plant it's foot in the sand, only rock.

I think hybrid could definitely be a possibility, but I doubt there is a way to know for sure.

It looked like they were moving on their own in the videos. Looks really nice, liking the green...

 

[Winwood]

If I recall I believe Minh on here had a similar creature. Despite a lengthy debate, Minh was convinced it was a hybrid.

 

[phender]

Haddoni does not have little, blue, round, verrucae. If an animal has wings, it can not be a dog. If an animal has gills, it can not be a bird. If an animal has little, blue, round, verrucae, it can not be a "full blooded" haddoni. It is physically impossible. The anemone in question clearly has little, blue, round, verrucae. With haddoni absolutely excluded as a possibility, we need to look to anemones that do have little, blue, round, verucae. Gigantea fits that description perfectly. ............

I'm not trying to be antagonistic, but I am having a problem with this statement. Why is it physically impossible for haddoni to have blue verrucae?
Is it because an expert in the field says they don't or is there some physical reason? This is a quote from Fautin regarding S. haddoni, "Small, non-adhesive verrucae on uppermost column are same color as column or light rose to purple."

With the new video, I am willing to admit that it certainly looks more like a gigantea and if I had to choose one or the other, I would have to say gigantea, but I am still having a problem with the mouth. It is not just the red lips, it is also the structure of the mouth. IME giganteas just don't have that strong ring of tissue around their mouth. Maybe the red color just makes it look like a ring of strong tissue. This is certainly the strongest example of a possible hybrid that I have ever seen.

Edit: After seeing the second video, it looks like the apparent thickness around the mouth may just have been exaggerated by the close up picture. I think I am going to have to say that I have seen my first gigantea with a red mouth.!

 

[kduen]

Just to stir the pot a bit more. When I would cut off all the flow to do a water change my Haddoni would move it's tenticles around just like the nem in the video. I don't think I have a video of it but I will certainly take a look and see if I do.