ID... if possible

ReefNutPA

ReefNutPA

New member
The wholesale supplier I use at work sent me this anemone for free, since they know I'm "into" marines and stuff. They received it with a shipment of larger "saddle anemone's", but this one was tiny and transluscent green. So different, my sales rep said, that they thought I'd love a free gift.

It's only about 1 1/2"... 2" at the most. Any idea what exactly it is? It's very tiny. No markings at all on the underside, just solid cream color. I'm just hoping it's not an Atlantic carpet or such. Never saw a carpet type anemone this small before. Thanks in advance for any help.

Tom

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Looks like a bleached baby saddle (hoddoni) from what I can see. Given a good invironment, and good feeding (providing it is already a willing eater) it could grow up to be a nice healthy specimen.
 
+1 on the baby haddoni. mouth doesn't look like it is gaping badly (a little open but not too much) so like everyone else said, if you take good care of it I think it'll grow up nicely.
 
I agree that it looks to be a small Haddoni. My lfs got one in on their last shipment that looks very similar.
 
Going to need a lot of TLC, it is bleached, and the tentacles are very short ( shorter then the normally short Haddoni tentacles ). Try feeding it very small pieces of food.
 
It does look a great deal like haddoni, but in its current condition, it will be next to impossible to get a positive ID.

If it is a haddoni and only 1.5 to 2 inches, it is in very bad shape. It has most likely been living off its own tissues for quite a while causing it to be so small. It is bleached about as bad as it gets. It will take alot of food and time for it to recover. If you can't get it to eat, it may just continue to waste away.
 
I feel so bad for this 'lil thing. Really the only part of it that has color are the tentacles. The rest of it really is mostly clear to the point you can see through it.

I brought it home this afternoon and acclimated it to my tank. I just don't have the proper lighting in the system at work to give an anemone a fighting chance to recover.

The good news is it is still pretty darn sticky. I minced a half cube of Hikari mysis and place it on the anemone. It ate it all. Which I'll take as a good sign - I hope.

As you may remember from previous recent posts I made, I had a green haddoni for 8 years - until earlier this year :( I was gearing up to get either a gigantea or a blue haddoni in the future. So much for those plans!

In any event, the 40 gal tank I put this 'lil guy in has a 5 bulb Aquactinics TX5 fixture on it. I covered a 6" spot directly above the anemone to block some of the direct lighting. I didn't think going from extremely bleached and not doing well right into a tank with high lighting blasting it would be good at this time.

How long do you think I should wait to allow the 'lil thing to have the direct lighting hit it?

Right now it's attached to a piece of rock at sand level, but it's foot is completely on the rock - not buried in the sand. It attached about 4" from my brain coral which is hosted by my picasso percula's.

Although it's difficult/impossible to ID this due to it's condition at the moment, if it's not a haddoni....does it look anything remotely like an Atlantic carpet or a species that is not adviseable? I'm not looking to invite a catastrophe in my tank by trying to save this anemone.

Tom
 
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You da man for trying to save this little guy.

It's not an Atlantic carpet. I'm sure of that. I don't think you have anything to worry about.

I wouldn't increase the lights on the anemone until after it has regained a great deal of its zooxanthellae. Even then I would go very slow with it.

If it were my anemone, I would try feeding it TINY pieces every day or every other day.
 
I just wanted to thank those who posted for their help and opinions. I greatly appreciate it!

I'll post updates/photos as things progress.

Thanks again!

Tom
 
I would not worry too much about what it is at this point. You have a project on your hands, keep feeding it, let it acclimate to the lighting, and all the best.

Ironically, I have had much better luck with small ones. Maybe they ship better. In my experience, they take months to really start growing, recover symbiotic algae, and begin to put on a growth spurt.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13481019#post13481019 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Elevate
Isn't it just a Mini?
Click to expand...
No, not S. tapetum.
 
No major change up to this point. Unfortunately it kept climbing a few inches up the rockwork. I'd put it back at the rock/sand interface and it would move up again an inch or so, which I thought odd if it's a haddoni. Unless the tiny ones stay on rocks until they increase in size. It did release once and found my powerhead :( After a bit of work removing it, all seems fine.

To protect it, I've put it in a small plastic "kritter keeper"(complete with holes & mesh netting to keep circulation) and suction cupped to the inside of the tank.

I've covered that part of the tank to some extent to protect it from the lighting, but it seems to be losing color. The tentacles are still tinted pale green, but the majority is really transparent. Most likely due to just too much light still reaching it. Hopefully it recovers from that in time. Not too much more I can do to block lighting without risking my clam and few corals in the tank. Any thoughts on the color loss? Will it regain it over time?

It does still eat on a daily basis. It is still sticky. I've been feeding it either chopped Hikari mysis and/or chopped PE Mysis. It is fully expanded in the container, no open/gaping mouth. 'Lil thing sure has a will to live.....

Tom
 
If all else goes well, it should regain color. I would feed it something else besides mysis though. They are a fresh water shrimp. While it may be enough, I would still feed it some seafoods.

Good luck
 
UPDATE.......

It's been a little over 4 months now. I've kept this anemone in a small "Critter Keeper" suctioned cupped to the upper part of the tank. Every few weeks I would take it out and try to get it to attach on the sandbed at the edge of a piece of live rock. Each time it would climb up the rocks, so I put it back in the Critter Keeper.

Yesterday it started trying to climb out of the Critter Keeper. So today I once again tried to get it to attach at the sand/rock line on the substrate. Once again, it climbed up the rockwork. It's been there now a few hours.

Here are some pics just taken. The nem is no longer the bright green, however, on a good note it is no longer nearly as transluscent as it was. There is still a green tint to most of the tentacles, but these pics don't show it well. The base/foot is a cream color.

Assuming the ID is still a haddoni, any idea why in the world it insists on climbing the rocks at attaching at the top of the rockwork? Darn thing is driving me crazy.

It's been eating krill on a regular basis, with an occassional cube of thawed Prime Reef.

Thoughts? Comments?

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" Unless the tiny ones stay on rocks until they increase in size."

Mine has had its foot stuck in a large rock for 2 years.. (Haddoni)
 
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