Is it very rare to see gig in aquarium market?

M Woodhill

New member
No matter where i'm about to acquire one, it is always a challenge. But those books always suggest that it is a common species.

so how'bout you guys' experiences?
 
I don't think it's rare. My lfs will have them every now and then. However, it's rare to see one shipped healthy. You either take the risk and buy it when they're come in or just be lucky to see one that's been there for more than a week and doing well.
I was lucky enough to spot one at the lfs for more than a week.
 
They aren't as common as some other species, but show up from time to time. My LFS has quadracolor, crispa, malu, and doreensis all the time. In the past two years, I've only seen one gigantea in the shop. It was bleached, but I bought it anyway. LOL
 
I live in the biggest city probably in the world NYC and i am 20 minutes from New Jersey and i cant find one anywhere. I have been looking for almost two weeks now including the entire internet and still no luck. There are in my opinion rare to come by on the internet and LFS. I really think its a seasonal anemone and only ships out during some months. good luck in your quest and if you find two let me know :)
michael
 
I live in the biggest city probably in the world NYC and i am 20 minutes from New Jersey and i cant find one anywhere. I have been looking for almost two weeks now including the entire internet and still no luck. There are in my opinion rare to come by on the internet and LFS. I really think its a seasonal anemone and only ships out during some months. good luck in your quest and if you find two let me know :)
michael

psst, maybe it has something to do with the OP's area, not city size. Notice how the people from Florida and Cali post "not very rare". There are connections to be made.:twitch:
 
No matter where i'm about to acquire one, it is always a challenge. But those books always suggest that it is a common species.

so how'bout you guys' experiences?

It is a common species in nature, however it is difficult to ship. Around LAX / West Coast they aren't that hard to find, but they decline VERY quickly in 95% of the LFS around here.

Rarer than finding a gigantea is finding a healthy one that has been in a LFS more than a week or two.
 
I live in the biggest city probably in the world NYC and i am 20 minutes from New Jersey and i cant find one anywhere. I have been looking for almost two weeks now including the entire internet and still no luck. There are in my opinion rare to come by on the internet and LFS. I really think its a seasonal anemone and only ships out during some months. good luck in your quest and if you find two let me know :)
michael

Hey, I come from NYC, too, and guess it is so hard to set up a tank there. I was sent to some other cities in the world by my boss and do think it is easier to have an aquarium life out of the city. very expensive and blablabla

im now movin to ottawa and wish the situation would be fine. However, the night express from Montreal to NYC has been canceled by amtrak so i gotta drive 10 hours back home.

holy f!k
 
I've been on the hunt for a Mag but been keeping an eye out for a Gig too. I've yet to see any Gigs on the Tampa Bay area for sale. Few 1/2 dead Mags, one of which I bought and lost :sad1:
 
I live in the biggest city probably in the world NYC and i am 20 minutes from New Jersey and i cant find one anywhere. I have been looking for almost two weeks now including the entire internet and still no luck. There are in my opinion rare to come by on the internet and LFS. I really think its a seasonal anemone and only ships out during some months. good luck in your quest and if you find two let me know :)
michael

actually NYC is the 7th biggest city in the world.

anyway we don't have the greats LFS's around my area bit I still see them come in from time to time. not that I would ever get one as they look bad in their tanks.
 
One LFS got 6 blue and green gigs a few weeks ago. I returned to the store yesterday to purchase one, dependent on if they were still in good shape, but all were deflated badly and gaping. Same story with most of the gigs. Made me wonder how many gigs die before finding a healthy specimen.
 
I live in Houston and not one single LFS has any gigs or haddoni. The owners always cite the difficulties of keeping both. I agree that most are extremely poor shippers and most often die rather quickly when shipped directly. I bought one of DD a few weeks ago and it came in very poorly - gaping and spewing mesenterial filaments. IME, if you want to keep a gig, hunt your local reefer clubs and find one there. GL.
 
I live in Houston and not one single LFS has any gigs or haddoni. The owners always cite the difficulties of keeping both. I agree that most are extremely poor shippers and most often die rather quickly when shipped directly. I bought one of DD a few weeks ago and it came in very poorly - gaping and spewing mesenterial filaments. IME, if you want to keep a gig, hunt your local reefer clubs and find one there. GL.

lucky u though!

the purple gig looks gorgeous
 
For ALL marine ornamentals (from the period 1996-1999) the top US ports of entry were:

Los Angeles 54%
Miami 18%
New York 15%

No other single port had 5% or more.

I did not find any data that specifically breaks out Pacific versus Atlantic/Caribbean imports, but it makes sense that East Coast ports skew towards East Coast fish. S. gigantea is only found in the Pacific, so the majority come through Los Angeles.

I will just reiterate - they aren't that uncommon on the West Coast, you just have to buy them FAST and get them home because most LFS don't care for them. Last weekend I was at a LFS that had a nice dark blue one. The same store the prior week got in a beautiful red haddoni. They priced the haddoni at $500, which is WAY too high for the West Coast. It sat in the store for a week, and when I saw it the second weekend (at the time I saw their gigantea) the haddoni was already past saving and starting to die/dead.
 
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