Is this the start of hosting? pix inxluded

[BairdimusPrime]

I recently came home to find my percs hanging around the area that my gigantea has recently plopped itself into. they chase each other around it sometimes brushing into it but never spending an elongated period of time inside or near his top. but they're always behind it i've posted pix for reference.. i was wondering if this was the start of the hosting process as they havent noticed this guy for six months and all of a sudden boom... thanks in advance

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

It looks promising, but your anemone doesn't look healthy at all. Has it always been bleached like that? Where is it located in your tank? What kinds of lights are you running? How long have you had it? How old is the tank?

 

[BairdimusPrime]

36" T5 Quad fixture 39W T5 HO lamp coralife actinic, 2x39W T5 HO lamp 12000K, 39W T5 HO lamps Actinic Blue
* 3x LED

its been like that since i purchased it 6 months ago this is actually better than when i got it.. he has shades of green in him now and is getting the buff color from the center spreading as well. tanks around a year old and as of late he has moved himself 4 or 5 inches from the water surface... used to be perched in my live rock then he moved and the clowns found him... i spot feed it daily vitamins and microvert food. once a week it gets diced shrimp

 

[greech]

Yep, looks like they are taking to it but would agree that one has a little way to go. Sounds like you are taking the right steps to get it on the road to recovery. If it's moving up it is likely looking for light. Not familiar with that fixture but if you are running stock bulbs you may want to swap them out for some that have better PAR. A pure actinic won't provide much. Possible consider some ATI Blue+ which will still give you the blues. Hope it continues to improve for you and the clowns take good care of it.

 

[BairdimusPrime]

here are two pix without the flash.
the bulbs are from ZOO MED i get them a my local petco.
they do not carry ati blue plus bulbs ive asked them to order them for the last two months and nothing so i bought the coral life and coral sun bulbs

thanks for everyones help though and please i dont take any offense so if someone wants to make suggestions if its within my budget i'll do it

 

[Conrad25]

Your tank seems pretty dark. Are the tank lights off or something? Can't see anything but the anemone and the clown. Also I would state that the anemone has a way to go, but your methods seems to be doing well. If it moved higher in the tank, its probably looking for more light. So if the bulbs are aged or generic stock bulbs. I would change them out asap. Otherwise I would say your clown seems to be getting hosted by the anemone

EDIT: Seems you posted after I did. I would get bulbs off the internet like at reefgeek.com or something and pay the little bit of money to have them shipped to you as it will make a world of difference. Also whats the flow like in the tank? Powerheads, return pump etc?

 

[SwampyBill]

Yea, looks like your clowns are finally interested in the nem. It took mine at least 6 months to finally take the plunge into the sebae after staking their territory nearby; swimming almost vertical looking down at it, then getting closer & closer, brushing up against it, etc...Really cool, fascinating behavior.
+1 on your bleached gigantea. I'm not sure what 'microvert' food is. What vitamins are you're using? You might soak it's food in Sel-con; & bump up to feeding it pencil eraser-sized pieces of raw shrimp about every other day, some might even say daily. Also, check around online for better bulbs. It looks like you're on your way to a hosting anemone & happy clown pair. Good luck!

 

[BairdimusPrime]

thanks swampy bill kent makes a microvert food for inverts i use that, along with nita chem soaked mysis shrimp i'll go out and get new bulbs asap i figured the zoo meds would be good as they're a known name and sold in all retail stores they;re not even a month old. also i have a black background on my tank

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

i'll go out and get new bulbs asap i figured the zoo meds would be good as they're a known name and sold in all retail stores they;re not even a month old.

The problem is, those bulbs are not nearly strong enough for that anemone. The reason it is up there is it's searching for more light. What size tank is this three bulb fixture over?

Those are one of the hardest to keep anemones. Here's some more info on giganteas http://www.wetwebmedia.com/carpetanemones.htm http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/2/inverts

 

[2Addicted]

Is that red slime on the glass of your tank?

 

[BairdimusPrime]

no red slime, i do 10% changes every week. and a 30% every 3 weeks. its a 70 gallon high. its a 4 light fixture not three though. its just a dark green hair algae that i'm working on eradicating... but not no red slime issues.

 

[garygb]

It does look like the clowns are contemplating the gigantea as their new home. As others have pointed out, the gigantea is bleached. The fact that you've had it 6 months bleached points to it being otherwise a hardy specimen. So with the upgrade in lights, you will probably have a beautiful, healthy animal there. Good brands for T-5s are UVL, ATI, among others (go to The GrimReefers thread in the lighting and equipment forum for really good info., and if you have questions, he's quick to respond). I would suggest, if you like the blue color, to go with ATI Aquablue plus as it provides very high PAR and still gives you a blue look. Reefgeek is the best source of different brands of bulbs I've found. Do you have individual reflectors on your fixture? From my understanding, that makes all the difference in terms of light intensity at greater depths. If you don't have individual reflectors, you probably need to locate the anemone within 15 inches or less of the bulbs. Also, not sure what your water flow is, but giganteas are known to appreciate a high water flow.

 

[BairdimusPrime]

thanks so much for everyones help!!!! the gig is strong sticky as all hell and eats like a champ.. just very bleached... i'll pick up some new bulbs i have a medium flow in the tank my canister filter and protein skimmer provide all the flow in the tank, i want to pik up some wave makers eventually.

btw the male has been cleaning off the anemone now for most of the day spending his time brushing his head against the center of it.. its pretty cool.. wish i had a good video camera to tape the whole thing so people can see how long it could sometimes take

 

[BairdimusPrime]

sorry its blurry.. camera sux... buuut this isnt bright enough?

 

[2Addicted]

Sorry but your tank doesnt look like the proper tank to keep the hardest anemone to keep. Especially to bring back an unhealthy one. It will eventually outgrow that tank and it needs high flow.

 

[BairdimusPrime]

my wife and I are in the process of purchasing a house, the closing will be around christmas time. when we move in we've already put a down payment on a 125 gallon tank. but 70 gallons for is size shouldnt be an issue right now. i dont think it will reach its full potential in 5 months

 

[2Addicted]

It wont get that large in five months just an observation. I would definately reccomend more flow though, also im sure you know but canister filters are not reccomended for anything other that a fish only tank.

 

[BairdimusPrime]

i was planning on going sump with the 125, i'm currently on a second floor apt and with 2 kids there isnt much space for all of that equipment.. i appreciate all of your advice and look foward to an and all you have to share

 

[papa_dog]

sorry its blurry.. camera sux... buuut this isnt bright enough?

I'm pretty new to all of this as well (both salt water and anemones), but my understanding is that the important thing is the amount of usable light (measured in par) that makes it to the bottom of the tank rather than the amount of visible light to our eyes. The big difference is that although an actinic bulb gives out light (at least to our eyes) the par value just doesn't travel through the water so it isn't very usable to the anemone. Whereas other bulbs, like the ATI blue plus bulbs, are still a blue colour, but not a true actinic bulb so to speak, so the amount of par value they send to the bottom of the tank is much more like a normal bulb and therefore usable by the anemone.

This is the way I understand it so hopefully it's correct and hopefully it helps.

Cheers,
Keith

 

[greech]

When you get your new bulbs the gig will likely behave different and maybe even move down some. You will add a fair amount of light by switching to ATI bulbs so your gig will need a period of time to acclimate (especially since it is bleached) to the new light. Todd here on RC recommended to put 3 or so sheets of window screen under your lights/over your tank and remove a sheet each week. I have read others do this as well. Point is to not shock your nem with new lighting.