Moving a large Carpet Nem

N

Neogenocide

New member
Hello everyone,

I am soon going to rescuing a large very healthy, but unhappy carpet nem. I'm guessing when I say it measures 16"+ across, but it's currently taking up a lot of the 75g tank that it inhabits. I say it's healthy as the color is good, mouth tightly closed, but unhappy as it's wandering again in it's current home. I've worked out a deal to acquire this guy and put him in my 180g DT and plan to rescape one end of the tank just to house him, and then place other coral around it when it's good and settled. I do have a few questions, if some of you wouldn't mind.

#1 What is the best procedure to get the nem to let go, so I can get him out of his current tank. His foot is larger than my fully open hand, and I'm 6 foot tall. This is my largest concern as I don't want to doom him from the start. I've heard RO ice cubes, credit cards, fingers nails.....just very nervous to go about this.

#2 The current owners are feeding him silver sides, which I've never like the idea of introducing bone into their diet, so I'm thinking of switching it to raw shrimp....thoughts? Will a change in diet upset these guys?

#3 I'm pretty sure I know the answer on this one, but wanted to ask to be sure. The nem is currently inhabited by a fully grown, mean Clarkii Clown. I don't really want this guy in my tank, are there any problem with removing a hosting clown?

#4 Since I'm rescaping one of my tank just for this guy, do you have any particular tips for making a great habitat for this guy? One of the local reefers said they like to be supported, so my thought was to build a horseshoe like structure, and then build up the backside to allow other corals to be placed above and around it. This will not only support him, but tip him forward for great viewing in the tank. Does that sound like it would work? Thoughts or recommendations?

I think that's all I've got for now. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.


Also here is pic of the nem in question. It looks distorted as it's against the front glass, and I'm taking the pic in a downward fashion trying to show it's color so I could talk my wife into getting it.

Thanks,

Scott


2011-07-29213013.jpg
 
(1) Reach in and gently peel him off the bottom of the tank. Hopefully he isn't attached to rock. If he is attached to rock, try to raise the rock to the surface of the water so you can work more easily. Another option is to move anemone AND the rock, and place the anemone in the new tank with the rock located in such a way that the anemone will move off the rock. Then return the rock to the prior tank.
(2) Silversides are no issue, as long as they are good quality. Anemones won't eat the bones, they will just spit them out. S. haddoni (this anemone) can eat snails, clams, and sea urchins, so fish bones won't give it problems. Change of diet normally isn't an issue but be careful with shrimp and make sure it is FRESH. There is anecdotal evidence that you can kill anemones via food poisoning. If you wouldn't eat it yourself, don't feed it to your anemone.
(3) No problems. Just careful when you remove the anemone - the fish might bite you (I'm not kidding).
(4) S. haddoni is a sand anemone, so they want to dig into sand. Their favorite location in a tank is at the sand/rock interface. Once their column is secure/covered, they like to open up into the light. Your location description sounds just about right!
 
Bonsai,

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like I'm on target, my only other worry is he will be going from MH's "owners tank" to LED's "My Tank", but I plan to use window screen to acclimate him to the new lights. Over how long of a time period should I stretch out the light acclimation?

Scott
 
Yes the clown might bite you... my ocellaris are very protective of their haddoni.. good thing its not a maroon clown..
 
Neogenocide said:
Bonsai,

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like I'm on target, my only other worry is he will be going from MH's "owners tank" to LED's "My Tank", but I plan to use window screen to acclimate him to the new lights. Over how long of a time period should I stretch out the light acclimation?

Scott
Click to expand...

For lights I do what trex posted about.. Put 3 screens on top of the area where he's at.. remove one each week. By third week you should be fully acclimated. If theres too much light he will hide in an area with less light.
 
For whomever is going to be moving the anemone, I strongly suggest wearing gloves -- S. haddonis can be like velcro and not let go of your hand. Plus, some people (( myself included )) do have a reaction to the stings -- in my case my hand swelled up.
 
Oh one other suggestion. It probably goes without saying, but anemones are water balloons. Do NOT lift it out of the water - even a little bit. It can tear very easily. Instead put it in a bag or container/bucket while in the tank, and then lift the bag or bucket out of the tank. You want it supported by water at all times.
 
Toddrtrex said:
For whomever is going to be moving the anemone, I strongly suggest wearing gloves -- S. haddonis can be like velcro and not let go of your hand. Plus, some people (( myself included )) do have a reaction to the stings -- in my case my hand swelled up.
Click to expand...

Even if you're not allergic (I'm not) the stinging gives off a burning sensation that is not pleasant... Not to mention you end up with a bunch of the Haddoni's tentacles left on your skin that you have to scrape off, which isn't good for your skin or the anemone... ;)
 
ct_vol said:
Even if you're not allergic (I'm not) the stinging gives off a burning sensation that is not pleasant... Not to mention you end up with a bunch of the Haddoni's tentacles left on your skin that you have to scrape off, which isn't good for your skin or the anemone... ;)
Click to expand...

You should never pull away from an anemone hard enough to rip tentacles. Just remain still and the tentacles will all release eventually.

If you want to handle a large haddoni and not get gripped by tentacles, act like a clown fish :) If possible start by rubbing your hand on the column, or the underside of the oral disk and get some anemone slime on it. Any part of your hand covered with anemone slime will not get stung and will not get grabbed. Try to get the anemone to contract gently before you handle it - they will respond less strongly if they have already contracted once or twice before you touch them. Generally - just be gentle and if you get grabbed STOP and wait without moving until the anemone lets you go.
 
Good luck. Don't try to force the issue. Took me a half hour of massaging the foot of my haddoni to get it to release. Maybe I was just being too careful.
 
Good news......the nem came out without a problem, foot looks to be in great shape. He got sloshed a little more that I would have liked getting him into a container to move to my house, but everything still looks ok. I saw the mouth gape for a few minutes immediately after moving him, but in the 5 minutes it took to get home, he firmly attached his foot in the bucket and his mouth is tightly closed.

Next question, how long would you acclimate a healthy nem coming from a healthy tank, going into a healthy tank? Normal amount of time or would it be shortened? Thought being he's not weakened, and beat up from shipping and living in a bag for 24 hours, arriving in a lot better shape than online ordering. He was in his previous tank for nearly a year. Thoughts?

Thanks for all the help here!!!!

Scott
 
I always acclimate to equalize the salinity and temperature. Once that is the same, just put him in. That could be 30 minutes or an hour.

Some people like to acclimate PH too.
 
Well.....I would say everything went pretty well today. The nem is in the tank....mouth closed........and he's looking great!!!! He will be living under LED's, so I wanted to be extra careful acclimating him to the lights. So.....as suggested, there are three layers of window screen over that end of the tank.

Thanks everyone for the tips!!!!

And it's picture time.
2011-09-12163724.jpg
 
Another update. I take it as a good sign, but by part way through the evening, the nem's foot had burrowed through 6" of sand and is firmly attached to the glass.

I'll add more updates as the come.

Scott
 
The nem looked even better tonight. His foot is fully planted on the glass now, it's around the size of the palm of my hand. I've got a few different pics, but it's easy to see between the 2 close ups that he is still opening up, feeling out the surroundings. Fingers crossed he stays as happy as he has been. I'm going to hold off till this weekend to try and feed him. I saw some mysis blow across it tonight, the tentacles reacted when it touched, however it didn't stick, although he is sticky, and there was no attempt to eat it. Is it possibly because the food was so small and he is so big?

About 2 hours after the lights came on.
2011-09-13175341.jpg


about 5 hours after the lights came on
2011-09-13195433.jpg


A pic of his island
2011-09-13195441.jpg


And a not very good FTS
2011-09-13195453.jpg
 
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