My blue gigantea ... I think it's a keeper!

While I agree that our knowledge of anemone care and our technology has come a long way in the last 10-15 years, I can't agree with your example. RBTAs are way more expensive now (2 -10x more) than they were 10-15 years ago and BTAs were pretty easy for anyone who had a modicum of knowledge about reef animal care. Now, if you want to go back 30 years, you can say the people generally didn't have much anemone knowledge and there weren't many people keeping them successfully, but even RTBAs were under $60 with most anemones in general being under $30.

Sorry for being picky, but things written on forums have a way of getting repeated and all of a sudden become people's reality. Happens in politics a lot too. :)

Wow, sorry I'm dating myself -- it was more like 15-20 years ago. I'm getting old!

I clearly remember about 15-20 years ago, RBTAs were going for a couple hundred dollars. It may have been a regional thing, but they were not $60 when they first showed up for sale. In my area, I recall a LFS who brought in hundreds of RBTAs and the market became flooded, and the price started to come down. Combined with the fact that folks where having their RBTAs split with little effort, and yes, the price dropped. Now you can get clones in my area for $25. Granted, there are "morphs" such as a flamethrower that can command a lot of money, but in general RBTAs have come down in price significantly, and the price continues to fall.

Just to make myself clear -- and I know I may be thinking a bit "too positive" -- but my point is that I hope we find a way to increase the rate of survival with gigantea so that they become as common in the hobby as RBTAs. I think most can agree with once a gig is established, it is a hardy anemone.
 
Well, you are right. I can't really compare So. Cal. prices with other places even Nor. Cal. You guys have a couple stores up there that seem to set prices standards that are way above the normal down here. OTOH, you might be able to get RBTAs down here from private deals with club/forum members for $25, but the RBTAs in the stores are still $60-$160 depending on size and quality.

I would agree that once gigantea are established they are much hardier, but I wouldn't say they are hardy. I have lost two gigs after 2-3 years that were in great shape, but died as a result of something that most other anemones would have just shrugged off. For an anemone that lives in tidepools and are subject to extremes in temperature and even being totally out of the water on occasion, you would think they would be a lot more hardy in captivity. There must be a secret out there somewhere and it not just getting them through the first year.

I know a couple things. I will not keep them will other anemones anymore. One of mine lived fine with a H. crispa for 3 years. For some reason the crispa took a growth spurt. At the same time the gig went down hill and couldn't be saved. Doesn't make sense to me that one anemone would thrive while the other would fail unless there was some sort of aleopathy going on (yes, I ran carbon). I will also never again feed pieces of food to a gig or any anemone for that matter, larger than a pencil eraser.
 
I'm hoping we'll learn enough about gigantea husbandry that we can either breed them, or find an effective acclimation/quarantine process using meds to treat internal infection or other ailments brought about by the collection process.

Forums such as this one have helped people share their successes and failures and have largely contributed to other people's continued success. Treatment with antibiotics is very intriguing to me when it comes to Gigs, especially since most of the declination comes with infection. Of course it could be argued that the infection was a result of the declination in health..... Don't really want to go there... Hopefully someone will figure out the trick... I know Gigs are a gorgeous anemone, and I expect to have one long term at some point. I'm hoping this one pulls though, though I can't say I've done anything special for it... ;)
 
thanks for the words of encouragement, everyone!

to answer someone's question, YES, believe it or not, this was actually the 5th or 6th gigantea to actually make it in my tank! I would never buy a gig (or any other anemone for that matter) with an open mouth, and the ones I've attempted have NEVER had open mouths, yet they have never made it.

I am also very wary of gigs that look like they're "balding" -- I would describe it as having short, SPARSE tentacles. It's sucky, but over the years, I encountered 2 that were NOT balding with long, fluffy tentacles ... but they would begin balding almost Day 2, despite careful acclimation.

The system has always been the same--56 gallon tank w/2 RBTAs in the tank, 20 gallon sump. LPS/Softies in the tank.

Hmm... as far as flow goes, I really suck at numbers so I totally do not remember off bat how much gph my pump is (I have a main pump that's very powerful going from the sump to the display, and it is enhanced with penductors) but i WILL say that there is a LOT of flow (haha sorry, not very precise, i know). The flow is random or alternating, but the flow is pointed in 2 directions--one going across the oral disc, and the other shooting the gig more or less near the bottom.


I did notice that the gig is pretty sensitive to flow. Yesterday morning was the 1st time I caught it deflated with its mouth slightly open--I totally freaked out bc I've NEVER had it deflate before! Luckily, when the lights came on, it reinflated, and that was when I noticed an urchin had gotten stuck in the pump, clogging it, and decreasing flow. Anyways, today it appeared totally back to normal.


g'luck w/your gigs, everyone :)
 
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