My new and first H. Crispa

[chrisstie]

Well I've been in the hobby for over 2 years and have been able to take good care of my BTAs. However when I introduced Sherman, a male clarkii to Gladys, my female latz, their bonding had all but killed their BTA. While I was able to save it into my 34g tank and its tentacles are slowly growing back, it was obviously time to upgrade!

I tried a fake anemone in the hopes it would appease them until I could get a nice looker in at my LFS but they thought it was a strange foreign object. Perhaps being bright blue with pink tips just didn't look real to them! They probably laughed at me, too. They still protected and felt hosted by the same area, though so I started cleaning out my little frags and corals nearby.

I then brought home this - this anemone came in the same day it went in my tank and its mouth is nice and tight. It only looks slightly bleached from the stress of shipping and is expanding greatly in my tank. I am just preparing to have to move more corals for its complete acclimation.

The happy couple immediately took to the anemone. Gladys quickly went about putting each and every tentacle in its proper place for her liking and Sherman was darting in and out, wiggling with glee as he adjusted himself to its sting.

I couldn't believe how excited they were to get their new home and now I'm happy I've gone ahead and tried an anemone I personally consider a little more challenging than BTAs.

 

[elegance coral]

You picked a very nice crispa. It looks soooo much better than the ones my LFS gets in.

 

[chrisstie]

Where in central florida are you? If you'd like I can PM you the name of the one I visit. Unfortunately they don't always ship well so the trick is to find one that is healthy to begin with. If it means having a store hold it for a while to make sure it acclimates well and colors up a bit thats great but this one looked healthy enough for me to take home. I didn't want to risk it walking around in the stores display tanks!

 

[garygb]

That is a good-looking H. crispa. Has it dug in yet? Though it will likely darken up some, it definitely isn't completely bleached, which is of course a good thing.

 

[chrisstie]

Yeah I count on it being darker. Usually the color from the tips blends down and isnt so obvious. There used to be easily 2' one at the store I got it from so I know they get big. I don't think this one will get that big that fast but every day it keeps on inflating. I took it home Friday and today is Sunday and it just looks better and better.

I can't tell if its foot is dug in or not I'd probably have to reach into the rocks to tell but it hasn't walked at all so I almost suspect its at least started to. Hmm I could scrape the back of my glass and maybe peak through the back side if I move one or two things.

Grrr 55g is SO annoying since its so thin. My next tank is definitely going to be wider!!!!