My new blue gig being held at the LFS
- Thread starter Postal
- Start date
Blitzburggirl
Member
That is a beautiful animal!!! Congratulations!!! 
Would someone well versed in carpet anemone's comment on the nems mouth? I'm curious what is going on there? Is that standard for a gigs mouth? Or is it due to acclimation?
Would someone well versed in carpet anemone's comment on the nems mouth? I'm curious what is going on there? Is that standard for a gigs mouth? Or is it due to acclimation?
Postal
Active member
Those pics were taken at the LFS. The mouth looked like that every time I was there (about 3 weeks time). The gig was brought in for store credit. Tank it came from supposedly wasn't the best but the guy had the nem for a few years I believe.
Acclimation seemed to go well. The nem looked ok this morning although the mouth was doing the exact same thing. Hopefully it settles in over the next few days and I can introduce my clowns.
Acclimation seemed to go well. The nem looked ok this morning although the mouth was doing the exact same thing. Hopefully it settles in over the next few days and I can introduce my clowns.
phender
Active member
Unfortunately, the mouth and the amount of bare area on the oral disk are not good signs. I would be really surprised if that anemone has been in captivity for more than a couple months/weeks. The best of luck to you, but if it doesn't make it, it probably won't be because of something you did or didn't do.
Postal
Active member
I can guarantee the LFS owner did not lie about how he got it since I know he and his family socially and not just as a customer. Now whether the guy who brought it in lied is another story. I was under the impression that the nem didn't come from a very healthy tank. Hopefully it still has enough left that it can recover. I can attest that it is still very sticky. It looks better tonight after settling in for 24 hrs. I'll try to post some pics later.
Postal
Active member
I think I got a better deal than normal because the store only had to lay out store credit to get the anemone. We are lucky enough to have a great store that passes their savings on to the customers. It's the only store I have been in that has dry goods at prices as good as you can find online.
$200
chuckdallas
Tank Tinkerer
In phender's post, he says "Unfortunately, the mouth and the amount of bare area on the oral disk are not good signs." Regarding the amount of bare area, was he describing the white parts in the picture at the mouth? What's wrong with that picture? Do gig nems routinely open up their stomachs and invert them?
isseym328
Premium Member
yes Phender was describing the area around the mouth where it's somewhat bare of tentacles. Usually in healthy anemones you don't see much of the base. You can compare it to a healthy lawn. If it's healthy it looks lush and grass is everywhere, if not there are patches where the grass is not growing.
phender
Active member
I didn't mean to imply that the LFS owner was misleading you. I do suspect that the person turning it in my have been less than truthful. On the other hand, every time you move an anemone you are taking a chance, so it is possible it just didn't handle the change from a bad tank to a good one very well. For an animal that seems so resilient in nature, giganteas are very fragile in captivity.
The oral disk not only includes the mouth area, but whole upward facing "skirt" of the anemone as well. It is normal for the area directly around the mouth to be free of tentacles, but in a healthy gigantea you don't usually see the gaps between the rows of tentacles quite so pronounced. In addition the disk is usually held a little more tightly and is not so flaccid. (Take a look at Gary's multi-color carpet post for pics)
Here are pics of what I would consider a couple healthy gigs. Notice the tentacle length as well. You can see some gaps between the tentacles in the second pic, but they are not nearly as pronounced as the anemone in question.
With all that being said, it is extreeeeeemely unlikely that you will find a perfectly healthy gigantea available at an LFS or anywhere else. If you want one you are usually going to have to take a calculated chance that you can nurse the anemone back into shape.
I am glad to see the mouth is looking much better. I have heard at least one person has had very good results with acclimating new gigs by keeping the temps in the low 80's. He is convinced that that's the ticket. It certainly wouldn't hurt to give it a try.
RcToners
New member
I purchased my last two gigs one purple and one blue at my LFS,. In my experience they are very hard to find in good condition. I can usually get the purple ones and the blue ones although I have been looking for a red one for a very very long time. I have seen only one true red gig before.
BonsaiNut
Premium Member
They exist - they are just extremely rare. I have seen one in person. Look at the cover of Martin Moe's book "The Marine Aquarium Handbook: Beginner to Breeder" if you want to see a photo (of a bleached one).
Here's a couple at an exporter in Java. They are apparently very fickle and hard to ship. According to the exporter the red color morph is much more sensitive than other morphs - for reasons unknown. You can see that these two don't look all that good, and they are in a holding tank with fresh seawater.
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