nem ID gigantea or haddoni

[haysanatar]

I had my lfs order me a s. gigantea thursday (I know they ordered it as a gigantea from sunpets)
but I'm not sure.. here are the pics

^full shot

^tentacles are almost beadlike (I know it can be normal while settling in for them to be shorter)

^no noticeable verruca (hints haddoni)

^ I am aware the mouth is open its closed since (almost has the haddoni lipstick look)

^even my clown doesn't know what the heck it is!

I'm leaning haddoni personally just want to be 100% before I call sunpets up about it.
thanks in advance!

 

[bradleym]

It's a haddoni. No colored veruccae and the "lipstick" are 100% haddoni.

 

[haysanatar]

thats what I was afraid of...
But I already knew that i just didn't want to admit it..
I've been looking for a gigantea for months was so excited when one was available.
what a bummer.

 

[Winwood]

That's a nice haddoni though.

 

[haysanatar]

i just checked in the other room and my nem has deflated and is gaping and my ocellaris was hovering above it so I fenced it in with egg crate we'll see if that helps out any.

 

[D-Nak]

+1 haddoni. I don't see any visible verrucae on the column either.

Keep in mind that many wholesalers to not specify which carpet it is on the list. Most simply list as Stichodactyla spp. If this is the case, 90% of the time a haddoni will come in. In other words, if a gig actually comes in, it was an accident 90% of the time. LOL.

Isolating your nem from clowns is a good idea. I personally think clowns to more damage than good when trying to acclimate an anemone.

Good luck on your quest. Healthy gigs are like needles in haystacks.

 

[taylor t]

Those pics are way too out of focus to make any sort of positive ID. Zoom in closer and get more focus. Could be either, but with those pics it's anyone's guess. To me, posture in first pic looks more gigish, and those tentacles look too long to be a fresh shipped haddoni nem, but again, too out of focus to really tell. You couldn't see spots on the underside shot even if they were there, with those pics. Just my .02.

 

[haysanatar]

those were taken from my phone I took some with my camera but i couldn't get it to focus on it right... here are some closer pics.. I'm still leaning haddoni but the tentacles especially oral disc ones do seem longer and they are the same color as the disk except for the tips so we'll see.. it was specifically labeled by the wholesaler as gigantea and they had a separate one for haddoni so we'll see..
lets see if these pics help any at all..

^ best picture of veracue i could muster...
the tentacles are the same color as the oral disc until the end of the tentacle and they are slightly longer

 

[D-Nak]

It's still too hard to be able to see the verrucae in the photos. If you can see spots on the upper column, then it's a gigantea.

Regardless, the reality is that you hope it's a haddoni, since if it turns out to be a gig, it's a very sick gig. I have never seen gigs recover when they look like this -- short tentacles mean it's trying to conserve energy, which usually means it's starving. It may have already expelled most of all of its zooxanthellae so it has no way of providing energy for itself. Have you tried to feed it?

I see the clowns are still near it. I thought you were going to isolate it?

I forgot to ask -- is it attached to the rock, or is it in the sand? That may give us additional clues.

Also, if you're going to try to save it, give us your water parameters and other tank conditions -- lighting, flow, tank size, other inhabitants, etc. -- this way we can help you to troubleshoot.

 

[haysanatar]

I see no verrucae at all the top half of the column is just darker but no true verrucae to speak of at all.. not even faint ones... the tentacles are short especially around the rim arond the mouth they are starting to gain some length.... as for expelling zooxanthellae its still the same dark hue its not lightened at all... I haven't fed it yet... mainly because it still hasn't settled in. As for the clowns.. so far I have caught 2 of them... I've been leaving the lights off for a while turning them on out of the blue and snatching them up.. one small one left.

tank perams are as follows
125g tank with 40g sumo
78 3w leds adding more
flow should be fine... 2 mp40's a koralia and two pumps from the sump one 1250 the other i forget the number but less more pumps on stand by

no other problematic tank mates... i have 2 more sebbae but they've been segregated by egg crate...

tank perams
alk 9dkh
calcium 450
nitrite/trate/amon undetectable

I do carbon dose vodka/ add kalk with vinegar
and use gfo
salinity is just shy of 1.026
I do not have a magnesium test but do add a little after major water changes or if i notice sudden alk drops.

 

[elegance coral]

That is not a gigantea. It is, beyond any doubt, S. haddoni.

 

[haysanatar]

the big question now... is what do i do with it..

 

[bradleym]

That is not a gigantea. It is, beyond any doubt, S. haddoni.

+1

No offense to any other posters, but I find the idea that it could be a gig somewhat amusing. The dark grey/brown color indicates a healthy population of zooxanthellae, so there is no reason to think that it has shortened it's tentacles due to bleaching or starving. And the verrucae on a gig are typically brightly colored on one with this much color. We should've had no trouble seeing them on the first set of pictures, if they existed.

 

[haysanatar]

I figured it was from the start and was really hoping to be wrong.... I'm pretty dead set on a gig I just have to figure out if I want to keep the Haddon or not... I know it's healthy it's a gorgeous neon green and my clowns love it BUT I really wanted the shaggy carpet in the wind look and haddons are notorious fish eaters... Plus it was only $50 and it's pretty good sized.... Not to mention I have been looking for a gig for months... To no avale

 

[D-Nak]

+1

No offense to any other posters, but I find the idea that it could be a gig somewhat amusing. The dark grey/brown color indicates a healthy population of zooxanthellae, so there is no reason to think that it has shortened it's tentacles due to bleaching or starving. And the verrucae on a gig are typically brightly colored on one with this much color. We should've had no trouble seeing them on the first set of pictures, if they existed.

Unfortunately, it's not amusing to me. I've seen countless gigs that come in in terrible shape -- very short tentacles that look like haddoni, the tentacles appear as if the nem is balding, and the color is an overall pastel color. They do still have some brownish gray tinge left, but they end up expelling the remainder of their zooxanthellae (evidenced by the brown stringy goo that comes out). I believe this is why many gigs ending up lasting a couple to a few weeks before slowing whithering away. In this case, I doubt that's what it is, but it's worth mentioning.

Most of the healthy gigs I've seen have a base color that's grayish brown, but have brightly colored tops of their tentacles. This color slowly fades into the brown color. The sick ones that I've seen are usually an even color (another reason they resemble haddoni).

I'm fairly certain -- as we all are -- that the OP's anemone is a haddoni, especially since there isn't any visible verrucae. However, the point of my post in particular, was to illustrate what to look for in a healthy gig and the warning signs of a sick one. Those people set on obtaining a gig need to exercise a lot of restraint (trust me, I was one of them) when seeing gigs in the LFS since we want to buy it no matter how bad it looks. Most look okay, and many think they can be saved. But, the reality still remains that gigs have a 90%+ failure rate. As I've said on many threads, I think the survival of a gig boils down to luck, since we still don't have a proven acclimation process, which I personally feel requires some sort of medication. So, if people want gigs, they just have to cross their fingers and hope for the best.

 

[D-Nak]

Here's an example of what I'm talking about. These were at a LFS.

 

[haysanatar]

I know I for one appreciated it thank you. What I wouldn't do for a healthy gig I emailed sunpets so we shall see

 

[haysanatar]

what's everyones experience with haddonis? Do you think 50 was a good deal on it?

 

[anemoneguy]

D-Nak the purple, blue and green appear to be gigs, but the off green one looks like an hadoni. Is that right?

 

[phender]

The red mouth should have been enough for a positive ID. Haddoni don't always have a red mouth, but gigs never do.