New Blue Gig from iBluewater

sjwitt

sjwitt

New member
So I waited a little while before posting about my Gig because I wanted to have more info to provied (and photos). Seeing everyone post about their beautiful Gigs made me start looking ... the only place I could even FIND one was iBluewater so I pulled the trigger and placed the order.

Bob was very responsible and fully quarantined the FIRST Gig for four weeks. I was fine with that because I wanted 'healthy' not 'fast.' At the end of the first 4 weeks I contacted Bob to see how everything was going and he said first specimine was not doing well so a second was in quarantine. Four more weeks and I received a beautiful HUGE blue Gig.

Here's how it looked when I got it home and opened the bag ...


And here's after it was placed in the tank ...
 
He let go of his rock so ... into treatment which, thanks to Mihn was already set up and waiting. First round was 5 days. He responded well so I started a few days without medication and it deflated again.





Then ...



 
Since all the threads didn't show this type of deflation I wasn't sure if it was normal or not so I kept him in treatment. I got more black pellets and a lot of 'sloughing' from the column.





BUT, he responded again and puffed back up. Five more days of treatment and we are back into 3 days without to see if there's any deflation... here's the thing. Tentacles were very short and separated. He's browning up because (I think) he's under a cheap LED light in TT. So, I fed him, just a very, very small piece of scallop. Interestingly enough he perked up quickly and significanly.





 
So, here we are today. Seventeen days after receipt a full 14 days in treatment and he's looking pretty good. Mouth is tight and he's inflated and firm. It's been two days without medication. How long before I put him back in the DT?
 
sjwitt said:
So, here we are today. Seventeen days after receipt a full 14 days in treatment and he's looking pretty good. Mouth is tight and he's inflated and firm. It's been two days without medication. How long before I put him back in the DT?
Click to expand...

If you can wait a week, that would probably be fine. If you have the ability to bring it back to QT if you see something go awry, you can move it back now.
Good to see that you successfully QTed it.

Did you ask Bob if he quarintined it with Cipro? The assumption is that you pay a premium with Bob so he can take care of that for you. Regardless, the end result is the same, so kudos to you.


Pinkskunk said:
Very beautifully, it looks like a Mertens carpet.
Click to expand...

100% gigantea. I don't see any similarity to mertensii.
 
Thanks D-Nak. I can certainly wait a week. Yes, I believe Bob used Cipro. I think (hope) it's settling in and coming round. Not confident that I'm out of the woods yet but cautiously optimistic.
 
If you have good QT, Keep him there for 3-4 days after treatment. If you QT is so-so, I just take him back to DT.
He looks very nice. Good luck with him. I as so glad that we are able to save a lot of the sick anemones these days.
 
Thank you ... for both the comment AND the treatment.

I put him back into the DT last night; I was worried about the lighting in the QT because after two weeks his tentacles were getting shorter. He did NOT want to let go of the bottom of the QT (and I have the blisters to prove it). But with patience I finally got him to let go. He is currently settled in th DT and seems to be doing well for now. Keeping the QT on standby just in case.
 
Does anyone know if the pictures where the stomach is protruding out is a bad sign? As I had done almost exactly as o.p did had the gig in the d.t for 24hrs then noticed the gig not looking good now im on day 4 of cipro and hes looking much better. Im also using a cheap led light and my purple gig is starting to turn brownish aswell. Thanks do gigs act like btas and deflate and exchange water often any signs of a sick gig vs a regular gig going through its normal cycle?
 
Day 3 in the DT and he's looking pretty good. Mouth is not always as tight as I'd like but the stomach is not protruding. When I feed it (scallop 'mash') the mouth tightens back closed.

Motojoe, mine responded well to the first round of Cipro and on the second day without it deflated in the treatment tank. That's why I did a second round of Cipro. So far only slight contraction when the lights go off and it plumps back up at first light.
 
I had to put it back into QT yesterday; it was back to gaping and deflating. :(

Thing is, as soon as it went into QT it closed its mouth and perked up. I am starting to think the RBTAs are engaging in allepathy. I know everyone else seems to be able to keep multiples in the same tank but it's too odd that as soon as I remove the Blue it's fine again. It does well for a couple of days in the DT and then starts going downhill again. It's not the water because the QT is using water from the DT. I have it in a clear container (bowl) and I can see the bottom of the foot through the glass. It looks as if there are messentary filiments coming out. It's also still sloughing off the column a bit so I'm going to leave it in QT for a while until all these things heal up. I will do another round of Cipro and see what happens.
 
SJwitt, I am sure you know your stuff, but just as a second pair of eyes can you fill in the blanks:

pH
temp
salnity
nitrate
nitrite
phosphate
mg

inhabitants (bta etc...)
light type (dt) bulb age

Sand type/coarseness
 
It's back in QT and has been all week. Not looking good so I think it's just a matter of time.
To answer the question on parameters; pH 8.0 - 8.2; temp hangs between 78-80; SG 1.026; nitrate 0-5; nitrite 0; amonia 0; phosphate don't measure anymore; mg usually around 1200 but don't measure that anymore either; Bulbs just over 6 months from last change out; sand is fine grain.

As I wrote, I have a large group of very healthy RBTAs that take up a third of the tank. The gig would look great in QT then would last 3-5 days in DT and then start the gaping and then release. I know a lot of people keep multiples in larger tanks but I honestly think the RBTAs are too many for anything else. It just seems to coincidental for it to do great in TT and then suffer in DT. This time I think he's too far gone ... very sad that this guy is probably not going to make it. I'm not going to pull it yet but I'm pretty sure this is the last round.
 
Sorry to hear the bad news. You obviously have -- based on the number of nems -- the colonial form of BTAs. These tend to reproduce quicker and live in close proximity to one another. There are also forms of solitary BTAs (some believve to be older specimens that tend to live lower in the water column). I believe, but cannot prove, there is allelopathy between gigs and BTAs but I don't believe that it happens all of the time. I also believe there is allelopathy between gigs themselves (based anecdotally on my personal observation). There is also chemical interaction amongst the BTAs, which helps them to form the colony. This may what is bothering the gig, especially in its weakened state.

Of course, the best place for a gig to be is in a tank without any other anemones. If the gig gets better, obviously you can assume that there is something in your DT that is bothering it. It could very well be the BTAs so you will need to determine that if you think they're the culprits, what your plan will be -- either set up a new tank for the gig, sell the gig, or remove the BTAs from the DT. I'm sure you already know all of this, but sometimes it helps when someone else vocalizes what you're thinking.

Whatever you choose, I hope the gig pulls though, and keep us posted.
 
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