New Purple Gig.....

[D-Nak]

I notice that his tentacles are becoming shorter as I don't think he has to stretch so hard to get light, but who knows... Certainly since the morning time when it started ramping up, now under almost full power they aren't quite as long everywhere. Mouth is almost completely closed, no deflate, and no expelling of anything... So far so good. We'll see how he continues to enjoy the Radions.

Short tentacles is not a good sign. Healthy gigs have long tentacles (for a carpet) typically about 1" in length. At night, my gig contracts down to about 80% in size, and the tentacles deflate slightly, but their length doesn't change much. See videos on YouTube of healthy gigs and they all look like shag carpets.

My gig is under Radions as well, and I run mine at 100% with the TIR lens. It "reaches" up on occasion -- its column about 8" -- almost as if reaching for more light. I've even thought about adding T5s (actually I am still planning to) or even going back to halide on the side of the tank that the gig is on to give it more light.

 

[xtlosx]

Short tentacles is not a good sign. Healthy gigs have long tentacles (for a carpet) typically about 1" in length. At night, my gig contracts down to about 80% in size, and the tentacles deflate slightly, but their length doesn't change much. See videos on YouTube of healthy gigs and they all look like shag carpets.

My gig is under Radions as well, and I run mine at 100% with the TIR lens. It "reaches" up on occasion -- its column about 8" -- almost as if reaching for more light. I've even thought about adding T5s (actually I am still planning to) or even going back to halide on the side of the tank that the gig is on to give it more light.

Alright, I take the short tentacle length observation back... I was out of the house for a bit and came back, it's honestly the same as it was yesterday, no longer no shorter. There are areas that are lower and some that are shorter. The mouth is tighter and almost completely closed, small little opening, nothing expelled, and still changing shapes constantly.

I really need to do some work and stop staring at this Gig all day. It's like those people who keep thinking they are sick and eventually they convince themselves they are sick. I'll report back at the end of the day with anything new and some updated pictures once lights start going down a little. I'm going to look at this long enough where I start seeing leprechauns crawling around on him... heh. Can you tell I'm excited to have this animal in my tank?

 

[kris4647]

How old is your tank XT?

Just curious. Please keep up this thread, it's changed a lot in a day.

 

[xtlosx]

How old is your tank XT?

Just curious. Please keep up this thread, it's changed a lot in a day.

Tank is on the newer side (I know i'll get flamed for this but that's fine), start in December. Last time I started my cube (2 years ago) I stocked it early but after the cycle had finished and had zero issues. Being such a large tank I don't get swings in here.. Like I said, it helps that I work at home and can basically tend to anything that arises quickly, hence the picture updates.

 

[FishNutty]

Love the color! It's great that you're documenting for others down the road...and I'm living the pics just for eye candy

 

[xtlosx]

Thanks!!

OK, I promise last one for a while. Since the last picture, the mouth is now 95% closed and has taken the classic funnel raised type shape... Looks AWESOME and the best the mouth has looked since it has been in the tank. not sure if this shows it or not.

This thing is a beauty... and large.

 

[xtlosx]

OK, well this guy won't let me rest... As I was walking upstairs, I took a quick glance and my heart stopped when I saw something coming out of its mouth. I wasn't hoping it wasn't black rat poop looking stuff....

It's brown, stringy, and it's now gone from the mouth. Now that it has pooped, the mouth has perked up, taken an even better shaped, and closed up more.... Brown is normal waste generally as far as I understand.... The pictures make it look black, but it's actually a lightish brown color, like waste I've seen from my other nems in the past. I'm thinking he just pooped...

Now I'm on hyper alert, taking the 20G tank out of the closet, and making RO water just in case.........

 

[D-Nak]

Alright, I take the short tentacle length observation back... I was out of the house for a bit and came back, it's honestly the same as it was yesterday, no longer no shorter. There are areas that are lower and some that are shorter. The mouth is tighter and almost completely closed, small little opening, nothing expelled, and still changing shapes constantly.

I really need to do some work and stop staring at this Gig all day. It's like those people who keep thinking they are sick and eventually they convince themselves they are sick. I'll report back at the end of the day with anything new and some updated pictures once lights start going down a little. I'm going to look at this long enough where I start seeing leprechauns crawling around on him... heh. Can you tell I'm excited to have this animal in my tank?

LOL.. oh trust me. I COMPLETELY know what you mean. When I had a sick purple gig my wife wanted to divorce me since I spent so much time figuring out how to cure it. Speaking of which, here are a few photos of it:

At the store:

At home:

Not looking good:

I guess what I'm trying to show you is that while your gig is probably fine and just acclimating they do tend to look pretty good for the first couple of weeks. I've seen probably a couple hundred gigs at this point, and while hard to explain, I can quickly assess the healthy of a gig. After looking at my gig for so long, I was convinced that it was fine and was simply acclimating. Had I known the signs of a sick gig, I think I would've done more sooner (not sure what it would've been though).

Some things to look out for, and are visible in the last photo above. First, healthy gigs have tentacles that are all about the same length. If you notice in the photo it appears to have an inner and outer row of tentacles, the outer one at the tip of the oral disk is very short and the tentacles are close together, while the inner row is loose and tentacle tips are pointier. Second, notice the "balding" and flattening out. All of these are signs of a sick gig.

Again, best of luck, and keep us updated.

 

[xtlosx]

Not sure how much waste this guy is expelling, but holy heck is he pooping... His mouth is opening up pretty big and well, excreting a bunch of brown stuff... I'm making RO water, running out getting eggcrate to hit the heater and power head behind, and getting ready to make a make shift hanger for my LED fixture....

I'm getting the QT just in case even though the Cipro won't be here for another day or two at the earliest.

On a bright note, my onyx finally came over to this side of the tank and romped around. Went back to his BTA for the time being....

Here's hoping he's just emptying his bowels and the waste stays brown, and doesn't go to black rat poop looking stuff. Thanks everyone, I'm preparing for the worst as we speak and hoping for the best.

 

[blackwagon]

Looks normal to me. I wouldn't act on whats in the pictures you posted.

 

[xtlosx]

Looks normal to me. I wouldn't act on whats in the pictures you posted.

He pooped for a big, deflated a little bit, now his mouth is tightening up and he's getting larger.

Just in case, I got eggcrate, making RO, and will mix salt today... Problem is, Cipro shipped from washington today and won't be here for a few days....

The experts can chime in, but if he didn't poop and deflated then I would be seriously worried. Pooping then getting smaller and blowing back up, same idea? My BTAs did this all of the time when they expelled waste and always blew back up, just not sure if it's the same idea for Gigs. Thoughts experts?

 

[blackwagon]

Pics would help a lot. Peoples definition of deflation can range big time as I have seen in diagnosing mine.

To me deflation is the last pic d-nak posted aka "puffy pancake"

 

[xtlosx]

Certainly isn't a pancake and doesn't look like that, the tentacles are still perky and it's folding still.... It really let out a decent amount of brown stringy poop. All of the threads I have seen where it was black rat poop, it did NOT look like what my Gig let out.

Anyways, pictures.

I am building the QT tank now (cutting egg crate, placing heater, etc) so I am ready. This darn Cipro has to come quicker just in case..............

 

[xtlosx]

OK, so I feel so stupid because my wife just schooled me......

Last night when I was putting him in the tank, a margarita snail got stuck in his tentacles. I tried to get it out, but out of fear of ripping tentacles, I couldn't get him out...... We never saw the shell, nor the snail again.....

I think he is just digesting his meal............... Totally forgot about that.... If we see a shell get spit out, we'll know what happened now.. Is this plausable? He certainly isn't a pancake. He's getting bigger, and bigger, and folding again like he was before.

His mouth is completely tight now, and sticking up now flat like healthy Gigs I have seen..... Wow I may have just given myself a heart attack for now reason.

 

[D-Nak]

Okay, let's all hold hands... we'll get through this together. LOL.

My gig has eaten snails before -- I think. They fall off the wall and drop into the it, and disappear into the folds. The next day I see an empty shell -- I've never seen it actually "spit" out the shell so I don't know if it ate it or just killed it and dumped it.

What I've never seen is my gig do is expel a dark substance -- not black or brown, not stringy or poop-like. While some people are reporting it's waste, I tend to think -- and others do agree- that it's zoox. Since your gig is bleached, I tend to think it's zoox.

Either way, since the gig is so new, it's really hard to tell what's going on. I think you'll know if it needs treatment in a week or so, and you're on the right track to prepare for it. Right now, some may tell you to treat it, while others will tell you to wait. I think Minh summed it up best when he said:

I think as long as he does not deflates, and he looks better every day, then you don't have to neat him with with antibiotic.
I would recommend treatment if he deflates, not decrease in size by 10-15% at night but deflates.
Also I would recommend consider treatment if he start to look worse from the day before for a day or two. This is a hard one, because we are all different. Some of us pull the trigger quicker than other. Treatmetn seem to not causing any problem for the anemone as long as we give it good light, keep temp and salinity stable and keep it from being chew up by the PH in the reatment tank.

I know it's hard not to stare at it continuously. I actually fell asleep on the chair next to my tank when I had my sick purple gig. The facts are that the gig does not look 100% healthy, but at this point I don't think there is conclusive evidence that it is sick, or merely acclimating. I've seen quite a few sick gigs in the past year pull through and make it without treatment. I've also seen ones with a good population of zoox die in the first month.

 

[xtlosx]

Okay, let's all hold hands... we'll get through this together. LOL.

My gig has eaten snails before -- I think. They fall off the wall and drop into the it, and disappear into the folds. The next day I see an empty shell -- I've never seen it actually "spit" out the shell so I don't know if it ate it or just killed it and dumped it.

What I've never seen is my gig do is expel a dark substance -- not black or brown, not stringy or poop-like. While some people are reporting it's waste, I tend to think -- and others do agree- that it's zoox. Since your gig is bleached, I tend to think it's zoox.

Either way, since the gig is so new, it's really hard to tell what's going on. I think you'll know if it needs treatment in a week or so, and you're on the right track to prepare for it. Right now, some may tell you to treat it, while others will tell you to wait. I think Minh summed it up best when he said:



I know it's hard not to stare at it continuously. I actually fell asleep on the chair next to my tank when I had my sick purple gig. The facts are that the gig does not look 100% healthy, but at this point I don't think there is conclusive evidence that it is sick, or merely acclimating. I've seen quite a few sick gigs in the past year pull through and make it without treatment. I've also seen ones with a good population of zoox die in the first month.

Thank you for that good summing up. It is now smaller, but mouth is closed, and my baby onyx is romping around (ever so gently) in the folds.... I'm not sure either if it's acclimating, or what it's doing, but I am preparing the QT tank for him. If he did eat the snail, it would explain a lot. Brown stringy stuff is waste which doesn't worry much, but black poop or black waste, that's a whole 'nother story.

I'll post some pictures later on, but I just think he might have a case of indigestion. Heck, this was probably his first meal in a long while.

 

[xtlosx]

OK, so before I go off to eat dinner and let him be..... When he deflated a bit and got smaller, some of his folds got stuck behind this little rock wedge he was on before... Good thing is, it's zip tied, and I could easy cut it, and pull it out and get him totally just open. Question is, do I interfere or let him find the way to his happy spot? I don't want to interfere, but thought I'd ask.

His mouth is tight and he's changing shapes constantly still.

 

[xtlosx]

OK, so I didn't have to really do much, being that that little overhang was on a zip tie, I just moved it over and the Gig popped right out.... Looking good, and actually looking about the size it was last night around this time when the lights were starting to go down..... Look who came in for a cameo.

So I found an empty Margarita snail shell by the rock he's on, so I'm guessing at some point he spit it out or something when I was around. A crab has since taken the nice shell..

If he deflates again tomorrow, then I know we're in trouble, but he's back to what he looked like earlier.....

My Wife said the next couple hours I have to do something that does NOT involve the Gig.......... :crazy1: :crazy1:

 

[ptr13]

I am hoping that he will pull through, he look good and Just keep monitoring him, I also ordered myself cipro just in case. No worries Tom about the thread, no apologies needed and everyone is welcome to give their opinion. Nice looking nem.

 

[xtlosx]

I am hoping that he will pull through, he look good and Just keep monitoring him, I also ordered myself cipro just in case. No worries Tom about the thread, no apologies needed and everyone is welcome to give their opinion. Nice looking nem.

How are yours? Any updates? I'm curious to see your neon colored guy as he colors up....