New S. haddoni; Keep me on track

[WDLV]

I picked up this haddon's carpet last Sunday on an impulse buy. I know... I should know better.

Anyhow he's in quarrantine for about the next 60 days. I moved him out of the ten gallon (pictured) a couple days ago and into a 40 breeder with sand and the branch rocks that are also pictured in the photo below.

I do not plan to feed this tank so as to keep the cycling to a minimum. The question is: given the circumstances (ie: an impuulse buy I was clearly not ready for) is this the best approach at my disposal?

 

[ginger7286]

I'm no expert but, the tank has to cycle no matter what. It is a beautiful specimen and it would be a shame to "starve" it. I would think you'll need to feed (even a target feed) every 2 weeks to maintain it's beauty. I'd feed even if you have to move it back to the 10 gallon.

 

[WDLV]

It will cycle but it should be less if I don't feed. The question is which is the lesser of two evils.

 

[greech]

A cycling is no place for any animal but especially something as sensitive as a carpet nem. I truly hope I am wrong but I don't think you'll have much success. Why not add it stright to your display?

 

[WDLV]

I'm not currently running a display and even if I were, it would still be quarrantined. I know most people don't think about their frags, inverts and LR being a point of disease introduction but I have come to believe that's why people often post that all their fish are dying and don't know what happened.

Enough about quarrantine....

You're probably right. I know better, but as I said before it was an impulse buy and I knew the risks. It's morer or less one of those "Now what do I do?" posts.

 

[Winwood]

Walt that is a really pretty haddoni. I love the pastel color of it. What if you gave it a tupperware container with some sand and move it back to one of your cycled tanks for a while? Are you going to use it to host any of your theillis? Best of luck either way!

 

[WDLV]

Walt that is a really pretty haddoni. I love the pastel color of it. What if you gave it a tupperware container with some sand and move it back to one of your cycled tanks for a while? Are you going to use it to host any of your theillis? Best of luck either way!

If it does well over the next two months, I was strongly considering it, but in the same breath, I'm deathly afraid of the prospect of a thiellei not taking the time to properly acclimate and becoming an anemone food source. I treat those fish with more than just a touch of paranoia.

I don't have a tank that would be suitable at the moment. There are no fish in that tank either. So, any cycling that occurs should be very minimal and very gradual.

 

[Faye]

I'm not currently running a display and even if I were, it would still be quarrantined. I know most people don't think about their frags, inverts and LR being a point of disease introduction but I have come to believe that's why people often post that all their fish are dying and don't know what happened.

Enough about quarrantine....

You're probably right. I know better, but as I said before it was an impulse buy and I knew the risks. It's morer or less one of those "Now what do I do?" posts.

...

You don't have a display tank running?

 

[WDLV]

I'm currently "between tanks" as I decide on the size and location.

 

[garygb]

If your filter media (seen in pic) is from an established tank, along with the liverock, you likely won't experience an ammonia spike. In a 40 gallon, I would wait a week or so, myself, and then begin to feed very sparingly. Caveat, I 'm not a haddoni owner, but I've read enough posts to know that they tend to have voracious appetites. In a tank with fish, etc. they likely snag bits of food when the fish are fed. Or, many keepers directly feed their haddonies. However, in a tank with no food being introduced, the anemone is going to benefit from some food, I expect.

I think you are wise to quarantine your anemone. Liverock, invertebrates, or simply water from another tank can "transmit" diseases. With that said, the quarantine does need to have a good load of nitrifying bacteria to process the ammonia/waste from the animal.

If you aren't skimming, I would certainly encourage you to do so. That will eliminate a significant portion of the nitrogenous waste before the nitrifying bacteria even has to do the work of breaking it down. Good luck with the anemone. It's a very nice specimen.

 

[WDLV]

Thanks for the thoughts Gary. I've been around long enough to know this was against my better judgement but was looking for some confirmation in one approach or the other or perhaps something I had not yet considered. I have not yet tuned the skimmer but it is in the plans. I may feed some small bits and take care to syphon off anything that goes uneaten.

 

[WDLV]

Today is day 7. It had a loose swollen mouth for about a day after the transfer to the 40 breeder. The following day I dropped the temp from about 80 to around 70. I was shooting for 75 but HOB heaters can be touchy. I got it to 75 yesterday and the loose, swollen mouth is just about gone. I'm also going to continue to slowly raise the SG from about 1.021 to around 1.025.
I'm starting to see some diatoms (expected.) This is where I figure I'll start doing a little syphoning and replacing the water with full strength water.
If anyone is wondering, I started with 1.021 because I mix batches of 50 gallons at a time and dilute it to 1.021 for my clowns. I had about 25 gallons of that water left when I decided to do the 40B.

 

[iMob]

all you're going to do is kill it...
take it back to the lfs.
i can already tell that anemone isn't going to survive because you cant even keep the temp stable haha!

 

[illcssd]

Today is day 7. It had a loose swollen mouth for about a day after the transfer to the 40 breeder. The following day I dropped the temp from about 80 to around 70. I was shooting for 75 but HOB heaters can be touchy. I got it to 75 yesterday and the loose, swollen mouth is just about gone. I'm also going to continue to slowly raise the SG from about 1.021 to around 1.025.
I'm starting to see some diatoms (expected.) This is where I figure I'll start doing a little syphoning and replacing the water with full strength water.
If anyone is wondering, I started with 1.021 because I mix batches of 50 gallons at a time and dilute it to 1.021 for my clowns. I had about 25 gallons of that water left when I decided to do the 40B.

Sounds like a good plan. Just keep regularly testing and I'm sure it will be fine. Looks healthy now, and I know you have past experience. Honestly, I don't think the temp swings are a Huge deal, obviously stable is better, but I've seen numerous pictures of Haddoni out of the water at low tide.

all you're going to do is kill it...
take it back to the lfs.
i can already tell that anemone isn't going to survive because you cant even keep the temp stable haha!

I think he can keep an anemone alive. He has much more experience in this hobby than most the community. You're judging too soon.

 

[WDLV]

Thanks for the vote of confidence! The temp is stable now. I just had pulled an old heater that had a bad thermister. I brought a haddons back from the size of a 50c piece to over 6". The other fellow had bought a house and they left the reef running but he had no experience. I thought the thing was a mushroom! So, needless to say I know they can be pretty tough... Though far from indestructible.
The bugger decided to wander last night. All my intakes have sponge filters on them. So no biggie there. I fed some small pieces of squid yesterday. Maybe he got irritated... Or more likely just hasn't found the right niche yet.

 

[illcssd]

I've followed your threads for years on your clowns. Wish I could find some to put in my species tank.

How deep is the sandbed in your "quarantine" tank? I'd make a nice pile of it, 3" or so, right around the rocks you have with it. He'll probably find that more suitable and won't end up wondering around on you. I found that's a trick to making them happy. A nice layer of sand, with a rock to tuck under. If that makes sense.

 

[WDLV]

About an inch and a half. Deeper sand is a good thought.


...and thanks for the support. I have been very fortunate to have a lot of other hobbyists looking out for me. If not for them I would not have had half the clowns I have.

 

[WDLV]

Here's a general look at the quarrantine tank.

 

[illcssd]

It actually looks pretty content there. More like a natural location in the wild than how they are in most aquariums.
Like:

Anyways, I'm sure all will be well and you'll get it.

I do wonder what made you choose Haddoni though. Are you planning on pairing this with your Thiellei? Is this a natural pairing in the wild? I assumed from their mixed heritage they'd more likely host Mertensii, or more likely Magnifica. What is their natural host?

 

[WDLV]

To be honest, if I had truely given it any thought, I'd have walked away. The real reason being that it caught my eye and I thought the price was reasonable. That said, pros for pairing it with A. thiellei would be that it's a carpet. So, it's similar in appearance to S. mertensii and S. gigantea. It is a sand dwelling anemone. So, it's less likely to be a wanderer than H. magnifica or S. mertensii. If I had my druthers, I would pick up a healthy Merten's any day of the week... but they are rarely available and even more rarely healthy when they are. S. gigantea would be my second choice and H. magnifica would be my third (based solely on the look I will be going for in my next reef.)
I would very much like to set up a captive prop system for H. mag. but with the size system that would be required, I'm fairly certain my wife would make me disappear; Mafia style.
I believe the most likely natural host is Merten's (recent dive photos of my #4 thiellei backs this up) followed by H. magnifica and thirdly S. gigantea. Let's face it though, S. haddoni has a much better track record for longevity over Gigantic, Merten's and Magnificent anemones and I personally have had more positive experiences with Haddon's; second only to E. quadricolor.

I don't want to go too far into discussing A. thiellei here but for GP, Here's my boy in the wild with S. mertensii....

...and again in captivity a couple days ago.