Question for the seasoned S. gigantea keepers

[E.J. Coral]

Hello everyone,

Can a healthy gigantea have a gaping mouth?

Around 3 months ago I purchased a purple gigantea from a local dealer. At the LFS the mouth was tight, the coloration was great, and the tentacles were short but dense. Since it has been in my tank it has grown ~30%, the tentacles have grown from 1/2" to 2", and it eats voraciously.The problem is that the mouth has never been as tight as when i first bought it. If it were a BTA I would be sure that it was sick, but since I have no experience with giganteas, i figured that I would ask you all. BTW, the anemone hasn't moved or deflated since being introduced into my tank.

 

[kar93]

No anemone should have a gaping mouth,?
what are your params?

 

[chewie]

If it's eating and growing, I'd worry very little about it. It looks like you have a good setup for it.

Usually they will die within the first month or 2 so I think it's probably OK.

Is it the nem in your avatar? Can you post some pics of the mouth?

 

[E.J. Coral]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11272317#post11272317 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kaneryles
No anemone should have a gaping mouth,?
what are your params?

All parameters are in accord with NSW levels with the exception of pH, which is 8.4, and NO3- which is ~20ppm. The anemone is hosting a breeding pair of skunks, which do a pretty good job of ****ing the anemone off when cleaning their nest...

 

[E.J. Coral]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11272368#post11272368 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chewie
If it's eating and growing, I'd worry very little about it. It looks like you have a good setup for it.

Usually they will die within the first month or 2 so I think it's probably OK.

Is it the nem in your avatar? Can you post some pics of the mouth?

Here is a video which shows the mouth. It is almost always open, but the tissue surrounding it is firm and "meaty" .... it doesn't have the loose appearance that a dying anemone has .... if that makes any sense.



Here is a FTS, (sorry i have been too busy to clean the acrylic) .... to give you an idea of the size of the animal the tank is 24" and the anemone is about 20% longer in the front to back direction than the length

 

[kar93]

well, the tank it is in is to small for the nem i would recommend moving it

 

[chewie]

That tank is plenty big for now. Moving it will just **** it off. It looks like it is getting good flow, and it appears to be the only nem in the tank. When it starts touching the sides of the tank, then it's time for a bigger tank.

Do your skunks try to swim into the mouth? My perculas do that every now and then, but in your case I'd be worried if they are "rough" on the mouth.

Just keep feeding it.

 

[delphinus]

I think it looks OK.. I'm not sure I would call that "gaping" per se, more of just an indentation around the mouth and it probably is a function of how it sits on the rock. Mine (I have 2 - one at 3 years now and one at 2 years) go through periods where they do that with their mouths too, although it's not contant - they do shift around from time to time. As you mentioned, repeated deflations would be a larger warning sign. If it's eating and otherwise doing OK, at 3 months I'd say you're probably doing really well with this species.

Tank size is probably OK for now. It is a tad on the small side but as long as it's not currently cramped or not covering anything you don't want covered, you're probably OK. I found mine stayed on the small side for around 2 years. At the 2 year mark though growth suddenly accelerated a little and now they are at the point where they probably should be in a bigger tank than what they are in (I have them in a 24x24x12 semi-cube), because what's happening is there isn't enough room for them to both lay out flat, so one day one of them overlaps the other, and another day the other one gets to go on top. They don't seem to be adversely affected for now but I have plans for a larger tank for them within the coming year.

 

[kar93]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11277926#post11277926 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chewie
That tank is plenty big for now. Moving it will just **** it off.

I agree its big enough for now, but IME they get bick fast.

 

[LesMartin]

You'd know if your gigantea had a problem as they turn to mush very quickly if that is the case. As yours is feeding and growing I'd say 'well done'. and don't worry. I used to worry about mine whenever it showed a slight gape but someone else on here put my mind to rest about that and sure enough it's still with me.

 

[E.J. Coral]

Thanks for the reassurances. I hope that you guys are correct! The tank is a 60 cube (24x24x24), and a 120 is coming when I have the money/time.