red carpet (haddoni) question

[akida]

I purchased a beautiful red/pink haddoni about a month ago. It was doing great and fully expanded covering alot of my 30x30 tank. I also have a 10" purple gig and a 5" green gig. I did lower my t5 lights about 2 weeks ago an inch but I have since brought them back up to 10". The purple gig also moved to the side of her rock which now kind of presses up against my glass. I'm not sure if it was flow related or there is a new green gig she wanted to check out. I don't think any of them look sick but I did have a mini maxi get a cut from a rock when I was aquascaping but it doesn't look that bad although he's in the middle of 2 rocks and doesn't show his mouth often but there is some white there. I removed my carbon and added some fresh but I think it was only a few weeks old. Any ideas? Looks like my red moved to the right a bit where I originally dug her hole. My other concern is there is a pistol shrimp under her rock do you think he could mess with her foot? I wouldn't want to remove her and stress the tank out unless I absolutely have to. I doubt that would happen but I figure I'd throw it out there. Some pictures when she was happy and fully open to now and some pics of where my purple gig was planted prior to moving.

 

[akida]

I should mention I feed fresh raw wild shrimp once a week and he gets a nice size piece. I did just see him poop maybe I've been over feeding but he is 14" in diameter when happy. I saw a snail shell under him pretty large too so I removed it but it was a struggle. This guy is super sticky so I don't think he's sick. Could the torches near him bother him? I'm getting rid of them soon anyways but curious about that.

 

[akida]

Looks like he starts to open and then contorts back it's weird it's like an ebb and flow. He had 1 sexy shrimp he was hosting and I added another 4 to go with him. I don't think this could cause an issue but it's worth noting. Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[BonsaiNut]

Haddoni looks fine, but both of your giganteas are completely bleached. You want your gigantea to have the dark brown background color like your haddoni. A healthy blue gigantea will look like this:

 

[akida]

yeah I bought them like that. 2 rescues if you may. The purple was much more bleached then she is now from when I bought her however they do need more flow. I'm looking now for a supplemental pump possibly a gyre 130 who knows. What are the main causes of bleaching, lighting? She has darekened up but not as much as I thought she would by now.

 

[BonsaiNut]

yeah I bought them like that. 2 rescues if you may. The purple was much more bleached then she is now from when I bought her however they do need more flow. I'm looking now for a supplemental pump possibly a gyre 130 who knows. What are the main causes of bleaching, lighting? She has darekened up but not as much as I thought she would by now.

Yes - lighting is the primary cause. "Bleaching" is when an anemone loses its symbiotic zooxanthellae. The lack of the brownish algae in its tissues makes the anemone look translucent, as if it has been "bleached".

With proper environment and good husbandry, anemones can recover from being bleached, though it can sometimes be a long (multiple month) process.

 

[akida]

you never stated if it was too much lighting or not enough lighting?

 

[BonsaiNut]

you never stated if it was too much lighting or not enough lighting?

It is not enough lighting. I have never encountered lighting too intense for S. gigantea. In the wild they are in shallow water. I've kept them within 12" of MH bulbs, and they loved it.

You have a very healthy low light tank. I can tell it is low light because you have zooanthids and mushroom polyps on top of your rock pile. In a tank that had the lighting intensity for S. gigantea, those inverts would burn up if they weren't on the sand - or even on the sand in the shade.

Please understand I am not flaming you - I am just telling you that you have to decide which path you are going to pursue - low light or high light.

 

[akida]

Very true and thank you for the explanation. I'll be moving to MH hybrid (reefbrite) soon. I get the ballast at cost anyways.

 

[akida]

FYI them mushrooms were housed under MH lighting ALL the way at the top which is why they grew so fast. Mushrooms and zoa's love light. I've witnessed it and have grown them out under high lighting conditions. My WWC bounce mushroom wants to be as close to the light as possible. Some high end zoas prefer lower light but for the most part I've seen them grown in any condition.