S. Gigantea - Fish eater?

Doni · Jun 24, 2009

The day has come for me to re-home my huge purple S. haddoni anemone that I have had for several years. It has grown extremely large and although my fishes have avoided it, I want to attempt to pair up my copperband butterfly and I am afraid that the new CBB will get eaten.

I am replacing the S. haddoni with a S. gigantea that is much smaller.

My question is, do S. gigantea carpets eat fish as readily as S. haddoni carpets?

Toddrtrex · Jun 24, 2009

From all that I have read they aren't as "bad" as Haddonis. (( though I don't think Haddonis are all that bad -- lost only 2 fish in the 10 years of keeping them )).

You may want to PM "sugartooth", a while back she was thinking of adding a copperband to her tank that has 2 Gigs in it. Not sure if she did it, but would be worth the PM.

sugartooth · Jun 24, 2009

Hello,
I decided against adding the copperband in the tank for now. I felt the tank was too small and probability that something would happen (either to nem or copperband) was too high.

Instead, I plan to have 120 gallon dedicated tank and then put the copperband in it. My nems are bigger, the big one being about 20-22 inches.

If the gigantea is much smaller than copperbands, I wouldn't be as concerned about cbb getting eaten.

Good luck!

Doni · Jun 24, 2009

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15250319#post15250319 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Toddrtrex
From all that I have read they aren't as "bad" as Haddonis. (( though I don't think Haddonis are all that bad -- lost only 2 fish in the 10 years of keeping them )).

That is what I was hoping to learn... that giganteas are not 'as bad' as haddonis.
I love my haddoni and it has only eaten a few small perching-type fish in the three years I have had it.
I am hoping to get a smaller, less aggressive carpet... yet one that will make a nice centerpiece. One that new fish can negotiate around safely until they learn the tank well.

What I really need is an 8 foot reef but my husband is not too keen on that idea :rolleye1:

Doni · Jun 24, 2009

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15250537#post15250537 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sugartooth
Hello,
I decided against adding the copperband in the tank for now. I felt the tank was too small and probability that something would happen (either to nem or copperband) was too high.

Instead, I plan to have 120 gallon dedicated tank and then put the copperband in it. My nems are bigger, the big one being about 20-22 inches.

If the gigantea is much smaller than copperbands, I wouldn't be as concerned about cbb getting eaten.

Good luck!

Thank you for chiming in.
What fish, if any, have your giganteas killed?

Toddrtrex · Jun 24, 2009

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15250955#post15250955 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Doni
That is what I was hoping to learn... that giganteas are not 'as bad' as haddonis.
I love my haddoni and it has only eaten a few small perching-type fish in the three years I have had it.
I am hoping to get a smaller carpet, less aggressive carpet. One that new fish can negotiate around safely until they learn the tank well.

What I really need is an 8 foot reef but my husband is not too keen on that idea :rolleye1:

Gigs will be less aggressive then a Haddoni, but I believe it will actually get bigger.

And I am sure you don't want to go the route I did when my (ex) wife stopped liking my tanks.

tufacody · Jun 24, 2009

Just my 2 cents Doni, but I feel a gig would eat a fish just as readily as a haddoni if it could, but the haddonis are a little better equipped to do so, expecially in captivity. My gig is just as "sticky" as any haddoni, but because the tentacles are more dispered than a haddoni, a fish has better chances of brushing against it and still getting away. It also seems to me that the haddoni's capture motion is a bit quicker than a gigs.

jmadison · Jun 24, 2009

Doni, may I ask what you will be doing with your tired worn out old (beautiful!) purple hoddoni? hint hint pm me maybe lol

sugartooth · Jun 24, 2009

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15250964#post15250964 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Doni
Thank you for chiming in.
What fish, if any, have your giganteas killed?

I have a dedicated tank and one of the reasons is safety of other inhabitants. The other reason is to provide a very specific environment for them (82-86F and surging type flow)

I've only read some stories of tangs, etc. eaten by gigantea, but many more stories of Haddoni's doing so. I have never witnessed a gigantea eating other fish, I only have a pair of Onyx with them and never attempted anything else.

I inherited a Haddoni that had eaten every single fish in it's tank with the last meal being a powder blue tang. Apparently that was the last straw and it was evicted. I was more than happy to put it in my Haddoni tank.

I would think both nems are capable, but I would be more concerned when they (nems) get very large and other fish have less room to maneuver around them. Despite gigantea's being 'less sticky' and slower, if they are very large vs. size of fish it would be difficult to get away.

All the best to you if you get a gigantea, I love them!

criccio · Jun 25, 2009

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15251017#post15251017 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tufacody
Just my 2 cents Doni, but I feel a gig would eat a fish just as readily as a haddoni if it could, but the haddonis are a little better equipped to do so, expecially in captivity. My gig is just as "sticky" as any haddoni, but because the tentacles are more dispered than a haddoni, a fish has better chances of brushing against it and still getting away. It also seems to me that the haddoni's capture motion is a bit quicker than a gigs.

I have to agree with this. I also wanted to add, that there are probably many more haddonis out there then giganteas, thus more stories of fish eating hads then gigs.

adtravels · Jun 25, 2009

They will eat fish, It was my fault, but mine ate a potters angel, a mimic tang, a dispar anthias and a sixline.
In normal circumstances I have never lost a fish to the gig though.

Rod Buehler · Jun 25, 2009

2 gigs here for over 20 years (combined ) and never lost a fish to the giganteas. I will say that one has rarely had other fish in the tank.. Mandarin and maybe a small tang or 2 for temp holding. The older one (15+ years) was mostly kept in a community tank, but now is in a dedicated tank with clowns.

Hadoni's I have only had one for a about a year and have lost 2 fish to the hadoni.

adtravels · Jun 26, 2009

just for the record, I added a qt'd c.argi to the nem tank two days ago, today was nowhere to be seen, think its been eaten. I wont be adding any more fish to this tank, really i should have known better.

Doni · Jun 26, 2009

Great info everyone. Your replies are most helpful.

Adtravels - bummer! I hope it shows up!

I think I will keep the 120 as an anemone tank and will move the copperbands to another tank... I think... lol

Greg 45 · Jun 27, 2009

What is the best tank temp for anemones .

Toddrtrex · Jun 27, 2009

I currently only have Haddonis and an LTA, those tanks are kept b/t 78* & 83*, been that way for years.

tufacody · Jun 27, 2009

My gig seems to like 78.5

adtravels · Jun 27, 2009