Wall to wall carpeting...

[this is me]

I agree.
But to ask the supplier or even your lfs to hold something for the amount time a nem needs to stabilize itself is a little unreasonable and not likely to happen. The supplier probably get thousands of critters coming everyweek and they need to push them out the door for new stuff.
one or two weeks is okay but gig and mag take up to 6 months!

 

[Reefvette]

That is why i let all these dumbies run into the LFS and buy all the new nems. I got a method to identifying a healthy anemone in a LFS.

The supplier no matter what should keep them seperate. The reason why most nems die is how they hold them. Look at that tank, none seem to grab on and they look like theres no flow.

two weeks of no flow and crappy light leads to a dead nem.

 

[R33f3r]

I bet you half or more of those gigs are already on the decline.

 

[garygb]

It doesn't seem too much to ask to at least physically separate species from one another. Those mags are definitely not in good shape and their negative effect on the carpets is likely to be substantial.

It may be idealistic to hope for this, but it seems to me that a supplier should be able to provide conditions where the animals could survive long-term. After being collected in the wild, shipped in less than ideal conditions and then subjected to conditions such as the pic above, there is little wonder that the survival rate for anemones is abysmal.

 

[sonofgaladriel]

That is why i let all these dumbies run into the LFS and buy all the new nems.

If this is directed at me, then :fun2:!
I do agree that its best to keep nems separate during times like this. No question.
I've never made an impulse or uneducated nem purchase in my 25 years in this hobby. I refuse to join the "I'll buy as many nems as possible until I get that healthy one!" club. I respect the animals far too much to do that. On this particular request, I told my LFS not to order them unless they were guaranteed to have tight mouths, sticky tentacles, attached foot, deep coloration, and smaller than 8". Hence the sending of this photo to me showing what is currently available. My LFS sent me the photo for coloration reference as I asked them for specifically a dark blue gig and a red based mag.

I don't believe there is any definitive evidence that gigantea and magnifica can not cohabitate in the same aquaria of suitable size. They are both in the Stichodactylidae family, both have the exact same temperature, high random flow, and high lighting requirements, and they share most of the same host clown species, so why is it a given that they can't live in the same tank without killing each other off?
There are quite a few threads on RC, and around the net, in which many hobbyists are successfully keeping the two species together in the same tank, or in separate tanks but connected by the same sump. I've had my gig and mag together for some time now without any apparent problems. They have touched and mixed tentacles for several weeks at a time without either feeling a need to move or withdraw to a different spot. Both are 2 to 3 year captive specimens. My ocellaris move freely between the two nems all day long.

Lastly, based on what I see in that photo above, I would say that for nems that had just likely spent 48 to 72 hours in a dark bag of stagnant water, exposed to who knows how many temperature extremes, constant rough handling, and most likely a quick acclimation to the holding tank......they do look a bit stressed but generally still healthy at this time in their travels!!! They certainly aren't bleached, deflated, floating around or upside down, spilling their stomach contents, decaying or sloughing, or all shriveled up. I see no flotsam or jetsam in the water column indicating any dieing specimens.

Will I give them at least a week or two at my LFS before taking them home, yes. Will I purchase them if they show any negative signs, no.

I'm done responding to the critics and justifying my photo post. Certainly didn't intend to ignite a soap box discussion, which I'm finding all too often happens around here.
Everyone else, please enjoy the photo for what it was intended. A colorful representation of a mixture of several nice colorful nems!

 

[Reefvette]

It was not directed at your its was directed to the dummies in the LFS by me.


Also Carpets and Mags are not both Stichodactyla. They may do well once acclimated to a home aquarium but you dont have 20 gigs and 10 mags in a tank.

 

[nikon187]

+1.. There are many threads on hear and other forums where anemones of different species dont do well in the same tank. Which these two are:

Stichodactyla gigantea

Heteractis magnifica

 

[sonofgaladriel]

Unless this classification has been changed recently I believe I am correct in my statement that they are indeed the same 'Family'. I did not say the same 'species' obviously. If the classification for Magnifica has been changed, I would stand corrected:
Magnifica:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Order: Actiniaria
Family: Stichodactylidae
Genus: Heteractis
Species: H. magnifica
Binomial name
Heteractis magnifica
(Quoy & Gaimard, 1833)


Gigantea:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Order: Actiniaria
Family: Stichodactylidae
Genus: Stichodactyla
Species: S. gigantea
Binomial name
Stichodactyla gigantea
(Forskål, 1775)

 

[Reefvette]

They are all relafed in that regard but there are also fish that fall into the same situation that shouldnt be house together.

Mags like flow that makes them sway in the current.

Gigs like to be anchored and have their tentacles blow in the current.

They are found in different areas of the reef as well.

 

[sonofgaladriel]

My last rebutle:

They are all relafed in that regard but there are also fish that fall into the same situation that shouldnt be house together.
Give me an example of two common ornamental aquaria fish, from the same family, of the same size, that have the same temperature requirements, that absolutely can't be housed together in the same tank, taking into consideration that appropriate tank size, tank aquascaping, and water parameters are being met, and I'll bet we can find someone that is doing it successfully. Remember too, that fish are active swimmers, moving throughout the tank, staking out a much larger territory than our relatively sedate nems, so your comparison of fish cohabitation to nem cohabitation isn't truly an accurate one.

Mags like flow that makes them sway in the current.

Gigs like to be anchored and have their tentacles blow in the current.
And this is a significant reason that Mags and Gigs can't be in the same tank together?
So "sway in the current" is totally different, and of course recognizable to anemones, versus "blow in the current"? It still boils down to them requiring high 'random' flow correct?

Love my Vortechs. I think they do a great job of providing that requirement to both nems. My magnifica 'blows' and 'sways' as does my gig.


They are found in different areas of the reef as well.

We've all seen stunning mixed reef tanks with SPS, LPS, and softies: Don't all of these corals have different flow, positioning, and lighting requirements? Aren't most of them found in different areas of the reef? Yet they can still thrive when placed in the right conditions within our aquaria.

+1.. There are many threads on hear and other forums where anemones of different species dont do well in the same tank. Which these two are:

Stichodactyla gigantea

Heteractis magnifica

There are also just as many threads here on RC, and other forums, depicting successul mixed species tanks, some with more than 5 different species cohabitating for several years!
Again, I'm not saying its okay or even best practice to mix several different species in the same tank. I am only commenting that I feel it is okay to add a small gigantea and a small magnifica to my tank. Regardless of what some of you have to comment about the nems in the original pic, I also know that this supplier sends out healthy specimens as has been proven from previous shipments.
I'll see what comes....

 

[this is me]

They are all relafed in that regard but there are also fish that fall into the same situation that shouldnt be house together.

Mags like flow that makes them sway in the current.

Gigs like to be anchored and have their tentacles blow in the current.

They are found in different areas of the reef as well.

And because of this we can't keep them in the same tank? I've seen many tanks housing beautiful gigantia and magnifica together. If anything, I would keep these two anemones together because they both require high flow and high light. It would much easier to do.
I don't see a problem keeping different kinds of anemone in the same tank provided you have what they need. Of course there will be chemical warfare but with constantly running carbon and more often waterchanges, it should be reduced to a minimum.

You can't compare the chemical warfare of corals and anemones to a the physical aggression of fish! You can't do anything when two fish starting to kill each other except separating them.

 

[deangelr]

They can live together no problem.. its been demonstrated here on RC

 

[Reefvette]

Info

Info

I didnt say you couldnt keep them in the same tank.

Im saying they have different requirements, if you have a large enough tank with good filtration and a skimmer, you can keep them. Most people dont have a big enough tank to support a growing mag and a growing gigantea.

If they are healthy once they start to grow they will def begin chem warefare.

There are some very aggressive anemones like mags or gigantea or haddoni or mertens that dont discriminate what they eat. They just grab hold and suck down dinner.

Im not talking about fish aggression, im talking about fish that are classified as wrasses that you would keep together. Same type of fish just they have different requirements.

 

[Reefvette]

Info

Info

I didnt say you couldnt keep them in the same tank.

Im saying they have different requirements, if you have a large enough tank with good filtration and a skimmer, you can keep them. Most people dont have a big enough tank to support a growing mag and a growing gigantea.

If they are healthy once they start to grow they will def begin chem warefare.

There are some very aggressive anemones like mags or gigantea or haddoni or mertens that dont discriminate what they eat. They just grab hold and suck down dinner.

Im not talking about fish aggression, im talking about fish that are classified as wrasses that you wouldnt keep together. Same type of fish just they have different requirements.