Which one to get, H. Malu or H. Crispa?

[madducks42]

Last week y'all helped me identify our current anemone as a Condy. Despite it's obnoxious habit of moving to a new spot once a week or so I still like it enough to keep it. I would however like to get another anemone, one that will host clownfish and preferably will stay in the sand bed. I don't really like bubble tips so a few people here have suggested H. Malu's. Unfortunately so far the only place I've found that occasionally has them is Live Aquaria. I contacted two LFS and neither even knew what an H. Malu was, lol. They didn't seem to know that Sebae was just a generic term, they don't know for sure what type of "sebae anemones" they have but my guess is they're H. Crispa's since it seems that H. Malu's are really hard to come by.

I emailed a few online vendors and none of them had H. Malu's and could not special order them. Most were surprised that I was even asking for one, they said they don't typically host clownfish. So long story short my questions are for those of you here who have a H. Malu or H. Crispa. I'm debating if it's worth waiting for an H. Malu to be available on Live Aquaria again, I honestly don't like buying from them. Aside from snails almost everything we've gotten from them has arrived DOA or died within the first couple days but it seems like they're the only option.

- For those of you who have H. Crispa's. Do they stay in the sand bed? How big do they get?

- For those of you with H. Malu's. Where did you find one, lol. There is a chance that the LFS could have one and not know it. How difficult is it to tell the difference between the two? Are there any traits I can look for to distinguish an H. Malu from an H. Crispa? Also if you have one does it host clownfish?

 

[slyseekr]

I feel your pain, and am still on the same search for the real thing. All I can say is continue to keep track of what's in stock at your preferred sources. For me that was visiting OFS that had WYSIWYG sections, eBay listings and frequenting LFS. I have a request for a Malu in for one of the more knowledgeable/trusted LFS in NYC, but they've haven't had any pop up from their suppliers in the last month.

It was definitely a risk to order from LA, and the anemone I received was definitely much much larger than I was hoping for, but I do trust LA to have healthy livestock and the 14-day guarantee (and current shipping promotion) makes it worth it for me. Going to see how it works out with this nem, but if something more along the lines of what I originally wanted comes my way, I may look to trade-in or sell.

As a sidenote (rant): It's kind of frustrating to see how prevalent BTAs have become in the hobby. They used to be a rarity and came with a premium back in the day (for me, 15 years ago), but it seems that's all the LFS want to stock these days. Yes, they're generally easier to propagate and care for, but I miss being able to go into a LFS and see a more diverse selection of anemones.

 

[madducks42]

Yeah it seems like BTA's dominant the anemone market. I don't know why but I just don't like them. We're heading to the LFS this weekend so I'll see what they have, if they have a really healthy looking sebae I might get it even if I can't tell if it's a H. Crispa or H. Malu. LA does honor their healthy livestock guarantee but I'd say 80% of the things that we've gotten from them have died within the first 2 weeks compared to everything we've gotten from the LFS thriving in the tank. But if they don't have any sebae's at the LFS and I get an alert from LA saying they have some H. Malu's in stock I'll be pretty tempted to give one a try.

 

[slyseekr]

Ironically, Petco might also be worth a visit. They seem to receive Sebaes more frequently than other LFS, some are bound to be Malus.


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[OrionN]

The Petco here at Corpus Christi have several Malu listed as Magnifica. All buried their foot in the sand and everything. They wanted to sell them for 89.99. They did not listen to me that they are not Magnifica. They got 3 several months ago, one still alive, one died after several month and they sold one. I told them that I will buy all three if they sell them to me at the Sebae price but they did not.

 

[madducks42]

We went to the LFS yesterday and bought all the things, lol. We picked up a purple tang, potter angel, brittle starfish, two coral frags, and a not so great looking sebae. It was the only one they had and after some debate I decided to give it a try. It's gone back and forth between it's mouth being open. It hasn't attached to anything yet. I kept the powerheads off for a few hours and then use some live rock to shelter it a bit from the flow. It hasn't moved in the last 24 hours and looks pretty much the same. I'm assuming it's bleached but I wasn't sure what purple tipped sebaes are supposed to look like, every picture I've seen of them they've been white with purple tips. So either every picture of them online is bleached or they actually do come in white. I was able to pick up some silversides so I'm going to try giving it little bits of food but I'm mostly just leaving it alone. Any tips on helping nurse an anemone back to health would be greatly appreciated!

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[OrionN]

He look like he is very bleached Crispa. Certainly can also be a Malu. If he live a few months later you can easily tell. If he stay on the sand, dig in the he is a Malu. If he clinic NB the rock then likely Crispa.
Silverside is OK as long as it is not smelly. Smelly seafood is spoiled seafood and can/will kill your anemone. It is much cheaper and better to buy food for human use at the groceriy store.

 

[Lance M.]

I would watch its condition every chance possible over the next two weeks+.


I wish lfs's wouldn't sell anemones in a condition such as this one.

Hope it makes it. Good luck!

 

[madducks42]

Thanks all! The silversides don't smell and seem okay. The condy gobbled one up but that thing will happily eat anything I give it. I'll try feeding the sebae tomorrow.

I wish the LFS was better. They're a real hit and miss in terms of what stock they have and the state that they're in. I'm surprised we don't have a better LFS in the Boston area : /


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[madducks42]

Still not looking so great, hasn't made any attempts to attach to anything. I had to move it because it was on it's side getting blown into some live rock. I dug out a hole in the sand and covered up its foot and turned the power head off on that side. It seemed like it sort of puffed itself up and pulled its foot out of the sand and then flopped over. I chopped up some silversides yesterday and put some on top of its mouth. It did open its mouth but I have no idea if it ate any or not. Most of the time its mouth is closed now but given that it's made no attempts to secure its foot I don't have high hopes for this little guy surviving.

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[Lance M.]

Make sure you keep track of it.

Unfortunately I have never had an anemone that far gone come back. I would not say it is impossible though. I have only kept lta's and bta's (currently 4 bta's).

I am of the belief that when they get to this point, it may be best not to attempt to feed it. It may cause enough stress to tip it over the edge. If it was able to close its mouth and was still sticky, I would try very small piece of food with pumps off to give it time to take it in, but I am not sure that one could take pieces of food in its current condition.

Make sure water parameters are stable and hope for the best.

 

[madducks42]

He looks even worse today. We did a water change Monday night, but the parameters are still stable: Alk 9.5, CA 450, Mag 1350. Ammonia and nitrites are at zero, nitrates less than 5ppm. Despite being in a tank with good stable water and lighting I think it's too far gone to make a difference. I can't tell if it's mouth is closed or not, it's sort of puffed up around it's mouth and it's foot is sucked up into itself so it's almost a perfect disc shape right now. He was upside down so I gently lifted him up and did a quick smell test and it doesn't smell dead. I put it back in the tank right side up sheltered between two rocks. Even though I'm pretty sure it's not going to make it I don't want to pull it out of the tank yet, what signs should I look for to yank it out of the tank if it actually dies? I don't want to pollute the water, do they spit their insides up or anything?

 

[OrionN]

Not much you can do other than perhaps pull him out and start treatment with antibiotic. If not leave him be and hope for the best.

 

[Lance M.]

what signs should I look for to yank it out of the tank if it actually dies? I don't want to pollute the water, do they spit their insides up or anything?

It will have an unforgettable smell as well as physically fall apart. Not really in an explosion type of way, but disintegration. Watch it and if it is falling apart, may need to suck it out with tubing, like what is normally used for water changes.

 

[madducks42]

Annndd it died. Disintegration is definitely the right word. No spike in ammonia though so the tank should be fine. Debating now between ordering another sebae online from Vivid Aquariums or checking out a different "local" fish store that was advertising rainbow BTA's online. They're almost 2 hours away but I'd like to see the rainbow BTA's in person and maybe they'll have healthy sebaes in stock. I'm going to call them tomorrow and see what they have, maybe drive out there this weekend or the next.


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[Lance M.]

Annndd it died. Disintegration is definitely the right word. No spike in ammonia though so the tank should be fine. Debating now between ordering another sebae online from Vivid Aquariums or checking out a different "local" fish store that was advertising rainbow BTA's online. They're almost 2 hours away but I'd like to see the rainbow BTA's in person and maybe they'll have healthy sebaes in stock. I'm going to call them tomorrow and see what they have, maybe drive out there this weekend or the next.


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Sorry to hear. Sounds like you were able to get it out in time to not affect anything else.

I prefer buying in person; however, due to selection, I do order online. I have one gbta and one rbta from Diver's Den as well as one rbta from a lfs and another gbta from a different lfs. All doing well (four total).

I did have one bta from DD die on me about 3 months ago after having it for a month. I believe it was not healthy to begin with and kept in contact with LA. They refunded me the amount when it died.

 

[OrionN]

I got two from LA last week. Put them in my office tank for 1 week and went on vacation. They were doing fine last Friday. I home I find them healthy Monday when I get back. Malu if fairly hardy. Most of the time no treatment needed.
I posted about them here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2645558

 

[OrionN]

I got another instock notification for H malu last night

 

[madducks42]

I got the notification from LA about h. Malu's being stock. I thought about buying one but decided to check out the new LFS I discovered last week. It took over two hours to get there but I came home with a very pretty rainbow BTA...and some torch corals, mushrooms, and zoas, lol. I made that drive worth it!

They did have some h. Crispas in stock and they were definitely healthier looking than the last one I got. But i decided to go with the BTA. They had really good color and they're tank raised so I think it's a better choice since this is our first tank. Maybe once we have more experience and the tank is older I'll give a sebae another try.

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