New Stichodactyla...can you help me ID

[YoubetyourWrasse]

I got this new carpet and a couple of Clarkii. So glad the Clarkii decided to host the Stichodactyla and not the Euphyllia and Fimbriaphylia. It has only been in the tank for 5 hours, but the mouth slightly gaping is scary. I am thinking this is a Gigantea correct?

​

 

[argiBK]

Is it possible to get a photo or video of the foot, column and underside of the oral disk? It’s quite ambiguous from above and could be a S. haddoni.

 

[bradleym]

Agreed with above. The tentacles are a bit long, but definitely shorter than usual for a gigantea,and not too long too rule out haddoni. A red mouth is one trait almost completely exclusive to haddoni. A purple or blue foot is a trait almost completely exclusive to gigantea.

 

[OrionN]

I think it is a S. gigantea. Take pictures of the foot or/and of the column to be sure. Good still picture is a lot better then video for me to ID the animal.

 

[Torch Town Reefer]

that almost appears most like a haddoni. but it's difficult to tell without closer pictures of the body column and mouth on it.

 

[YoubetyourWrasse]

The foot was blue with a darker column...kind of wish it was a haddoni Thanks for the info guys!

 

[bradleym]

The foot was blue with a darker column...kind of wish it was a haddoni Thanks for the info guys!

A healthy gigantea is usually more sought after than haddoni, if for no other reason than they are less likely to eat other inhabitants. Let it color up a month or two and I'm sure you'd have plenty of buyers. I'd personally trade 2 haddoni for a gigantea any day of the week. But here the haddoni are at every other Petco and I rarely see gigantea even at the LFS.

 

[OrionN]

Blue foot, and spots in the column means Gigantea instead of Haddoni. It is not an Atlantic Sun anemone or a Mertensii. Gigantea it is.
It is much easier to get a Haddoni here in the US. If you wanted a Haddoni, and already guess that it is a Gigantea, why did you get it?

 

[YoubetyourWrasse]

Blue foot, and spots in the column means Gigantea instead of Haddoni. It is not an Atlantic Sun anemone or a Mertensii. Gigantea it is.
It is much easier to get a Haddoni here in the US. If you wanted a Haddoni, and already guess that it is a Gigantea, why did you get it?

I was just reading that Haddoni is much easier/hardier...I definitely like the look of Gigantea better I just wanted help ID'ing because I am rather green with carpets. I am hoping I will not have to pull it and treat it with Abx. I have heard plenty of stories of Gigs that are off-putting. I was not looking for any species in particular at the time. I picked it because I liked the yellow and the tentacles were more sticky and polyps looked better than other 2 carpets available...at my LFS a mile up the road. Moved my Vortech that is on that side closer though to give it more flow. Bought another supplemental AI strip on that side for pendant to add some extra par over it. Thanks for helping me ID it.

 

[OrionN]

Good luck with it. It is a beautiful anemone. You will like it much better than a Haddoni if you get it to live.

 

[shred5]

Yea gigantea and agree I prefer them too 0ver haddoni.
Only problem is they can roam and sting where a haddoni is a sand bed dweller and usually stays there.

That anemone is also a slightly bleached so after it settles in I would feed it some till it darkens up a little.

 

[YoubetyourWrasse]

Yea gigantea and agree I prefer them too 0ver haddoni.
Only problem is they can roam and sting where a haddoni is a sand bed dweller and usually stays there.

That anemone is also a slightly bleached so after it settles in I would feed it some till it darkens up a little.

It was 90 dollars, there were 2 Gigs and what I thought was a neon or metallic green Haddoni. This one was a lighter yellow than the other, but it had more stick and better looking tentacle polyps. I hope that the clowns do not beat it to death, they are already nuzzled in there...

 

[YoubetyourWrasse]

@OrionN Just an update. Is this okay flow or too much flow for a Gigantea...he has not moved. There is an mp-40 slave on 50% Reef crest a foot away and about 6 inches above. Does the color or presentation look better or worse from the first video?

 

[Hot2na]

flow is fine , just make sure it gets as much light as u can give it.

 

[OrionN]

@OrionN Just an update. Is this okay flow or too much flow for a Gigantea...he has not moved. There is an mp-40 slave on 50% Reef crest a foot away and about 6 inches above. Does the color or presentation look better or worse from the first video?

The flow seems good, it can stand even mor flow. This is much better than he last video. I think the color is about the same but he presentation and the mouth looks better.
Your anemone may take a few weeks to recover the colors. Here is a picture of my anemone recovered from bleaching after a zooxanthellae transplant.
Good luck with yours's. Your anemone does not appear to be completely bleach and may (likely) not need a transplant.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I would love a gigantea, but I found that I love the H. malus. I have two currently and two on the way next week. I had haddonis and they ate too many of my fish. They had to go. Maybe some day I will get a gigantea also.

 

[OrionN]

@OrionN Just an update. Is this okay flow or too much flow for a Gigantea...he has not moved. There is an mp-40 slave on 50% Reef crest a foot away and about 6 inches above. Does the color or presentation look better or worse from the first video?

How about another update. I would love to see him completely recovered.

 

[YoubetyourWrasse]

How about another update. I would love to see him completely recovered.

Unfortunately, I took it back to my LFS, and got credit for some coral. It lost stickiness, and I got paranoid. The mouth would gape a little off and on. He sold it from the store, a month or so ago. It never really gained much color. I am still wanting to get a carpet and my LFS friend missed a red haddoni at the wholesaler in LA by a few seconds this Sunday. They pour them in and you have to grab them right away lol. Now, I have several Fairy/flasher wrasses, a Gem Tang, Two Spot Tang, Swallowtail Angel, and Blue Throat Trigger...I am worried to put a predator in the tank with them. I truly love Carpets and Mags though..very impressive creatures. I do feel bad for my Clarkii's though. The female is huge... the male goes back and forth from Euphyllia to a large duncan. Next, time I pull the trigger I do plan to QT and treat with your Cipro protocol to attempt to use the best evidence-based practice. I saw a picture from my friend how they come in at the wholesaler...in a crate completely full of anemones some dead/half-dead...in enough water to cover them. It is kind of appauling. I don't think it is that they ship bad...it is who/how they are shipping them ><

 

[YoubetyourWrasse]

Well feeling bad for my Clarkii obsessively going from Euphyllia to Euphyllia to Duncans back to Euphyllia, I pulled the trigger on a new nem...S. Haddoni, and this one is healthy out of the gate...and nice color. I was updated from the LFS that the S. Gigantea I took back is doing stellar too. This makes me feel better. I guess I was too worried at the time and made a call out of safety. Anyways, my Clarkii pair is relentless with digging under the edges of sand-dwelling anemones...to spawn and lay eggs. This kind of proves to be a PITA...hopefully the Haddoni won't stress too much over this. The foot is under the edge of the rock/sand in a crevice...but I rebury the Haddoni 3+ inches and the Clarkii continue to just excevate it when replaced >< We will see if it walks tonight...I think there is a high probability

 

[D-Nak]

Nice pick up. My concern, however, is the size of the clownfish compared to the anemone. When clownfish are large in comparison to the anemone, they tend to "overlove" the anemone to the point where they can accidentally kill it. Ideally for carpet anemones, you'll want one that's at least twice the size of the clownfish, at a minimum.

I'm not sure what you can do at this point. If there is a way to separate them, and feed the anemone a lot so that it can quickly grow, that would probably be ideal. Unfortunately, moving the haddoni to a basket or something without substate rarely works long term since they like to bury their foot in the sand.