HAD to have it...Thanks River City Aquatics!!

[mama]

OK....I went in for a clean up crew, left with this, and lost my mind and forgot the hermits and snails....:hypnotyized: This was a trade in...a bonded pair of Clarkii hosting in a sebae...this is my question though...in the first pic from last night, you can see there are 2 sebae....today it has opened, but where the heck is the other one???? How can I lose a dinner plate in an aquarium??:angel: THEN I look at my bulls-eye mushroom and see all these white spots on it that came overnight and seem to be accumulating...I don't know, but they look like the same kind of spots on the sebae??? Have I lost my mind for sure???:at_wits_end:
http://i317.photobucket.com/albums/mm395/austinaquatics/SaltJuly08011.jpg
http://i317.photobucket.com/albums/mm395/austinaquatics/SaltJuly08015.jpg
http://i317.photobucket.com/albums/mm395/austinaquatics/SaltJuly08017.jpg

[tony]

nice!

[hobogato]

not trying to be a downer, but that doesnt look like a sebae anemone, it looks more like a really bleached carpet anemone.....hopefully i am wrong.

sebae from liveaquaria (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+499+633&pcatid=633)
http://a1272.g.akamai.net/7/1272/1121/20080129224235/www.liveaquaria.com/images/categories/large/lg-81481-anemone.jpg

carpet from liveaquaria (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+499+615&pcatid=615&N=0)
http://a1272.g.akamai.net/7/1272/1121/20080319185554/www.liveaquaria.com/images/categories/large/lg-80870-anemone.jpg

[Carlos_at_River_City]

ya, they are not sebaes. Pretty sure they are some type of carpet. We asked the guy who traded them in about the lack of color and he said they had been that way for almost a year. It was another customer who told laura they were sebaes. Every time I tried to correct him he would shoot me down that " the only thing they could be was sebaes". At 15 minutes after the store closed you can only argue for so long :)

[mama]

Oh that's OK Carlos!! I don't care what they really are...you know me. I like the unknown....and yeah....that guy was not taking anything put sebae for an answer!! I am so fascinated at how those Clarkii are loving it...but GUESS WHAT!!! I found the other anemone....but I am concerned because it cruised behind my rockwork and is in a dark corner...the other Clarkii goes in and out and sits with it sometimes...what should I do? Will it die because of such low lighting conditions it put itself in??? And what about those white dots on my bulls-eye mushroom?? SOS!!!

[mama]

ok....i just copied this from liveaquaria about carpet anemones and am having a panic attack.....

" When healthy, it will be very sticky. If it is able to grasp something (or someone), it is very difficult to convince it to let go without damaging it.
It is also one of the few anemones that can cause a severe reaction in humans, so keeping one requires care in handling. "

.....oh dear God.....is Mama gonna check out anytime soon???

[hobogato]

they can sting you a bit, just wear latex or rubber gloves when you have your hands in the tank. that will also protect you from other stings from unseen critters like bristle worms, etc.

[mama]

oh thank you mr. hobogato...what is your opinion on my other concerns, like the location of the 2nd anemone in the dark corner and the white spots on my mushroom?

Thank you SO much for answering me...

[seatrueblue]

It looks like you have two haddoni carpet anemones. These carpet anemones like to go in the sand so if it disappears its most likely in the sand. I would worry about the little mandarin though. These anemones are known to eat fish, you could get lucky and it won't eat any of your fish. I am just warning you now, so you don't freak out if it does happen. I know some one that has two haddoni anemones and he says that he has only lost 2 blennies to his haddonis. He has had these anemones for 5+ years.
These anemones require strong lights, I hope you have good light for them. They especially need strong light when they are so bleached. They need good light to regenerate their zooxanthellae. Feeding them small pieces of raw seafood of any kind, scallops, shrimp, fish, squid, krill and mysis shrimp is all good food for these anemones. I would feed these haddonis twice a week untill they regain their color.. then decrease the feedings to once a week. A lot of haddoni owners will feed their healthy haddoni only once a month. Because the healthy haddoni gets most of its energy from strong MH lights and pieces of food from the clowns living with the anemone. Your haddoni anemones might have stung your mushoom coral. They have a strong sting, just move your mushroom up higher. It is less likely to get stung high up on the rocks since these anemones prefer to be in the sand. Good luck with your new purchases.:D The one in the second picture looks like it will have a good chance to regain its color.

[rabadanmarco]

they are carpets ....dont even resemble sebae

[Texreefer]

Use caution with those anemones and that mandarin,, that would be and expensive meal

[mama]

Oh jeez.....I have just T5 lighting, and only a 24" on a 36" tank...and the thought of them stinging and/or eating my livestock?? My bubble just burst....please y'all...be honest....it sounds like these need to go back...my tank is just a 36 gallon bowfront filled with softies....and yes, a mandarin, engineer goby, pseudochromis and bi-color blenny....:confused:

[seatrueblue]

What livestock do you have in your 46 gallon and what kind of lights? The 36g will be too small for even one of these anemones eventually. Haddoni anemones disc will grow to 2ft or more so it will take up most of your tank. This will make it difficult for your other live stock to avoid running into the anemone and being its next meal.

[bimmerzs]

My money' son carpet as well. :)

[mama]

What livestock do you have in your 46 gallon and what kind of lights? The 36g will be too small for even one of these anemones eventually. Haddoni anemones disc will grow to 2ft or more so it will take up most of your tank. This will make it difficult for your other live stock to avoid running into the anemone and being its next meal.


Oh jeez.....I have just T5 lighting, and only a 24" on a 36" tank...and the thought of them stinging and/or eating my livestock?? My bubble just burst....please y'all...be honest....it sounds like these need to go back...my tank is just a 36 gallon bowfront filled with softies....and yes, a mandarin, engineer goby, pseudochromis and bi-color blenny....:confused:

[seatrueblue]

Return them if you want to, I was trying to see what you had in your 46g. I think you could possibly keep one in your 46g. That is if you don't have anything in there that could possibly be a meal for the anemone. If all you have is a 36g to keep them in then definitely these should go back to RCA, because they will out grow your tank. One haddoni might be ok in your 36g for a little while, if thats all you want in that tank with your two clarkii clowns.

[ratboy]

Yup those are carpets which will eat your smaller fish but should color back up nicely if fed and under some decent lighting. I kept 2 carpets for ~ 2 years with 200W of PC lighting in a 40 and another 2 years under a 250W MH. They did well in both conditions and would grow to over 18" when well fed. I only kept a pair of clarkiis and 1 carpet in my 40 - the clowns would kill any other fish I put in the tank.

[mama]

Well....so FAR, so good....the mandarin is living dangerously and loves to be with the Clarkii's...talk about Russian Roulette!!...the carpet opens nicely to about 5 inches so far, the other is still behind the rockwork in the corner...the other Clarkii hangs with it back there...I guess when and if they get too big, I'll just figure something out...the Clarkiis have not bothered anyone else...but thank goodness for being an at home mom...i get to babysit this tank every hour on the hour!!:bigsmile:

[Richard]

Is that freshwater/blasting gravel your using?

[mama]

Ya know....I don't know!!! I bought the tank used, ask a reliable source if this substrate would be OK for salt, and got the go ahead...this gravel came with the tank which, yes, was used for freshwater...WHY???? am I going to go into a fetal position again??? it has been set up with my salties since April....

[Robb_in_Austin]

I think your ok as far as the sand goes. Some don't like it because it doesn't buffer and is difficult for sand shifting fish/inverts to live in it. It might also cause some phosphate/silicate issues. If it's been running since April without difficulty I'd say it's ok. Now, un-fetal and go enjoy your fish! :)

You might look into upgrading that lighting though.

[Richard]

It won't hurt anything but doesn't provide the benefits mentioned. Also it is large enough grain size that it can accumulate alot of detritus eventually. So if you start having high nitrates/phosphates or algae problems then you may want to replace it with fine aragonite. Or vacuum the gravel just like you do with freshwater.

[mama]

aahhh!! that's why my phosphate has been a little off!! I am checking into that tomorrow...and yes...I will be adding another T5 strip...I did add another 36" PowerGlo flourescent just in the meantime because I had it lying around...little by little, I'll get this right!! You guys are awesome...I gotta get to the next meeting so I can put a face to these names!!!