New Stichodactyla Gigantea Anemone

[Der_Iron_Chef]

I picked up my new Gigantea from Gold Aquariums on Saturday. I've been pretty nervous and have done everything I could to prepare for its arrival, including purchasing a Vortech.

I know flow is a HUGE factor in their survival, so I've made a short video to show what kind of flow it's getting now. If you think it needs more or less, please speak up! The Vortech is set on Reef Crest Random, so it's a modulating sort of random flow. It doesn't exactly show in the video, but the bottom part IS lifted off the bottom at times from the random flow.

In other news, my clown (the hosting whore that it is) has happily settled in.

[bv_reefer]

that is seriously one big anemone! how wide is it across drew?...must look unbelievable under actinics!

[Lance]

Wow, what a monster! That thing is a serious GREEN!

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Yeah, it IS a monster. Bigger than it was in the store, that's for sure! I'm guessing....at least 12" across. It's sort of attached against a vertical piece of rock, so we're not seeing it laying flat out...but it definitely lives up to its name.

[MMAX]

I'm certainly no expert on the amount of flow in reef tanks so I can't help you there, but that is one good lookin piece of livestock.

[michika]

I saw those anemones on Thursday, and they are so pretty. NIce choice, it looks great in your tank!

[Parker]

Wow that thing is huge!

If small neighborhood pets start to go missing we know where to look!

[Der_Iron_Chef]

lol, no kidding.

BTW...it attached right away, and its tentacles are definitely "sticky" (ouch) and it was able to eat some mysis last night. The tentacles also move randomly on their own, regardless of flow.

As you can also see near the end of the video, its mouth is closed tightly...which I'm presuming is a good sign

[Delphinus]

It's a beaut, Drew.

All indications I can see seem positive. The flow seems good, your description is what I have sort of used as a suggestion to others regarding flow - ie, you want to see the "skirt lifted up" occasionally. Another way to think of it is, any slime or goo that comes to rest on the oral disk, should be washed away by the current rather than let it settle indefinitely on the anemone.

If you have any frozen cyclops-eeze, you should try shooting some towards the carpet with a turkey baster. At least mine react like crazy, really coming alive for it (looks like a bowl of spaghetti gone berserk). Although I would caution against feeding too much for the first couple of weeks, go gently and ramp up slowly. Although having said that if it's eaten mysis already, it could be ready to eat, you have to sort of observe and use your own judgment. It's just that too much food (right off the bat) is probably worse than not enough food, so it's a bit of a delicate balancing act. Observing carefully though does tell us whether they're ready for more or not .. you'll just know. I'm probably not making a whole lot of sense here .. sorry..

[digital-audiophile]

Nice score Drew! That anemone is a really sexy creature!