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Old 06-13-2008, 09:10 PM
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Delphinus Delphinus is offline
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Do you know what species it is? If not can you post a picture?

Reason I ask is that the "care and feeding requirements" differ species for carpets. Stichodactyla haddoni is largely not too demanding, but grows large (24" not uncommon), is sticky like crazy and can catch and eat fish (as well as any other mobile critter unlucky enough to stumble into the anemone and not be able to pull away). They are hardy of a wider range of lighting. Generally speaking they will stay put in a spot they like but can start to wander if not fed enough.

S. gigantea does not grow as large (typically), and is more of a planktivore than a piscivore (ie., eats things like small shrimp instead of fish), but has a poor survival record in captivity - although generally speaking the losses are poor initial imports and thus acquiring one from a fellow hobbyist would presumably be less risky that way.

FWIW, there are 2 other carpet species occasionally imported - S. helianthus and S. mertensii but these are pretty infrequently seen.

Odds are pretty good that yours is a haddoni.

Generally speaking both gigantea and haddoni will stay near the bottom, wedging their feet into the crevasses between rocks or in some depression. Haddoni will likely attach to the bottom glass (digging its way through sand - in fact they can bury themselves in sand), whereas gigantea will likely attach to rock near the bottom. When smaller, haddoni anemones may climb to higher spots on the the rocks but they generally move down to the bottom as they get bigger.

IME, neither species seems to particularly appreciate being in spots of low flow. Gigantea in particular seems to prefer higher flow and higher light conditions.
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