Show us your giganteas!

[D-Nak]

Are they typically found in silty/unclear water in the wild? If I remember correctly, giganteas in Singapore are found in similar conditions.

Makes me wonder how much they have to adapt for our reefs, and if their native conditions actually foster greater opportunity for rampant spread of infection during transport.

I've seen plenty of photos of gigs in Singapore (via Wild Singapore) living in very turbid water. Some photos show them at low tide exposed to direct sunlight.

Obviously they've adapted to less than optimal living conditions. However, even under these conditions they have plenty of seawater to flush out pathogens, which typically doesn't happen once they enter the supply chain.

 

[sedgro]

I took this video last week in a net enclosed swimming area the hotel had set up. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the anemones and clowns were transplanted there for hotel guests. They had also set up several other areas of reef (obviously man-made based on the rocks surrounding the reef structure) for tourists to snorkel over. Mostly Acropora Formosa and hoeksemai. When we left the hotel property to snorkel, the reefs were much more extensive but I did not see any other S. gigantea. Lots or H. magnifica, H. crispa and S. mertensii thought. Here is the location of the gigs:

26°31'40.0"N 127°55'30.8"E

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[krak256]

I recently ordered this gig that came in pretty rough shape. There was a ton of stuff (zoox?) in the bag and it was cloudy. Even its tentacles weren't sticky. Here are pics right after it arrived:

After it started pancaking, I immediately started cipro. At night, it looked terrible:

However, today it seems to be a bit better?

Will this gig color back up? This was the online picture:

TBH I didn't think it was the same nem but the vendor said it was. For comparison, here is someone else's pic that bought the same color nem:

 

[MartinM]

I recently ordered this gig that came in pretty rough shape. There was a ton of stuff (zoox?) in the bag and it was cloudy. Even its tentacles weren't sticky. Here are pics right after it arrived:

After it started pancaking, I immediately started cipro. At night, it looked terrible:

However, today it seems to be a bit better?

Will this gig color back up? This was the online picture:

TBH I didn't think it was the same nem but the vendor said it was. For comparison, here is someone else's pic that bought the same color nem:

Could definitely come back, keep up with the treatment. And warn everyone to stay away from that vendor!

 

[krak256]

Could definitely come back, keep up with the treatment. And warn everyone to stay away from that vendor!

The vendor was highly responsive and ended up giving me a refund. I wouldn’t hesitate buying from them again.

Here is a pic from today, day 5 in treatment. I’m a bit concerned that it’s mouth still isn’t tight and it deflates and gapes at night. Perhaps it’s trying to expel its zoox still?

 

[D-Nak]

Glad to hear that you were able to resolve the issue with the vendor.

As long as it is able to inflate/deflate, you have a good chance that it'll survive. Even though you may not see it physically expel anything and you don't find any dead zoox, it is still purging waste and taking in fresh water, so it's important to keep up with water changes. Once it's able to "stand" properly on its foot (instead of looking more like a pancake) which usually happens after it stops deflating, you can consider stopping the antibiotic.

What size tank is it in? If that's a 10 gallon tank, then you've got a pretty big gig!

 

[krak256]

Glad to hear that you were able to resolve the issue with the vendor.

As long as it is able to inflate/deflate, you have a good chance that it'll survive. Even though you may not see it physically expel anything and you don't find any dead zoox, it is still purging waste and taking in fresh water, so it's important to keep up with water changes. Once it's able to "stand" properly on its foot (instead of looking more like a pancake) which usually happens after it stops deflating, you can consider stopping the antibiotic.

What size tank is it in? If that's a 10 gallon tank, then you've got a pretty big gig!

Its a 6.5g tank. I'm changing water once a day; should I do more often?

 

[MartinM]

Its a 6.5g tank. I'm changing water once a day; should I do more often?

IMO it's looking pretty good, I would keep doing what you're doing! Be patient, it could take 1-2 weeks. Don't quit treatment as soon as it starts to look good and stay stable. Once it completely stops the cycle, kept going with the antibiotics at least another 3 days.

 

[Hot2na]

The vendor was highly responsive and ended up giving me a refund. I wouldn’t hesitate buying from them again.

If that anemone makes it 100 % ..I think you should do the right thing and PAY the vendor for it..

 

[386reeftrader]

If that anemone makes it 100 % ..I think you should do the right thing and PAY the vendor for it..

The right thing would have been for the vendor to treat it prior to sale, unless the vendor was selling at an extremely discounted price. I see a lot of these vendors lately trying to get big bucks for untreated Gigs, which is wrong imo. Like selling a car with a bad transmission for full price. If someone didn’t have a QT and antibiotics on standby there’s almost no chance for the nem, and I’ve yet to see any vendor state in the description “be prepared for treatment” when selling these. If a vendor wants to treat the nem prior, making sure it’s a healthy specimen and then sell for an arm and a leg, they have my full support.

 

[MartinM]

The right thing would have been for the vendor to treat it prior to sale, unless the vendor was selling at an extremely discounted price. I see a lot of these vendors lately trying to get big bucks for untreated Gigs, which is wrong imo. Like selling a car with a bad transmission for full price. If someone didn’t have a QT and antibiotics on standby there’s almost no chance for the nem, and I’ve yet to see any vendor state in the description “be prepared for treatment” when selling these. If a vendor wants to treat the nem prior, making sure it’s a healthy specimen and then sell for an arm and a leg, they have my full support.

Correct, it never should have been sold, much less shipped, in that condition.

 

[D-Nak]

This particular vendor received a big shipment of gigs, and the video I saw showed a few sick ones (partially deflated, expelling dead zoox) mixed in with ones that appeared to be okay. As we know, the pathogen can spread rampantly, so I always recommend isolating each anemone, but with such a large shipment, I assume that's probably not possible. I'm guessing most, if not all of the gigs that they received were infected.

In short, it's still "buyer beware" when it comes to purchasing a gig. Most vendors don't offer any sort of guarantee, and often label them with some sort of "guarantee restriction" that only ensures that the anemone arrives alive.

 

[Hot2na]

The right thing would have been for the vendor to treat it prior to sale, unless the vendor was selling at an extremely discounted price. I see a lot of these vendors lately trying to get big bucks for untreated Gigs, which is wrong imo. Like selling a car with a bad transmission for full price. If someone didn’t have a QT and antibiotics on standby there’s almost no chance for the nem, and I’ve yet to see any vendor state in the description “be prepared for treatment” when selling these. If a vendor wants to treat the nem prior, making sure it’s a healthy specimen and then sell for an arm and a leg, they have my full support.

So much wrong with this statement it's ridiculous.. I wont even bother pointing out the particulars ..or trying to correct.

 

[Hot2na]

In short, it's still "buyer beware" when it comes to purchasing a gig.

Correct , and even if some vendor "treats" a new gig ..NO guarantees it wont get sick again after being shipped overnight or longer .. That's why I wouldn't waste my money paying a PREMIUM for a "treated" gig ... (Blue Kai,Etc)
Treat every new arrival in YOUR home and DIY ..

 

[386reeftrader]

So much wrong with this statement it's ridiculous.. I wont even bother pointing out the particulars ..or trying to correct.

What’s wrong with proper business? These are not being sold as “DIY” or “treat in your own home” specimens. There needs to be better standards for Gigs then maybe the forums wouldn’t be filled with posts about sick or dying Giganteas. A treated, healthy Gig is dang near bullet proof. If it’s not on the vendor to sell you a healthy specimen they better be selling at a fair price for what the buyer is going to have to go through to get that animal to survive in their care.

 

[D-Nak]

What’s wrong with proper business? These are not being sold as “DIY” or “treat in your own home” specimens. There needs to be better standards for Gigs then maybe the forums wouldn’t be filled with posts about sick or dying Giganteas. A treated, healthy Gig is dang near bullet proof. If it’s not on the vendor to sell you a healthy specimen they better be selling at a fair price for what the buyer is going to have to go through to get that animal to survive in their care.

While I agree that something needs to be done, I don't think we can rely on vendors to QT gigs properly. They may actually do more harm than good if they do something like trying to treat an entire tank of gigs all at once (QTing two gigs in the same tank rarely works!).

Years ago I saw a photo of a facility (I think it was in the UK) that was individually treating anemones, each in its own container. However, when you think about the cost of QTing a single anemone--which if I were to do I'd probably charge around $200 ( to cover the cost of ~100 gallons of fresh saltwater, Cipro, labor, etc.)--most people wouldn't want to spend that much extra without a 100% survival guarantee, or for something that they think that can do successfully on their own (more on this later). Unfortunately, which shipping factored in, you can never offer that guarantee. The risk is too great, so it's not a good business decision.

In terms of a "fair price" that is really driven by supply-and-demand. Years ago I could purchase tan gigs for $40. Now I can't find one for less than $100. Prices go up exponentially for the greens, purples, and blues. The revelation that these anemones could be saved by antibiotics was a blessing but also a curse. As hobbyists saw those few gigs that actually survived the QT process, the demand shot up.

Lastly, I think many novice anemone enthusiasts don't understand how difficult it is to QT a gigantea. They're by far the hardest to treat, and most specimens are simply too far gone to survive, even though they may look salvageable at first glance. Even with a label that says "leave it for the experts" many hobbyists will make the attempt and fail. Until we stop doing that, businesses will still sell them.

 

[386reeftrader]

While I agree that something needs to be done, I don't think we can rely on vendors to QT gigs properly. They may actually do more harm than good if they do something like trying to treat an entire tank of gigs all at once (QTing two gigs in the same tank rarely works!).

Years ago I saw a photo of a facility (I think it was in the UK) that was individually treating anemones, each in its own container. However, when you think about the cost of QTing a single anemone--which if I were to do I'd probably charge around $200 ( to cover the cost of ~100 gallons of fresh saltwater, Cipro, labor, etc.)--most people wouldn't want to spend that much extra without a 100% survival guarantee, or for something that they think that can do successfully on their own (more on this later). Unfortunately, which shipping factored in, you can never offer that guarantee. The risk is too great, so it's not a good business decision.

In terms of a "fair price" that is really driven by supply-and-demand. Years ago I could purchase tan gigs for $40. Now I can't find one for less than $100. Prices go up exponentially for the greens, purples, and blues. The revelation that these anemones could be saved by antibiotics was a blessing but also a curse. As hobbyists saw those few gigs that actually survived the QT process, the demand shot up.

Lastly, I think many novice anemone enthusiasts don't understand how difficult it is to QT a gigantea. They're by far the hardest to treat, and most specimens are simply too far gone to survive, even though they may look salvageable at first glance. Even with a label that says "leave it for the experts" many hobbyists will make the attempt and fail. Until we stop doing that, businesses will still sell them.

No I agree, there’s no easy solution. Just irks me that some of these vendors have no problem selling these nems that (they) know are destined to perish in the hands of any novice hobbyist or anyone not setup to QT on arrival. While the risk does land on the buyer I think there could be more awareness from the sellers that if not treated you’re looking at close to 0% chance of survival.

That said I think there’s plenty of hobbyist that would pay a premium for healthy, treated Gigs. Just like we pay a premium for healthy, aquaculture corals, free of pests.

 

[MartinM]

While I agree that something needs to be done, I don't think we can rely on vendors to QT gigs properly. They may actually do more harm than good if they do something like trying to treat an entire tank of gigs all at once (QTing two gigs in the same tank rarely works!).

Years ago I saw a photo of a facility (I think it was in the UK) that was individually treating anemones, each in its own container. However, when you think about the cost of QTing a single anemone--which if I were to do I'd probably charge around $200 ( to cover the cost of ~100 gallons of fresh saltwater, Cipro, labor, etc.)--most people wouldn't want to spend that much extra without a 100% survival guarantee, or for something that they think that can do successfully on their own (more on this later). Unfortunately, which shipping factored in, you can never offer that guarantee. The risk is too great, so it's not a good business decision.

In terms of a "fair price" that is really driven by supply-and-demand. Years ago I could purchase tan gigs for $40. Now I can't find one for less than $100. Prices go up exponentially for the greens, purples, and blues. The revelation that these anemones could be saved by antibiotics was a blessing but also a curse. As hobbyists saw those few gigs that actually survived the QT process, the demand shot up.

Lastly, I think many novice anemone enthusiasts don't understand how difficult it is to QT a gigantea. They're by far the hardest to treat, and most specimens are simply too far gone to survive, even though they may look salvageable at first glance. Even with a label that says "leave it for the experts" many hobbyists will make the attempt and fail. Until we stop doing that, businesses will still sell them.

The only thing I disagree with here is that IME haddonis have a much lower survival rate than gigs.

 

[MartinM]

No I agree, there’s no easy solution. Just irks me that some of these vendors have no problem selling these nems that (they) know are destined to perish in the hands of any novice hobbyist or anyone not setup to QT on arrival. While the risk does land on the buyer I think there could be more awareness from the sellers that if not treated you’re looking at close to 0% chance of survival.

That said I think there’s plenty of hobbyist that would pay a premium for healthy, treated Gigs. Just like we pay a premium for healthy, aquaculture corals, free of pests.

The only study I anm aware of that I read years back showed that 99% of everything in the hobby dies within 24 months and 90% of hobbyists exited after 18 months. It’s probably still accurate.

 

[Hot2na]

This particular vendor received a big shipment of gigs, and the video I saw showed a few sick ones (partially deflated, expelling dead zoox) mixed in with ones that appeared to be okay. As we know, the pathogen can spread rampantly, so I always recommend isolating each anemone, but with such a large shipment, I assume that's probably not possible. I'm guessing most, if not all of the gigs that they received were infected.

Yes , and no..I saw all in person..A few were noticeably infected, others looked amazing.. But as you point out - If they are all in the same system the chances are there for infection to be spread to all..Thats why I show up in person - try to pick one that shows no signs of infection, and no matter what - take home and treat .. The conditions at the vendor being discussed are EXCELLENT ..natural sunlight in greenhouse conditions, good flow , large system..and the vendor FEEDS each anemone on a regular basis..You wont see a better place to buy an anemone..