Who can answer a question about my mini carpet?

[Cl0ne1]

FIRST...I would like to convey that I think my mini carpet is a mini maxi. It does not have the entire surface area covered in tentacles, it has a striped pattern like all the mini maxi's I have seen.
SECOND...These mini carpets anemones were simple hitch hikers. I do not know where they came from, what they are called, and how large they get. I contacted the individual I purchased my LR from and he said he did not have any mini carpets....ODD.

NOW: About 4 months ago, I noticed a lonely little dime sized carpet anemone(what kind I am unsure of even to this day). About 4 weeks later, another one popped up. It looks exactly the same and is within 6 inches of the first, I note this because it is a 55 gallon tank and that is pretty close for it to be a coinsidence. About 4 weeks after that, another one popped up and it looks exactly like the other two and are is right next to the first one. Now, another one just popped up and it looks just like the other 3 and is right next to the 2nd anemone I spotted. All 4 nems are about the size of a dime. What EXACTLY is going on?

One individual on here said that the environment could be stressful to the point that they are splitting instead of growing. No offense to that individual but, I doubt this because my water parameters are within recommended levels.
Nitrate 0-40
Posphate less than 0.25
kdh ~9º
Salinity ~1.024-1.026 it fluxuates because of evap but I add RO water either every day or every other day
Amonia and nitrite 0
Calcium ~400-420 a little low but I do not have very many of calcium dependant corals
Ph ~8.0-8.1 depending on temp...LFS said not to use buffers because it would be a never ending battle and 8.0 was good enough
Temp 76.6-78.4 always..only reason I know this is because I am awake all hours of the day...I work from 6pm to 6am overnight
2 nems are at the top of the tank, with plenty of flow. The other 2 nems are right below them in a kind of pit with little flow and of course less light. I know that the 2nd one I found that is still at the top doesn't get too much or too little light because he keeps moving back and forth between the shade and out under the light.

Guy at the LFS said that they could have been hiding in the rocks this whole time. No offense to him but, I doubt this because that would mean that the newest would have been hiding in the rocks for 4 months with no light and less food than I have been directly feeding to the other nems. This would mean that it would at least be smaller...but no.

I'm not trying to step on toes, sorry nondisclosed guy on here and LFS guy, but it doesn't make sense. If the water params are good, why would they be splitting at this rate? If they aren't splitting, where are they coming from? I find it weird that the 1rst one that I spotted about 4 months ago has not gotten any bigger even though I have been spot feeding them as they pop up. If they keep splitting and only stay the size of a dime, how would I go about determining that it is not my tank? I mean, after 4 months the first one hasn't died, yet it had the energy to split in half? They are on very porous rock...how do I get them off? I would like to test one in my friends tank. If anyone has any suggestions or knowledge on the matter, please help. I have only been in the saltwater hobby for about 8 months now and I haven't even ventured down the anemone road yet. Can I cut them this small? I swear, if another one pops up, I will just to find out.

Tank you for your time,

Kevin

 

[FishLipz]

There are two varieties of "mini" carpets. The maxi mini (Stichodactyla tapetum) is the 6-8 inch variety that comes in every color you can think of. As far as I know, this species doesn't commonly split on its own. There is another species that stays smaller (only a couple inches) and splits prolifically on its own. I've never seen this variety in the wild colors like like the maxi minis.

As far as getting one off the rock, one trick I've used is touching an ice cube close to the foot of the anemone. Most of the time it will let go with some gentile encouragement.

 

[Giancarlo]

Take a pic, I'm Thinking it could be something else? Like a glass nem.

 

[FishLipz]

The other thing I was thinking was a mojano anemone. A LFS had some in a tank that I swear looked like little carpets when they pulled in tight to the rock work.

 

[Cl0ne1]

Ok...I sized these pictures wrong. If you can see the snails, they are DWARF cerith snails. Thats how big they are. In the first picture is the second one I found. The second pictures is the 4th one that just cropped up. And if you can see it, the 3rd pic has the 1rst and 3rd ones about one cm from the reflection of the blue light on the water above the torch and the 2nd and 4th up closer to the right of them.

 

[Cl0ne1]

I can't get any good pics because my waterproof camera's battery is dead. It is definately not a mojano, as within 4 months they have never raised away from the rocks and they don't have any long tentacles. They respond JUST like a nem when spot fed. They have a green and purple "diameter lines"(going from the mouth out to the edge) on what looks like a flat fleshy surface. But they have the outer ring of tentacles looks almost like an inverted cog. They look just like a mini maxi, but they aren't growing and are most likely splitting. It is driving me nuts because I really want to see what their design looks like if they were bigger.

Tank you for your time,

Kevin

 

[Giancarlo]

Your right, it does look like mini carpet.

 

[cparka23]

That's not a maxi mini carpet. It's often called a "mini mini carpet" on forums, and I don't know if anyone's figured out its scientific name. I seriously doubt that they're the same species as the anemones we call maxi minis.

Sorry to bear the news, but they won't get much bigger than an inch or so. Melev has these in his tank and gave them away for free to people in my old local reef club. Here's a little writeup he did of these guys.

 

[Cl0ne1]

Ya, I read that thread becasue someone reefered me to it once before. They are already splitting and if they don't get any bigger than they are now, then they don't even get as big as the ones mentioned in this thread. Letterally acan heads are bigger than these little guys. If they aren't getting any bigger and they keep splitting, I might just be giving some away really soon. I don't want my tank to become over crowded with them.

Tank you for your time,

Kevin