Feedback/suggestions on future nem purchase

[top shelf]

My tank is turning 1yr old next week and I think I'm finally going to add a nem. The tank was originally designed around adding a blue gig at some point. Well in that time I have gotten really attached to my fish and I think my son and myself would be very upset if the new nem I just had to have ate our fish that we had from the beginning. This left me looking for other options, the last 2 fish will be a pair of percula clowns and I want a natural host for them. That leaves me with H. Mag, H. Crispa, and I believe mertens. The mertens is out for the same reason as the gig.

I've have been leaning heavily towards the H. Crispa from the research I have done. It seems as though placement is similar to that of a gig which is a huge bonus for how my rock work is setup and the image I have in my mind for the final look of my tank. It is also much easier than a gig and vivid currently has blue tips for sale which is the color I want even if it's not the whole nem, sometimes you just have to compromise. The thing is everyone seems to want either a gig, bta, mag, and occasionally LTA. I always see people inquiring about those but not so much on H. Crispa and it has me wondering why. Am I missing something here or are they just not as desirable to people? Not that there isn't tons of info about them you just dont see as many people asking about buying them.

The next choice is H. Mag, I really do like the look of these and I'm not opposed to one either I just know there is a lot more involved with getting them to the display. The procedures seem to be the same as a carpet and they are just about as difficult. I could find a spot for one on the rock work but it would be slightly more challenging, still doable though. Currently LA has them in stock along with the cucumber I want to get. I have a tank and light capable of qt'ing one if necessary, which from my understanding it usually is, but I dont have any cipro on hand since i opted out of the blue gig.

I know this is a rather long post and I apologize for that I just want to make the right informed decision so looking for any and all input. I know people are going to ask so I'll post tank info:

Just shy of 1yr old
45g sca (24x20x20)
Sump that came with it
Sca 301 skimmer
Stock return pump
Chaeto in center section
About 35-40lbs LR
2 mp10wqd (will be installing guards)
Maspect razr 120w w/2 t5 supplement bulbs
Lps and sps doing well
All controlled via apex Jr
Calc 420
Alk 7.9
Mag 1350
No3 and po4 undectable but I know its there

Thank you guys in advance for your help.

[WatDatThing]

I got a medium mag from LA 3 weeks ago. The one I received is huge. It arrived in very bad shape. I highly recommend having Cipro and QT ready to start treatment. My mag took 3 doses before it stopped deflating. Good luck if you do chose to get a mag.


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[top shelf]

Thanks for sharing your recent experience with la mags, just as I suspected sounds like cipro will be a must.

[Kinetic]

I'm biased, but magnificas are incredible. If you can wait, just look out for one that's super colorful (red foot, purple body, yellow tips). Mine is lavender throughout with white/yellow tips, and I got it from someone that had it in their tank for half a year at least after treating with cipro. After they're treated, they're very very hardy.

I've seen my dottyback, blenny, and chromis touch the magnifica and not have any problems. Usually they're chased away by the clowns, but on occasion they'll touch it and not get stung (at least nothing I can tell).

Also, I had my Magnifica on a flat, smooth rock up high, and ultimately it settled down on a jagged rock towards the bottom. So hard to know where it'll want to settle. High flow, high light seems to be the key.

[top shelf]

Thanks Kinetic, that's what everyone says about about mags and it is a huge plus for them. I dont know any reefers local to me but I do see mags come up for sale here that have been treated and well established in some cases for years. Just haven't been in the position to purchase one until now. I will agree some mags are gorgeous, they are just few and far between.

I like the look of H. Crispa as well, I have just been wondering why not that many people seem interested in them. They aren't that much more difficult then bta and not nearly as difficult as mags and other carpets and appear to be readily available. The only drawback I can find is it seems they lose zooxanthellae easily and are usually always bleached. If I can find a blue tip I think I would still be happy given neither nem was really my first choice.

[top shelf]

Granted it is an old picture but thought I'd share a photo of what I'm working with as far as aquascape goes. I went with the horseshoe shape because I thought it would work best for a carpet and allow decent space to grow. I also wanted to try something a little different.

The base rocks are sunk deep in the sand sitting on top of egg crate which would allow a nem to bury its foot at the rock sand interface. A mag could call home up further in the rock work but would limit coral placement as a trade off.

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[Kinetic]

looks good. I'm sure you know, but it's inevitable that an anemone will walk into your powerhead and nuke the tank. Hope you have a good guard for it!

A magnifica will walk all over the place, and will try to attach to the glass walls if it can bridge the gap (and it will stretch to do so). If you already have established corals anchored on the rockwork, you may have some issues when the mag starts wandering. There's a chance, however, that you'll have the perfect rock and placement for a mag, but it's a risk.

I don't know how crispas do, so maybe you'd be ok there.

[top shelf]

Thank you. I still have the original foam guards that came with the vortechs, they will be going on before any nem goes in. I hear the only draw back back to them is you have to clean them a lot or you lose flow. I think that's just a risk we take when purchasing any nem. As hard as we try to keep em happy sometimes they just go for a stroll.

I'm not sure about crispa either, maybe Minh can chime in with some knowledge and experience.

[Uncle99]

My understanding of the Sabae is that it does not always ship well and this leads to a short captivity life. Healthy Sabaes are generally brownish in colour, 10-15cm tents tipped pink, blue, purple. Many I run into are whitish. To me, that indicates the zoo had been expelled and chances of survival are greatly diminshed.

The Sabae hosts around a dozen or so clown species, no guarantee of course, but likely increases the odds.

The easiest nem for me is the simple BTA. It grabs the rock, it doesn't wander and if you search, colour can be fantastic. Mine is bright orange/red with tiny black dots at the tips.

Since it doesn't wander ( except for two days when new) my corals are safe and I don't cover any wavemakers.

While not normal, is a host to my mated pair of Darwin's

My only advice would be to make sure your choice is healthy.

Your an experienced reefer (I have read many of your posts) no question you and your tank are nem ready IMO.

[top shelf]

Well thank you for the kind words uncle, its appreciated.

That is the same conclusion I came to about h. crispa from the reading I did, they are more likely to expelle zoox during shipping then some others and as a result are usually always bleached upon arrival. Come to think of it the few I have seen in stores have always been white with purple tips. Haven't seen a healthy one yet.

I like bta's and agree with you, they do come in some very nice colors and are much easier as far as care goes. In a previous tank I had a green and rose, when we get around to it my son's tank will have one for those exact reasons. For this tank though I want to go with a natural host.

Clownfish are odd to begin with, who knows I could provide them with a natural host and they may choose to take up residence in my torch or hammer. Heck my vortechs may even look good to em, luck of the draw I suppose.

[Kinetic]

Originally Posted by top shelf

Thank you. I still have the original foam guards that came with the vortechs, they will be going on before any nem goes in. I hear the only draw back back to them is you have to clean them a lot or you lose flow. I think that's just a risk we take when purchasing any nem. As hard as we try to keep em happy sometimes they just go for a stroll.

I'm not sure about crispa either, maybe Minh can chime in with some knowledge and experience.

The foam guards are definitely one of the safer guards, but yes, they are restrictively difficult to maintain. On my gyre, I had them, but switched to the mesh. Even with the mesh, my magnifica had a few tentacles pulled through and chopped a few tips off, so I had to turn off the pump.

If you do a search, I believe people 3D printed a solid guard around their vortechs that still allowed plenty of water flow but no way for an anemone to squeeze through.

[Kinetic]

By the way, LA's diver's den has a Magnifica coming this afternoon. Might be worth looking out for. I might try it if it has some amazing colors

[top shelf]

I'll definitely have to look into the 3D printed guards, it's crazy what they can do these days.

I think I might be in a good position with the foam guards, I only run mine at 60% master and 50% slave so I still have room to work with if need be. The biggest thing I dont like is having to put my hands in the tank so much. I dont mind maintenance but I try to take a hands out approach.

I'll have to check it out if it isn't gone right away, pretty much guaranteed though if its decent. Everyone wants that show mag. Have you checked out ibluewater? I know once upon a time they were the go to place if you wanted something special. They have a few different variants. They have pics listed of one with an orange base and yellow tents with purple tips. Just not sure how they are anymore.

[top shelf]

Originally Posted by Kinetic

By the way, LA's diver's den has a Magnifica coming this afternoon. Might be worth looking out for. I might try it if it has some amazing colors

It looks like it might have some potential, if it last till payday I might just give it a shot.

[WatDatThing]

The one DD looks like the one I got through normal store except mine has purple foot. The purple isn't as deep as some of the ones I have seen in the forum. Under the black box blue light, the tip looks light purple/ blueish. I wonder what the DD one looks like under blue light.

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[pfan151]

I wouldn’t get a crispa. They get pretty giant and will eventually end up taking up most of your tank and will just look out of place. I’d grab a malu. Stay about ten inches and have better colors than most crispas.

[top shelf]

Originally Posted by pfan151

I wouldn’t get a crispa. They get pretty giant and will eventually end up taking up most of your tank and will just look out of place. I’d grab a malu. Stay about ten inches and have better colors than most crispas.

Are crispa like some of the others where if you dont feed them they wont grow much or grow very slowly or will they just keep growing regardless?

[Kinetic]

Originally Posted by WatDatThing

The one DD looks like the one I got through normal store except mine has purple foot. The purple isn't as deep as some of the ones I have seen in the forum. Under the black box blue light, the tip looks light purple/ blueish. I wonder what the DD one looks like under blue light.

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Yeah, the DD one is probably more of a lavender, probably doesn't have the purple/red. It's a nice one though, looks to be pretty healthy.

I was getting ready at 3pm Pacific to pull the trigger, but wasn't what I' was hoping for. I'm waiting on a very red/purple foot.

[top shelf]

Took a 6hr round trip to that pet place today with my boy for an H. Crispa and pink cuke that ended in a 6hr round trip for frozen food...

I called ahead to confirm that they were crispa because thats what they had pictured on the website and was reassured they had 2 that had been there 2-3 weeks. Well we get there and they turned out to be 2 flat or zebra I believe is the other name. I didn't get much of an answer when I brought up I had called prior to confirm the type only to get there and it be something else. He could tell I was irritated and couldn't get away fast enough. The pink cukes they also confirmed were in stock also turned out to be common Florida cukes. In the end I placed an order with Vivid since prior experiences with them were great so I should have my new nem and tiger tail cuke on Tues. I'll try to get some pics when they arrive.

Overall my first experience with that pet place wasn't a happy one. The saving grace was the touch pond which made my sons day so seeing him happy makes it worth it.

Sorry for the rant but I feel better now lol If people are interested I will start a new thread tracking the progression of my new nem. Thank you to everyone for your input and suggestions. I really would love a mag but at this time I just dont feel I can properly give it the amount of attention it will need to get healthy and it wouldn't be right or fair to the nem.

[Kinetic]

Sorry to hear about the shop! That really sucks.

When you get the new anemone, defnitely start the thread!

[top shelf]

Originally Posted by Kinetic

Sorry to hear about the shop! That really sucks.

When you get the new anemone, defnitely start the thread!

Honestly it was a really nice place, biggest I've been to with admittedly a wide selection and most things look healthy. It can take something like that though to ruin a first experience. If I lived closer I would go more often and it wouldn't be a big deal. Live and learn I suppose.

I'll definitely start a new thread once it arrives, vivid can take 1-4 days to get the order together and they call to confirm a shipping date first. No call today so my guess is I asked for a very specific nem so they're probably tracking it down.

[top shelf]

Its official my new nem and tiger tail cuke are being shipped out tomorrow for Friday delivery. I'm very excited and nervous at the same time. Vivid usually does pretty good so I'm hopeful it will be somewhat healthy upon arrival.

[davocean]

Originally Posted by top shelf

Are crispa like some of the others where if you dont feed them they wont grow much or grow very slowly or will they just keep growing regardless?

They might grow faster if fed, but crispa get big regardless.
My last was 2' in diameter.
I agree they take up a lot of tank.

Mag would be my choice, just have cipro ready for it.

[top shelf]

I have heard they can get big, theres a decent size area on the sand for it to grow up to a foot or so across. I found a few posts by Minh suggesting they shouldn't get to big if not feed so I decided to pull the trigger. I have a few back up plans in place if that is not the case though.

[davocean]

Light is their main source of energy, they will still grow w/out being spot fed(My last 2 footer was not spot fed) just not as fast.
Hopefully it stays where you plan to put it.