Jan December 22, 2009 Share December 22, 2009 I've aquired 5 of these little beauties. I've been looking for them for quite sometime. they're really pretty and they grow really fast especially when fed mysis. I got 2 when they were smaller than a dime and now they're as big as a quarter. I also aquired a little baby tang. I put it in my ico becaseu of it's size. the pico was temporary housing for this little one until it got bigger. It was about 2" long. I thought the pico was safe . The tang swam too close to one of the mini carpets and that was that. It stuck to the carpet like glue. It was very difficult to get the tang off of the mini nem. These little animals are strong and super sticky. I finally got the Tang off but it did not survive the sting. I had no idea these little gems were so vicious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amuze December 22, 2009 Share December 22, 2009 (edited) You put a tang in a pico? It would have been fine in a larger tank. Doesn't matter if the tang is small, it still needs a larger tank. Sorry for the loss, but it would have probably died in the pico anyway. Edited December 22, 2009 by audible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan December 22, 2009 Author Share December 22, 2009 It would not have survived 5 minutes in my 75. It would have been picked apart by the larger fish in my 75. I've seen what they do to fnew fish their own size. It was temporary and the tang was very very tiny. It was doing great until it got stuck. The pico was no different than a small QT but the point was the carpet anemones. You put a tang in a pico? It would have been fine in a larger tank. Doesn't matter if the tang is small, it still needs a larger tank. Sorry for the loss, but it would have probably died in the pico anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k December 22, 2009 Share December 22, 2009 Jan- don't let the tang police harass you. a pico would be a fine QT for anything as long as it wasn't permanent housing. FWIW, I have one of those anemones too and my flame hawk perches on it from time to time- I wonder if I come home from Xmas vacation to find missing fish and a jumbo mini carpet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amuze December 22, 2009 Share December 22, 2009 Jan- don't let the tang police harass you. a pico would be a fine QT for anything as long as it wasn't permanent housing.FWIW, I have one of those anemones too and my flame hawk perches on it from time to time- I wonder if I come home from Xmas vacation to find missing fish and a jumbo mini carpet? Harassing? Yeah, ok... If it was mentioned it was being used as a QT, then my post would have been different. I wasn't harassing her. She specifically said she planned to keep it in the pico until it got larger. I don't know about your tangs, but mine don't grow an inch a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 December 22, 2009 Share December 22, 2009 Mini carpets are carpet anemones by name and habits. I have warned all of the people who got them from me or contemplated getting them from me that they will eat anything that they touch and listed this in my auction - this includes macroalgae, other anemones, snails, zoanthids, mushrooms, corals, fish, errant fingers, etc. As with all carpet anemones, they pack a very powerful sting. That's why when they are not mounted I just put them face down on the rock - they stick and then flip themselves over. Jan, did you get the maxi-minis you were looking for or just minis? FYI, I would be wary of putting a 2" tang into an 8 gallon, even for QT purposes. It's not a lot of fish, but it is a lot of fish for the type that likes to swim a lot. The stress of being in that small an environment can cause lots of issues for the fish that kind of contradict a good QT or isolation system. Pacific Blue Tangs are particularly susceptible to disease in my experience and the added stress of being in a small system like that can cancel out the positives of being left alone away from larger harassing fish. The same holds true for any fish, in my opinion, they need the appropriate room to swim when they are in QT or they won't get properly acclimated. Too large a system and it's hard to keep track of them, though. This goes back to the old problem of what each person's definition of QT is. For me, it again falls back to simply acclimating a fish and getting it to eat, hence the system is part of my sump system and has lots of rock, a sand bed, and no lights. For others QT is for treatment of disease and pathogens. To me, if you do QT right, your fish probably won't exhibit any signs of illness when they're in there as it'll be a stress free environment where they can be healthy, but the flip side to that is that you'll never know if they have anything bad on them to treat as comfortable surroundings and healthy diet can help to suppress any disease or infection in most fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan December 22, 2009 Author Share December 22, 2009 Oy vey! So much kvetching, tsuris and opinions over the temporary housing of a 3/4-1" tang. I think we have enough opinion on the housing, which by the way I said was like a QT. This post is about mini carpet anemones and how one should beware. The tang was fine; healthy, happy, eating, disease free and swimming around just fine until it came up against the carpet nem and it's fatal fate. For those of you who have purchased mini carpet anemones and know nothing about carpet anemones in general, beware. They truly do live up to their name Stichodactyla tapetum. As far as QT goes it's all personal preference. Whatever works for the hobbiest and meets the objective is usually acceptable. There are many recomendations on the internet on how to, size of QT, etc.. there is nothing written in stone. Thanks again everyone for sharing your thoughts and opinions. Everythings cool . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan December 22, 2009 Author Share December 22, 2009 No, not yet. I've found a few but they are very pricey. Over priced actually. Jan, did you get the maxi-minis you were looking for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret December 22, 2009 Share December 22, 2009 My silver dollar mini carpet captured one of my anthias several months ago. It got stung and died. The carpet had it by the tail and by the time I was able to release it have of the tail section was eaten. I QT the Anthia but didn't last more than a day. Sorry for your loss Jan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret December 22, 2009 Share December 22, 2009 As far as the Tang police... and if you don't mind me throwing this comment in your thread Jan. I acquired a Yellow tang 2 years and 6 months ago. I had it in my 55 for about 1 year and a half and it now resides in my 92. It's been with me almost from the start and it has done great in two tank sizes that are not normally recommended. I imagine that it would be able to "exercise" better in a 100+ gallon tank but I have had no problems whatsoever. Just my 2 cents on the subject. Now back to the regularly scheduled program: "Killer mini carpet anemones!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 December 22, 2009 Share December 22, 2009 Sorry, not meaning to side track the thread, but each tank is different. I sent a picture of my fish to a friend of mine and his first reaction was "wow, you broke all the rules!" I have had a lot of success with yellow tangs in smaller systems as the Zebrasoma seem more comfortable with vertical movement and staying put in one place. For the Acanthurus and Paracanthurus, they seem to do better with more swimming room due to their swimming nature. In my experience, it's important to understand the complexities of each fish and their long-term health. There's no attacking here, just recommendations. The mini-carpets in that small an environment are bound to make contact with things that you don't want them to and this can cause them issues. I had an acan that fell over into one of these guys and it ate about 3 heads on it in about 20 minutes. Jan is absolutely right about QT and that's what I said earlier, each QT is different and has a different purpose. The term itself is very loosely thrown about and there's nothing set in stone. However, the main objective is still to get a fish healthy and eating and be able to observe it, regardless of whether this includes medicating or simply acclimating, and there are definitely minimum standards that should be followed. There's huge difference between keeping a 3/4-1" fish in a small pico and a 2" fish in a small pico. A 2" Pacific Blue needs a lot more swimming room than a 3/4" fish that could happily live in a tank with an 11" width until it outgrew it (the habits of fish also change as they grow larger). Again, this is just my experience and many others can be successful in what they do however they do it. I just think it's important to share opinions and anecdotal information about experiences. FWIW, I don't consider myself the tang police and I think that labeling someone like that is irresponsible. If someone is being unreasonable and attacking, that's one thing, but if someone is offering advice based on experiences then it's completely another one. I don't think that audible was saying anything unreasonable or attacking, just expressing an opinion and an experience based on what was posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefunelement December 22, 2009 Share December 22, 2009 so my tower of power is really a TOWER OF DEATH!!!!! What do you think about a false-perc vs the mini-nem? I would assume a clown goby might perch and stick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE December 22, 2009 Share December 22, 2009 so my tower of power is really a TOWER OF DEATH!!!!! What do you think about a false-perc vs the mini-nem? I would assume a clown goby might perch and stick haha, you and your tower... lol If an anthias was able to get captured, I assume a clown would as well. Your best bet would probably be the biggest tank possible for the 'nems so that the fish don't come too close for contact... as for the clown goby, I couldn't say. So was the tang 3/4-1 inch or 2 inches? If it was 3/4-1 inch, that changes my opinion on how dangerous the 'nem's are as well as my opinion on keeping it in a pico... if it was 2 inches, same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 December 23, 2009 Share December 23, 2009 If it can host in a carpet, it should host in a mini as well. That said, even fish that can host in a carpet become a meal periodically. so my tower of power is really a TOWER OF DEATH!!!!! What do you think about a false-perc vs the mini-nem? I would assume a clown goby might perch and stick How's that one faring? Is it keeping the wolves at bay like you wanted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret December 23, 2009 Share December 23, 2009 My clowns won't even get close, they host my leather coral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 December 23, 2009 Share December 23, 2009 My clowns won't even get close, they host my leather coral. Ocellaris will host in a carpet anemone (see this website for pairing clowns and anemones - http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/anemonecl...onematches.htm) but there's no mention of the S. tapetums hosting anything. My guess is that if they were large enough for a clown to notice, they might host in them, but they are probably too small. Even when I had a rock covered in them, they didn't have enough girth to actually afford the clown anything but a seat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Mammoth December 23, 2009 Share December 23, 2009 Wow...when I first read the post, I thought it was a joke. Unfortunately, it was just a hard lesson learned. It's always good to have reminders like this out there. I know that this wasn't talking about QT nor was the tank a QT tank....but my recommendation is to have a QT system large enough to house all of your fish. If you a tank that can only hold a fish or two, it's a hospital tank. You want to be prepared for having to move all you fish out in case something like ick happens to the main tank. At least that is the system I go by. Now that I have a monster tank, I have a LFS do my QTing and they are my backup. I kept a 55g around for QTing and growing out corals. That worked great when I had a 90g. Now back to the original thread...on the bright side...at least the anemone was fed. No more fish around that guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshnarw December 25, 2009 Share December 25, 2009 Unfortunately, there are a HUGE number of threads with the fish vs. mini carpet warning on various forums - nano-reef and reef central especially, but a few here as well. Any fish that is too small or too weak to pull itself away from a mini carpet WILL be eaten. There are reports of full grown yellow tangs being eaten by maxi minis no bigger than the fish. No, not yet. I've found a few but they are very pricey. Over priced actually. They are not overpriced at all. Supply and demand govern their price, and with essentially no supply and extremely high demand, I'm surprised that the price for the more common and less colorful varieties hasn't hit $200 yet. Having spoken to a number of vendors and wholesalers, the price for them is expected to continue to increase for the next couple of years. The only way we'll see otherwise is if someone begins to specifically collect these from the reefs - which hasn't happened thus far - or prop out enough to flood the market - of which only a couple of people in the country could manage to do within any reasonable time frame (and they aren't interested in doing so yet). Don't expect to be able to find these easily for quite some time, since those who happen to have them are holding onto them and collecting any underpriced maxi minis that come onto the market. so my tower of power is really a TOWER OF DEATH!!!!! What do you think about a false-perc vs the mini-nem? I would assume a clown goby might perch and stick clownfish tend to stay away, but they aren't really safe together. if one decides to swim in, it won't swim back out. most clown gobies won't last a week; snails and hermits often need to be added to a system with a decent collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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