Maxi-Mini Carpet spawning

[papa_dog]

So yesterday evening I look at my Nano Cube (24g JBJ) just before feeding and notice that my crimson red maxi-mini carpet has moved for the first time since it was added to the tank in early January. Small panic. I look around a bit and find it in behind the rock work under a rock (out of direct light contact). So I think to myself, maybe it's going to split (I seem to recall that Maxi-Minis are able to split like a BTA, but I didn't have time to do any research to confirm if my memory is correct).

Well, I get home tonight and do a bit of maintenance on my big tank (including mixing a new batch of salt water for my next water change) and then feed both tanks. After my dinner I go and take a look at the tanks before lights out and notice that the Nano had become very very cloudy, with almost a tinge of yellow to it. At first I panic. Then I think for a minute and shine a light on the Maxi-Mini and see what looks like a puff of smoke coming out of it's mouth (and I thought it was too young to smoke - lol). What I saw looks a lot like a picture that someone posted of a Hadoni spawning (maybe Todd?) - even though it's a different nem, I am going out on a limb and thinking that if a maxi-mini spawned it would look at least similar to a Hadoni's spawn. I also seem to recall reading a thread a few weeks ago where several mentioned that their Hadoni's always spawned in the Spring (how related are Maxi-Mini's anyway). Unfortunately, I mush have caught the end of the event as by the time I got my camera to try and get a photo, there was nothing coming out of it's mouth anymore and it's about 1/8 of it's normal size.

So I added a half cup or so of fresh rinsed carbon to the tank (in a mesh bag) hoping it might help. I also plan to do a 10% water change in the morning (I was going to let the fresh salt water mix overnight). Is there anything else I should be doing? Is a 10% water change enough? Is the spawn just free food for the other denizens of the tank, or is it going to cause long term water quality issues? Anything else I should be doing?

Thanks for any help or other info you can give.

Cheers,
K.

[WaffleWalffle22]

10% won't do anything. 25% at least, which shouldn't be too much trouble on a 24g. Are the tank inhabitants okay?

[kovuu86]

I had two or three maxis spawn in my 14 BC one night a week ago. The tank literally looked like i poured milk into it. I didn't have time to do a water change until about 24 hours later, at which point the water had cleared up significantly, and only changed about four gallons.

[kovuu86]

BTW, from what i could see the night of the spawning, i saw at least two maxis releasing sperm, while another was releasing eggs.

[Woogiekids]

Mine spawn on a weekly basis. I just do a 20-30% water change weekly to keep up with it.

[garygb]

You said you thought it might be about to asexually divide. Though mini-minis divide often, from what I've read, maxi-minis do not asexually divide, or at least I haven't heard of a documented case. They supposedly are very easily fragged, however.

[papa_dog]

10% won't do anything. 25% at least, which shouldn't be too much trouble on a 24g. Are the tank inhabitants okay?

Thanks and good point, 25% would be much better (6g isn't much extra effort and I have 25g of water made up anyway). [Don't know what I'll do if and when my Hadoni spawns in the big tank which was about 150g total in the system]. Everyone seems to be ok, although all of the Zoas are closed up, everything else looks pretty normal.

[papa_dog]

I had two or three maxis spawn in my 14 BC one night a week ago. The tank literally looked like i poured milk into it. I didn't have time to do a water change until about 24 hours later, at which point the water had cleared up significantly, and only changed about four gallons.

BTW, from what i could see the night of the spawning, i saw at least two maxis releasing sperm, while another was releasing eggs.

I am now familiar with the milky look (although yours must have almost looked opaque, considering how cloudy my 24 looked. Thanks for letting me know how quickly yours cleared.

Not sure how to know whether it was sperm or eggs (especially since I only caught the end). You mentioned you had both sperm and eggs during your spawning event, any chance you might have baby maxi-mini's soon (not sure if there have been any documented cases of Maxi-Mini's sucessfully sexually reproducing in an aquarium)?

Anyone have any good reference sources yet for Maxi-Mini breeding/biology?

[papa_dog]

You said you thought it might be about to asexually divide. Though mini-minis divide often, from what I've read, maxi-minis do not asexually divide, or at least I haven't heard of a documented case. They supposedly are very easily fragged, however.

Thanks for the info. I have to admit, I was just guessing that they might divide as I was pretty sure Mini-Mini's split and since it dropped down out of the light under a rock suddenly, I just assumed that's what it was doing until I saw the cloudy water and the nem actually spawning (turns out I was wrong, yet again - lol).

I've also heard they are easily fragged, but I'm not sure I could bring myself to cut one up, I have the same issue with the thought of fragging a BTA - it doesn't bother me to cut off a piece of SPS or nip off a branch of an LPS colony, but this would be directly cutting up an animal (just the thought makes me squirm).

[garygb]

Yeah, I'm with you on the fragging. I have 4 maxi-minis and though I'm tempted, I haven't ever taken a knife to one. I haven't taken a knife to any of my other anemones either-- magnificas or BTAs.

[papa_dog]

Well, after 24 hours the water is almost totally clear, although I did a 5 gal water change tonight anyway. The nem has moved back to within 1" of the spot it was in before and seemed to be opened up and spread out quite nicely, so I guess it does really like that spot.

It was interesting watching my sexy shrimp (who spends about half of his time in the Maxi-Mini) travel down with the nem to it's shaded spot and then travel back up with it. Not sure how it helped the nem, but it seemed to spend all evening with it and was still there in the morning.

Almost all of the corals are back open, except for a few zoas.

Hopefully it wont be spawning every week or two like Woogiekids' do.

[SwampyBill]

I wonder if the moon has anything to do with this, because a few of mine spawned last week as well (& my b/w clown pair were little hogs with the eggs). I also noticed a few nems were releasing both eggs & sperm--totally blew my mind finding out they were both sexes. & my LFS guy said his display tank of maxi mini's did the same thing that night.

[bradleym]

I only have one but it decided to spawn as well last night. I even got some crappy cell phone/flashlight pics:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/__DHzEBwK1jk/TZVKGenH_9I/AAAAAAAABHM/82fcR2Hwt1g/s800/IMG-20110330-00608.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/__DHzEBwK1jk/TZVKBk70qTI/AAAAAAAABHE/XdCpquG8B0E/s800/IMG-20110330-00606.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/__DHzEBwK1jk/TZVKWBKsFWI/AAAAAAAABHU/PDvW4DJu9K4/s800/IMG-20110330-00600.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/__DHzEBwK1jk/TZVKbtXNDmI/AAAAAAAABHc/5rFizBEgg-g/s800/IMG-20110330-00598.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/__DHzEBwK1jk/TZVKghQGUvI/AAAAAAAABHk/tE6ZKBTfbuA/s800/IMG-20110330-00601.jpg

[papa_dog]

I only have one but it decided to spawn as well last night. I even got some crappy cell phone/flashlight pics:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/__DHzEBwK1jk/TZVKghQGUvI/AAAAAAAABHk/tE6ZKBTfbuA/s800/IMG-20110330-00601.jpg

That last picture is actually a really good photo considering it was from your phone and is basically what I saw.

Of interest, did yours move at all before spawning, or is that where it usually lives?

[papa_dog]

I don't have any pictures of it spawning (unfortunately it finished by the time I got back with the camera - figures).

I do have a picture of it the next day after it moved back to it's old spot though (sorry for the crappy picture, but where it is in the tank makes it hard to photograph as it's in a JBJ 24g Nano and to get a really good shot angle I would need to photograph it through the curved corner).

[saltydogs]

wow it looks like it has had one hard night. just kidding from the pics if you did that it was spawning.

[bradleym]

papa_dog, mine did not move. It came to me on a piece of rock and it hasn't budged since I set the rock in my tank. Yours is probably fine though, I don't think it matters as long as they look good after. And yours looks awesome BTW. :)