Carpets need VERY strong lighting, like over 10watts per gallon, and in the correct spectrum. Without it, they will first start to loose their color, then they will shrink, then they will turn themselves inside out as they basically digest themselves. I hope your MH lights are soon in coming, otherwise, the carpets might be difficult to keep alive. They like intermediate current, but they will find the spot they like best in your system, don't try to control them too much. Their pedal disk is one of the most fragile; even a slight brush against a sharp rock can cause a fatal wound. They do much better with a clown fish, Maroon's will usually adopt them, and finally they need lots of protein. I feed mine a gold fish or silverside about every other day. They will tell you how much they want to be fed by how often they purge. After they purge, they want to be fed again. If you don't see a purge for a couple of days, you might have missed it, and check to see if they will take food. Your first indication that they are not happy is they will move around a lot, and never anchor themselves with their foot. If this happens, check your water levels, light cycle, and light bulb spectrum if you have that equipment. Lights can often shift spectrum without burning out, but they are doing your corals and anemones no good. The next sign they are going downhill is often loosing their color. The tentacles will seem further apart, and they will not be as "inflated" with water. If this happens, your anemones are in trouble and need to be moved into a better system, like your LFS if they have the proper lighting and everything, until you can figure out what is wrong. Check your salinity (they need 1.023-1.025), pH, and dKH. Consider replacing your bulbs if they are over 6 months old, and you can't verify they are still putting out the correct spectrum.
Hope this is useful to you. They are challenging, but rewarding!
OBTW, I'm jealous, I have been looking for a blue carpet for a while now!! Can you post some pictures??????
