Am I fit for a Magnifica??

[ATX aquarist]

I just got back from my LFS where I saw a beautiful small Magnifica for sale. I've researched this anemone ion and off for years and inspected it for its health. It had a tight closes mouth, and all the tentacles but a few were inflated. It had a bright purple base and green tentacles and I thought I just had to have this one as usually the ones that rarely come in are tan or dying. It's been a dream of mine to have one of these amazing animals, but always wanted one with purple. I have a 30 gallon with 150 W 10K bulb with two T5 true actinics. I have 5 powerheads running in the tank, 3 of which are used for direct currents. My light is 1 foot above the water and I do pretty regular water changes. Yes my tank is small, but I am moving out in August and will be getting a larger aquarium. My biggest issue is will it live compatably with my RBTA? Any quick advice would help as this anemone is up for grabs and I want to make a decision before it's too late. Thanks!

 

[Flighty]

In my experience, the conflict between a bta and a mag can be pretty damaging. I wouldn't really want them together if you can avoid it. Aside from that I think the tank will be just too small to handle the bioload of a magnifica and keep the temp and especially salinity the way you want it for a new, struggling mag. By august the mag could easily be double the size it is now and you really wouldn't want to move it to the new tank until it (the tank) had matured for many months.

I would hold off if it were me.

 

[ATX aquarist]

Indeed. I do have a remora protein skimmer and well established refugium with mangroves, a sand bed, live rock, and a pluthera of micro algae. I probably have 32 pounds of live rock plus 20 pounds of coral rubble. I've never had any problems with bio loads. My system does a good job of taking a lot of nutrient overloads. As for the new tank, I'll probably start setting it up next month so I can have a clean transition from this tank to the new one. ( I'm setting it up where I will be living, thankfully I already have access to it.) at the LFS the mag was in a tank with probably.... 13 bta's and it still seemed healthy. That's just a little extra info.

And Flighty have you tried using temperature changes and solar patterns to get your mag to spawn? I'm studying marine biology right now at school and am currently studying how the Barrier reef spawns at the exact same time each year due to the moon. I'm thinking of putting together a light with multiple lunar lights which will run through a simple computer that will turn on the lunar lights at teh currect intervals to re-create the lunar cycle. If you have the resources I would deffenitely suggest trying that

 

[55semireef]

I would say you could take the Magnifica only if you trade out the RBTA. Its a sacrafice imo. I would not get the Magnifica if your going to have two anemones in a 30 gallon which are both rock dwellers. If it were me, I would trade out the RBTA.

 

[ATX aquarist]

I can do that. You can find a healthy RBTA more frequently than a healthy colorful magnifica

 

[phender]

Just playing devil's advocate for a second. Are you sure that it is a mag?

There is a BTA color morph with a bright purple base and green tentacles that is often mistaken for H. magnifica. Some were even shipped in and out of very educated wholesalers as mags. When you said it was small and in a tank of BTAs, it just threw up a red flag for me.

Mags usually have distinct verracue on their column and the tips of the tentacles are usually a different color than the shaft.

Just something to consider.

 

[ATX aquarist]

good point. I'm sure its a mag b/c its tips were green while the lower ends of the tentacles were a greyish color. Some of the tentacles had two splitting out of one like you often see in mags and not so much in bta's.

 

[phender]

Sounds like you know what you've got there.

There is always a risk with even the healthiest looking anemones. I am not a big fan of getting an anemone now with plans to move it later. Everytime you move an anemone, you run the risk of losing it, even if its from one well kept tank to another. This seems especially true of mags.

On the otherhand, colorful healthy mags are hard to come by. Ultimately it comes down to how bad you want it. Many times in this situation, when you see it the second time, it is not as great as you remember it. Don't be afraid to pass on it if you are not 100% sure when you see it again.

 

[55semireef]

ATX aquarist, when are you planning on visiting the lfs again that has the H. Magnifica? If it has verrucae, then its a Mag. If it doesn't, its an E. Quadricolor. If it is an E. Quadricolor, then you don't really have to remove your RBTA. If it is a Mag, make the switch. Its a tough call. Your taking the chance of it by placing it in a small tank, knowing your going to have to transfer it to a bigger tank but you also take the chance of passing up a very beautiful anemone which you might not see again for a long time or even ever. To make it more easy on you, I would make the trade with your RBTA and hope that the Mag can survive the transition when the time comes, that is if it is a Magnifica.

 

[ATX aquarist]

true. Well I'm going to leave it to fate. I'll be going in tomorrow morning to check it out. If it's there and looks healthy I'll ask a sales person to feed it to see if it takes it. If all goes well I will buy it and make the anemone transfer. If it's not there or looking unhealthy then it wasn't meant to be and I am better off skipping it for now. I've dreampt of having a mag since the first time I saw a purple one with green tentacles when I was 15. Finally after a few years I finally come across a purple one and is in good health. To me this is the ultimate dream come true and I'll do whatever it takes to make that dream a reality

 

[illcssd]

Honestly, at the same time considering. 30g for a magnifica is not enough water to even attempt a magnifica. Especielly for a first time keeper. You may read my sig and see that have one in a 29, but that is a shallow tank that is custom made for a small magnifica. Which in turn is tied in two a system of roughly 300g.
I wouldnt do it, there are alot more negatives than postives that i see here.

 

[55semireef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9495082#post9495082 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by illcssd
Honestly, at the same time considering. 30g for a magnifica is not enough water to even attempt a magnifica. Especielly for a first time keeper. You may read my sig and see that have one in a 29, but that is a shallow tank that is custom made for a small magnifica. Which in turn is tied in two a system of roughly 300g.
I wouldnt do it, there are alot more negatives than postives that i see here.

illcssd does have a point. A first time mag keeper in only a 30 gallon tank does not look like a successful situation. I personally have not kept a Magnifica but when I do attempt one, its going to go in a very large system with no moves after that.