Best commercial sources of H. magnifica?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'm thinking of trying to keep an H. magnifica.

My question is what are the best commercial sources?

Is the likelihood of success from, say, Live Aquaria's Divers Den going to be substantially worse than getting one from an established tank where it was propagated by cutting?

The commercial sources will certainly have a lot more choice in the way of coloration, but I don't know what the relative risk level is.

TIA

 

[GSMguy]

the best commercial source might be Divers den as they have a guarantee.

i would say getting a propagated anemone would be much much safer but i don't know anybody but Shu Tin and Flighty whom have cut theirs.

shipping is extremely stressful on these anemones so finding a healthy one locally is best.

im sure Phil will have more insight as he frequents the suppliers.

 

[elegance coral]

Re: Best commercial sources of H. magnifica?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13263897#post13263897 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randy Holmes-Farley

Is the likelihood of success from, say, Live Aquaria's Divers Den going to be substantially worse than getting one from an established tank where it was propagated by cutting?
TIA

I would say yes, but finding a propagated H. mag will prove to be very difficult.
Flighty just fragged her H. mag so maybe you could have some luck contacting her. I'm sure she wouldn't give one up to just anyone, but knowing it will be in your care, may help persuade her to give one up.
The next best thing would probably be a local supplier, where you can observe the anemone before you purchase it. These things can go from looking beautiful and healthy to practically dead in a matter of minutes. It's very hard to judge the health of these animals based on one snapshot posted on the DD. The 14 day guarantee is nice though, and they have several at the moment.
Good luck, and if you get one, I hope you share your adventure with us.

 

[tufacody]

I purchased a mag from DD and I am on week two. Frankly, I don't think its going to make it. I agree with Elegance that a picture is very deceiving, as mine usually looks awesome for 2 hours and terrible for 22. I almost wish DD didn't have a guarantee on them.

Its heartbreaking to see these animals struggle. I was very opportunistic and purchased an expensive system for the dedication of this animal and a pair of clowns, and right now I'm pretty depressed about the whole purchase. Normally I'd suck it up and try again, but I just can't see risking more animals, especially knowing how long they live in the wild. I don't think the hobby is ready for them yet.

Sorry to be depressing. I thought I could beat the odds too, but sometimes I think it must have been pure arrogance on my part that led me to the purchase. I have so much respect for those that are successfully keeping them, but maybe it is also arrogance that leads me to think that they were just lucky enough to find certain specimens that were gentically capable of withstanding captivity.

 

[traveller7]

Re: Best commercial sources of H. magnifica?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13263897#post13263897 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randy Holmes-Farley
I'm thinking of trying to keep an H. magnifica.

My question is what are the best commercial sources?

Hi Randy,

They are large flimsy bags of water and hence ship terribly. Worse then the tougher column H. crispa or S. haddoni.

If you go commercial source, I would try 5"-6" specimens and hopefully be able to observe it for 2+ days prior to purchase. Smaller, only under my theory they will tolerate the whole "collection to home" events better. A 5" specimen will hit 10" in 90-120 days and under proper conditions(feeding) be 20" at the end of the first year.

It would be great to find one of reasonable shipping size from a local reefer. Not alot of captive prop specimens to choose from at this stage. If you have the opportunity, this would be the best path.

In my experience, any tank move is stressful for H. magnifica. I have killed off more then one of my long term specimens in tank upgrades etc

The good news, if you can get them acclimated and maintain the environment, they are extremely long lived in captivity.

The bad news, a 14-day guarantee tends to be meaningless with H. magnifica. They tend to be large and linger on near death for 30+ days.

When are you looking to acquire a Magnifica? A few of us will likely bump into a good candidate over the next few weeks.

 

[Flighty]

Hi Randy,

Captive propigation is very very new with these guys and you are unlikely to find anyone doing it and selling them other than shutiny. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=13264478#post13264478

They are hard to find both online and in stores. Many of us have waited over a year to gind a good candidate, but this is a good time of year to look.

Ordering them online is a big gamble. I would only try it with very small specimens. Anything over 8" just makes too much waste in the bag water and is too easily damaged by its own weight to have much shipping success (in my opinion).

Be aware that the divers den names the color of magnificas by the tentacles and mouth area rather than the foot like most people expect. So a "purple" magnifica might be one with a brown base and a "purplish" mouth area.

Joe from Aqua Addicts can order one, but it is hit or miss. I have had success through him though.

It is worth asking Jay (jay's aquatics) if his NY supplier is getting any magnificas. He'll know which one you mean if you say Cindy from the BRS sent you.

I will be looking for a good local home for one of my splits someday in the future, but I'm afraid you might have to arm wrestle Greg H for it.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1455935
I'll keep my eye out for good ones locally though.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thanks very much everyone. I'll definitely look for small ones.

I'm not in a hurry. I get interested in adding new things this time of year as I'm back from the long summer vacations and also temperatures are better for shipping now. If someone does see a nice one available, I'd appreciate hearing about it.

Many of us have waited over a year to gind a good candidate, but this is a good time of year to look.

Good time why?

Be aware that the divers den names the color of magnificas by the tentacles and mouth area rather than the foot like most people expect. So a "purple" magnifica might be one with a brown base and a "purplish" mouth area.

I have been a bit concerned about the base color since they do not show it. Any idea if they are amenable to answering a question about what the base color is?

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemDisplay.cfm?c=2733+4&ddid=46586


I did see your splitting thread at the Boston reefers forum. Pretty brave!

 

[Flighty]

My guess is dark brown from this listing that shows just a bit of the foot http://www.liveaquaria.com/DiversDen/ItemDisplay.cfm?c=2733+4&ddid=46316 They all look like they are the same colors. The the tentacle coloration can change a lot with different long term lighting and tank conditions (like an SPS) , but in my experience the foot color is pretty much set.

This is a good time of year to get them because of the shipping conditions here and in the pacific. not too hot not too cold and not too monsoony.

 

[traveller7]

When we have asked, the Doctor's have been kind enough to post column pictures of other anemones in the past to assist with Identification. Don't see why they would not support such a request now

Patience wins in the hunt for H. magnifica.

 

[traveller7]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13264845#post13264845 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Flighty
My guess is dark brown from this listing that shows just a bit of the foot http://www.liveaquaria.com/DiversDen/ItemDisplay.cfm?c=2733+4&ddid=46316 They all look like they are the same colors. The the tentacle coloration can change a lot with different long term lighting and tank conditions (like an SPS) , but in my experience the foot color is pretty much set.

My experience matches that experience

fwiw: Red/maroon foot seems more common is Maldives, East Africa shipments. We tend to receive them more frequently in the Mid Atlantic.

 

[idareefer]

as mentioned Divers Den has them once in a while, mine has been with me 5 years now, I got it from my brother who had it 5 years also, it was getting to large for his tank, been in my 300 gal & does great & very hardy, does have a mated pair of percs who hang with him, they are also older residents, the female perc is 10 years plus, the male 5 years, good luck.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

fwiw: Red/maroon foot seems more common is Maldives, East Africa shipments. We tend to receive them more frequently in the Mid Atlantic.

Does the regional source impact the likelihood of survival?

 

[Flighty]

I saw a lot of red based ones with greyish tentacles comming in for a while and they all seemed pretty far gone. I had heard they were from Africa and the collection and shipping might not have been the best. Less desireable colors may be a little easier to get good ones just because they aren't so quickly cherry picked.

There really are no hard rules about better or worse ones except for the size problems mentioned already. I am guessing it mostly depends on how each shipment was collected and handled. Unfortunately there is no easy way to get a healthy one unless you know some way to collect one yourself.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

OK, sounds pretty grim, but thanks for the info.

 

[traveller7]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13265024#post13265024 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Randy Holmes-Farley
Does the regional source impact the likelihood of survival?

I have had the luxury of seeing the Africa shipments arrive a few times per year. Lets just say, I have not replaced my long term red footed magnifica because so many were DOA on revisits. Depressing about sums it up.

I sure hope the Indo shipments have a better arrival rate in the US.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thanks