Can a ritteri survive a torn foot?

[Postal]

Apparently when the LFS detached my new ritteri from it's rock they tore the foot. I didn't realize it at the time, but noticed it later when the nem was only attaching along the edges of its foot.
The nem seems to be doing well for the past week. It has not deflated once and the mouth has stayed shut tight and puckered. It is still a little sticky, but a long way from I assume would be normal. The nem would not hold on to mysis or krill to eat. Today I tried a small piece of fresh scallop. The nem grabbed it and moved it to its mouth in about 15 minutes. Mouth opened up, ate the mussel, and then closed tightly.
The LFS has offered to take the nem back with no problems but I am tempted so see if it can be saved since it seems so happy otherwise.

Please let me know what you think.

 

[shutiny]

You have a beautiful H.magnifica! The small torn on its foot should be ok if your tank condition and water flow is optimal. Has it been inflated and with out deflation for you? If it was mine, I would leave it alone, make sure it is safe from power head, good water flow and lighting.
Any picture of a top shot?

 

[davocean]

Pretty much a torn foot is a death sentence for most host nems.
I'm kind of stubborn, and going by what you have described it would be hard for me to not at least try, but I guess it would also depend on what you spent on it and LFS policy if you do try and it goes south.
Also, only if you can be around and watch it, because when it goes south, that may happen fast, and would hate to see your tank suffer from all the waste.

 

[Postal]

I think I am going to give it a shot. I got it at a good price, and the LFS is as good and fair as you will find out there. The owner will answer e-mails at all kinds of crazy times. I even have his cell if necessary.
The only thing else in the tank is a cleanup crew and one small clown. I moved the larger female so she wouldn't pester the nem.

I know it is probably a lost cause, but the nem just looks so good other than the foot. I tried another ritteri recently and it never stopped inflating/deflating until it died a week later. This one seems to have acclimated well, but we'll see. I'm hoping it will pull through. It's not easy to find a nice, healthy ritteri around anywhere. Not to mention that this one is easily 12" when stretched out.

 

[Ron Popeil]

I've had healthy mags get chewed up by korallias and fully recover. The damage does not look bad at all, especially considering how firm the rest of the anemone looks.

 

[Postal]

Thanks, Ron.
Your experience with mags gives your post a lot of weight. Hopefully I can follow up with some good news as time passes.
Any thoughts on a time period for healing? Right now the nem is attached to some rocks that overhang a cave-like formation. The mag is using the edges of its foot to attach to the cave mouth. That way the center of the foot isn't touching anything.

Any thoughts on how often I should feed it. I gave it a small (thumb nail size) piece of scallop today. Should I feed small pieces every other day or so? Or less often than that?

Thanks again.

 

[davocean]

I agree it doesn't look that bad now, but pic looks pretty exact to many torn foot pics I've seen that did not end well, and it's the foot, much more critical.
Agree, seen some nems go through the blender, and survive, but mainly tents chewed.
I would not seperate the female and male clowns for too long, I would be concerned the male could begin change in sex.
Good luck either way, post pics of what happens.

 

[Costa reefing]

Im no expert on this at all but from recent experience, my LTA had a torn foot that i noticed after buying and putting in the tank It got to the point where it wouldn't even dig in the sand or attach anywhere. Long story short, after a bunch of TLC and regular tank maintenance it recovered and now found a nice spot to dig its foot in.

The damage doesn't look bad, it should recover. Good luck!

 

[Postal]

10 days later and things are still looking good. The anemone stays inflated all day and has moved around so that most of the foot is now attached to rock.
I have been feeding it small pieces of scallop of 2-3 days. The nem still isn't very sticky but the feeding response has increased with each feeding.
Time will tell, but for now I am cautiously optimistic.

 

[BonsaiNut]

Careful with the scallops. Make sure they are FRESH. If you wouldn't eat them, don't feed them to your anemone.

 

[Postal]

Careful with the scallops. Make sure they are FRESH. If you wouldn't eat them, don't feed them to your anemone.

They are fresh from the grocery store. I freeze them then slice off a small piece to defrost.

 

[coralreefhq]

You should be fine with the recovery of the ritteri.
They are more resilient than we take them for.

Mine got sucked up in a powerhead 3 times, first time half of it's body was gone.
I couldn't pull it out so I took the powerhead apart and let it take it's own course.

Second time, happened the same way.

Third time it still hasn't learn its lesson.

Each time it happened the anemone got smaller and smaller.
From a dinner plate to a golf ball size.

Somehow it manages to pull through, looks healthier than before.