H.Mag Splitting.

[pree]

I purchased a ritteri anemone yesterday and put it into my established 30 gal QT tank. It is now either splitting or dying.

Tank Specs:

Size: 30 gallon.
Lights: 150 watts 20k MH
Maturity: Has been in use for almost a year and housed a BTA before it was sold.
Params: Ammonia: 0 Nitrates: 0 Nitrates: The lowest color on the range which is abt 0-5

In the lfs the mag was kept under minimal light and flow (20 watts PC light).
Its mouth was gaping a bit [ It was not tightly closed shut but a slight gap showed]

On the positive side it has the best color that I have seen of any Mag. By color I mean the level of bleaching. It is almost deep muddy brown with green tips and a purple base. The tentacles are fat and moving constantly.

The mouth sems to be tearing apart but unlike a dead anemone, the tentacles are fat, moving and its reacting to light. It has been doing this since 12 hours. A few small pieces of tentacles are flying about in the tank [abt 3 pieces]

I cannot get a photo now due to a busted camera.

Q 1 ] Is the anemone splitting?

Q 2 ] How long do they generally take to completely split? This specimen is about 10-11 inches in diameter.

Q 3] If it survives the split what measures should I take to make its after split period better?

I have another established 70 gal system which has been running for more than a year that I plan to put the anemone into after it survives and thrives and in the recent future plan to start up another 150 gal species specific tank.

 

[garygb]

I can tell you when mine split they basically pulled themselves apart at the base. Their basal disc stretched out and I could see the liverock through the mouth of the anemone. I would describe it as very similar to Entacmaea quadricolor dividing. It took about 12 hours for one of mine and maybe 14 for the other one to divide.

After the split I didn't do anything differently. I started to feed after maybe 10 days or so. Even though the mouth forms much more slowly than a BTA, the anemone would take the food to the place where the original mouth was and I could see the digestive filaments connected to the food. It seems that with half their "stomach" gone, they can still manage to absorb nutrients.

 

[pree]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13852411#post13852411 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by garygb
I can tell you when mine split they basically pulled themselves apart at the base. Their basal disc stretched out and I could see the liverock through the mouth of the anemone. I would describe it as very similar to Entacmaea quadricolor dividing. It took about 12 hours for one of mine and maybe 14 for the other one to divide.

After the split I didn't do anything differently. I started to feed after maybe 10 days or so. Even though the mouth forms much more slowly than a BTA, the anemone would take the food to the place where the original mouth was and I could see the digestive filaments connected to the food. It seems that with half their "stomach" gone, they can still manage to absorb nutrients.

Thank You so much for the respond. I have been really worried for almost the entire day over this lil fella. Its been more than 12 hours but I hope mine is just a bit slow.

 

[tpdpercula]

Just bought one yesterday and I noticed a similar thing today. Best of luck with yours pree/


-Ian

 

[garygb]

Perhaps the stress of being moved from one tank to another triggered it to split, but then again, it might not be splitting at all. I hope it is, then you will have two, what sounds like, very nice ritteries. Can you take a pic w your phone?

 

[pree]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13852441#post13852441 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tpdpercula
Just bought one yesterday and I noticed a similar thing today. Best of luck with yours pree/


-Ian

Same for yours! Good Luck.

The worst thing is that there are absolutely no pictures or videos for me to compare. I just don't want this beautiful creature to die. I have worked with BTAs and a Haddoni and they were fine. This is a whole new ballgame.

 

[pree]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13852487#post13852487 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by garygb
Perhaps the stress of being moved from one tank to another triggered it to split, but then again, it might not be splitting at all. I hope it is, then you will have two, what sounds like, very nice ritteries. Can you take a pic w your phone?

Fingers crossed. I'll try putting up some pictures soon!

 

[pree]

Pictures Added.

Pictures Added.

 

[garygb]

I remember mine looked pretty ragged when they were splitting, kind of like that, but at this point I couldn't say whether it's dividing or not.

 

[pree]

Ok I have 2 parts now split at the mouth in a clear division. Do I keep the flow as high as usual? Right now I have kept the PH shut.

 

[garygb]

I would say high flow is fine, but if there is any chance that one of the clones could end up stuck to the pump, cover the intake. When mine split they didn't go too far from the original spot--one went to one side of the rock and the other went in the opposite direction, but not far apart.

 

[Flighty]

Carefull about microbubbles and flow directly into the openings at this point. The cut normally heals within a week and it should be able to eat in a month. It would be really interesting if this split does survive. That would go a long way to show how well these guys handle division.