maxxII
Super Housemonkey!
My brown based, yellow tipped H.magnifica is currently splitting.
I've had it for almost 6 years, (3-10-2006 is when I got it), and it's generally been a model anemone.
Its currently in a 250 gallon system consisting of:
120 SPS Reef where it resides
40 Breeder frag tank containing 2 Maxi Mini Carpets, (S.tapetum), & various SPS frags and 4 clams.
58 Gallon mixed reef containing another H.magnifica, an H.malu,2 RBTA's, various LPS, Zoa's and some softies
Common sump for all tanks
The system has been common since June of last year with no issues.
The anemone has been in good health for the last several years with no visible issues. All anemones are doing well with the exception of the two mini carpets who were mauled by a hitch hiking hermit around November. They are recovering nicely though. Hermit was removed immediately following the damage. No hermits in the system any longer.
Around Dec 28th or so, I noticed the Brown based H.mag roaming on its rock. This was unusual since it has rarely moved the entire time I've had it. It migrated to the back of its rock and is now in a position where it gets the most flow and is impossible to take photo's of to document.
Here is a picture of the anemone itself and the rock its on:
Its now on the backside of that rock and its stretched across the entire back side of the rock. As you can see its hosting a spawning pair of Rod's Onyx Percs. The female is hostile, violent, territorial, and not afraid to assault anything that approaches her nest, home, and mate, (in that order). She is not rough on the anemone.
I suspected it might be splitting, but wasnt able to confirm this until yesterday when I did a water change and shut off the return pump which its sitting directly under. I observed that the anemone was splitting along the oral opening.
The split is not equal, as one section of the anemone appears to be about half the size of the other, but again, its current location, Under the center brace, under the return flow, on the back side of the rock, makes it all but impossible to tell for sure.
Water quality is fine, all other anemones are doing well, SPS, LPS, clams and Zoas are doing great and growing.
I've never seen shadows of eggs in the column of this anemone, which leads me to suspect that it is a male. I've never witnessed it spawning, so I cannot confirm one way or the other. I have observed what appear to be shadows of eggs in the column of the other H.magnifica, but again, I havent observed it spawning.
How long do H.magnifica splits usually take to be completed?
Since this has been going since at least 12-28-2011, should I begin to get worried about the health of the anemone?
I've heard other H.magnifica keepers mention they will sometimes "help" their anemone to finish the split if it appears to be taking to long. At what point do I want to consider "helping" the anemone finish the split?
I know that E.quadricolor will split when stressed, however, I cannot find any source of stress for this animal alone. Any sort of environmental stress should also affect the other anemones in the system, and no one else is distressed or splitting....including the two RBTA's.
More info the system here:
Heteractis Magnifica - Tell me some success stories
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated...
Nick
I've had it for almost 6 years, (3-10-2006 is when I got it), and it's generally been a model anemone.
Its currently in a 250 gallon system consisting of:
120 SPS Reef where it resides
40 Breeder frag tank containing 2 Maxi Mini Carpets, (S.tapetum), & various SPS frags and 4 clams.
58 Gallon mixed reef containing another H.magnifica, an H.malu,2 RBTA's, various LPS, Zoa's and some softies
Common sump for all tanks
The system has been common since June of last year with no issues.
The anemone has been in good health for the last several years with no visible issues. All anemones are doing well with the exception of the two mini carpets who were mauled by a hitch hiking hermit around November. They are recovering nicely though. Hermit was removed immediately following the damage. No hermits in the system any longer.
Around Dec 28th or so, I noticed the Brown based H.mag roaming on its rock. This was unusual since it has rarely moved the entire time I've had it. It migrated to the back of its rock and is now in a position where it gets the most flow and is impossible to take photo's of to document.
Here is a picture of the anemone itself and the rock its on:
Its now on the backside of that rock and its stretched across the entire back side of the rock. As you can see its hosting a spawning pair of Rod's Onyx Percs. The female is hostile, violent, territorial, and not afraid to assault anything that approaches her nest, home, and mate, (in that order). She is not rough on the anemone.
I suspected it might be splitting, but wasnt able to confirm this until yesterday when I did a water change and shut off the return pump which its sitting directly under. I observed that the anemone was splitting along the oral opening.
The split is not equal, as one section of the anemone appears to be about half the size of the other, but again, its current location, Under the center brace, under the return flow, on the back side of the rock, makes it all but impossible to tell for sure.
Water quality is fine, all other anemones are doing well, SPS, LPS, clams and Zoas are doing great and growing.
I've never seen shadows of eggs in the column of this anemone, which leads me to suspect that it is a male. I've never witnessed it spawning, so I cannot confirm one way or the other. I have observed what appear to be shadows of eggs in the column of the other H.magnifica, but again, I havent observed it spawning.
How long do H.magnifica splits usually take to be completed?
Since this has been going since at least 12-28-2011, should I begin to get worried about the health of the anemone?
I've heard other H.magnifica keepers mention they will sometimes "help" their anemone to finish the split if it appears to be taking to long. At what point do I want to consider "helping" the anemone finish the split?
I know that E.quadricolor will split when stressed, however, I cannot find any source of stress for this animal alone. Any sort of environmental stress should also affect the other anemones in the system, and no one else is distressed or splitting....including the two RBTA's.
More info the system here:
Heteractis Magnifica - Tell me some success stories
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated...
Nick
