heteractis magnifica

[clowns101]

have you guys ever had success with hereactis magnifica
(ritteri anemone). i am going to set up a larger tank than what iv got now and thought i would try to do a heteractis magnifica (ritteri anemone). are they hard to keep or are they easy to do. iv ben told that they have to have a high light system in place to live. and iv read that they are difficut to keep. iv also read that we dont really know for sure what their main diet is. thank you.

 

[shabreeson]

they are one of the most difficult. lots of flow, lots of light. sensitive to water quality. not a beginner anemone for sure. people have not only been able to keep them, some have been good/experienced enough to successfully split them. reading some of the posts already on here and reading the FAQ's will help you get the info you want.

 

[clowns101]

ok. but if i can provide these thins for him will he live.

 

[Greg 45]

I have just purchased a Ritter and looking to purchase a second one. Try and find a healthy anemone .

 

[phender]

IME, they like alternating current and to be as high in the aquarium as possible. Arrange your rock work so it won't have access to the glass or it will climb the sides of your tank. I don't have as much light as most would suggest (I have a de 150 watt 14K Phoenix bulb) but the anemone is about 6" directly under the bulb and the anemone is right at the water's surface.

Mine mostly gets small pieces of food meant for the fish. I sometimes (once or twice a month) will feed it some small pieces of fish directly.

If you have the right conditions, the absolute biggest factor is, can you pick a healthy anemone. It needs to be absolutely fully inflated and the mouth should look like a nipple. When you go back and see two days later, it should look the same. Never, never, never buy a magnifica at first sight. Mags don't deflate and inflate like BTAs. If it is deflated in the LFS you need to pass it up. Don't get all excited about a purple or red base and think you can nurse it back to health, you can't.

 

[skyrne_isk]

Phil is dead on. I had my LFS hold one for me for a week, that was eating and looking good. I went to pick it up, and they told me they moved it to the display tank (for more light, better water quality) so I said "OK, hold it for another week." Went in last night, and the thing is on its way out (I know the look). I kept a plain all yellow one for more than 2 years....died during a tank move. I have not been able to get another to live since, under the same conditions.....so this leads me to conclude, like Phil, it is all about getting a healthy specimen from the get go. The acclimation to capitvity is ROUGH on these anemones. Of those that look excellent one minute, and terrible a few hours later - avoid at all costs. You're throwing your money away. And although I'm sure some have success doing this anyway, you would be engaging in a crapshoot to order online. Even WYSIWYG are likely to have their pictures taken at the most favorable time for the retailer. You have no way of observing over days/weeks ritteri's sold online. It is a bummer, no doubt about it.

 

[fishkid6692]

i found a nice and healthy one at my lfs a while back and i put it in my 40g. it took a while to attach itself but once it did it did great for a couple months but then it died. =/ there hard to keep. but if your going to try it make sure you get a healthy one to start with.

 

[WrinkleFreeZone]

There's a lot of doom and gloom stories in this hobby that are perpetuated due to multiple hobbyists making the same mistakes. There's no doubt that the stories surrounding H. magnifica are in part due to the inexperience of the keeper, immaturity of the system, inadequacy of the conditions, etc. However, health of the specimen is without a doubt a huge component to your success or failure with this species. There are some of us (myself included) who are successfully keeping and even propagating these anemones (see Flighty's post).

IMO, your new system is not going to be ready to house this animal for quite some time. When selecting the new size of your tank keep in mind that these anemones can grow to between two and three feet in diameter. Obviously the 10g isn't going to cut it here. If you get to the point that you are ready to commit to buying one, in addition to what has already been said in the replies to this post, I would recommend that you confirm that the anemone is "sticky" and that it will eat. That is, it is healthy enough to produce and fire nematocysts to capture and consume prey. This is going to require a close relationship with your LFS. I would not recommend buying online because you will not be able to confirm this.
-B

 

[clowns101]

the anemone will not be going into a ten gallon it will go into a tank around 75 gallons but i dont have a pet store that carries salt water.