I don't have any pics but here's the problem. I have a fairly large Ritteri anemone that host several clownfish. I bought him 3 weeks ago and he hasn't really gotten comfortable yet. This morning I noticed what looks like a spider web all over the rock that he resides on. It looks like this "spider web" is coming from him. My parameters are as follows: Salinity 1.026; Calcium 460; Phos-0; ammonia-0; Nitrite-0;Nirtrates-12.5; Alk- 3.2. He is in a 55 corner unit with 2 seio 620; wet/dry; Euroreef RS; UV Stelizer 9 watt; 250W Metal Halide with 2 65 watt actinic; 80lbs live rock and 70 lbs live sand. I have other anemones that are much smaller that are thriving along with clams, leathers and numerous lps and sps corals. Any help would be appreciated.
Is my Ritteri Dying??
- Thread starter ncny21802
- Start date
Flighty
Premium Member
Ritteris are notoriously bad shippers and most die within the first six months. They also seem to do poorly in the presance of other anemones and any water parameter issues like nitrates. They need a really large stable tank that has been set up for a good deal of time to have a good chance at survival, but much of it comes down to luck of getting one that was not too damaged in shipping. People may disagree with me, but I think more than 9 out of 10 that reach the store are unsaveable.
AQUA DAVE
New member
you may want to do a small water change and slowly lower your salinity to 1.025, then get your alk up to about 8DKH. and you want your nitrates as close to 0 as possible.. Your tank is also fairly small for a large ritteri. Make sure not to change these too fast, as you might stress your tank.. do it slowly and take your time. What flow do you have?
Poorcollegereef
Future Doc
your nitrates seem very high and sometimes the clowns can stress the anemone whe it is new to the tank. it also depends on the placement of the anemone too, although you have 250 MH, it should be high on a podium with alot of water flow. Ritteri are really bad shippers considering I had to have my order reshipped because it was almost DOA. It may not be dying, but it definately isnt good. If the foot detatches, it may be prefereable to remove it. Good luck and I hope it gets well soon!
Thanks for all the advice..I have 2 seio 620's in the tank and the MH is 10000K. Unfortunately when I got home today he was dead. I'm really upset, I only had him 1.5 weeks. The other anemones in the tank were 2 very small bubbles and 1 condy all of which are on opposite ends of the tank. The Riterri was on a flat rock on the highest point of the tank. I have a nitrate sponge in their now but I don't think 12.5 would kill him. Any advice so this doesn't happen again? I don't think I'm going to get another one anytime soon but would like a nice anemone that the clownfish will host. The 2 bubbles are too small and 1 almost dies due to an over aggresive tomatoe clown which I had to bring back to my LFS because of his temperment. He has recovered and now is hosting 2 very tiny sexy shrimp. It's just odd to me because I have a bunch of other "difficult" corals and they are doing well. Should I increase my lighting? My MH is acutally a 150, I thought it was a 250 until I just read the label. The guy at the store told me it was a 250. So with that said I have 280 total watts in my 54 with no lid on the tank and the lights are 6 inches over the water. Plenty of movement in the tank..any advice would be appreciated, I dont like things dying
Poorcollegereef
Future Doc
Sorry about your ritteri, sometimes it is hard to tell. It could have been a tear that became infected, nitrate shock, or simply the fact that it wasnt completely healthy. Sometimes the Ritteri only do well in very established aquariums so if your 55 gal is less than 9-12 months old, then anemonies are tougher to keep, but you tank appears to be extremely nice so I doubt this is a problem. Ritteri are often considered to be the (or one of the) toughest to keep, which is a shame because I think it is the most beautiful of the anemones. I have heard that most anemonies like 20000K lighting but I doubt that that was your problem since you have antinic lighting. My best advice to prevent anemone death is to avoid LFS unless they are top notch. The only reason I say this is because it adds another stage of which the anemone has to acclimate to water parameters. I believe that this is really stressful so I order online from more respected aquarium providers, plus they normally have a guarentee (sorry my spelling is beginning to slip) so if something happens, you can get it replaced or have your money refunded. None of my LFS offer this type of service, but I dont know NC LFS so you might have a decent one. In any case sorry about your ritteri, but you might want to try a sabae since it is normally considered to be easier, just check to see which types of anemones are able to host your clowns. Goodluck!
Thanks. In I actually bought the Riterri from MarineDepot. Most of my orders are from liveaquaria. MarineDepot is a great online seller but there packaging isn't to great. There was a lot of room in the box for the anemone to roll around. I do agree that the riterri is one of the most beautiful anemones available. Thanks for the input