Magnifica acclimation grace period?

[shabreeson]

If you recently got a magnifica, how many days of healthy activity(little if no deflation, closed mouth, very little bleaching) would you need in order to say that the anemone survived the initial shock of acclimation?

in other words when can you breathe a little easier?

 

[Arati]

6 months is about when I would start to feel successfull

 

[conorwynne]

I acclimated mine only last night, I took my time and did it over a 5 hour period as the SG it came from was quite low.

1.022 compared to my tank at 1.26. Also calc, Alk & mag were all way off.

It has stayed in the position I put it in (amazingly) and is hosting my two perculas. I cannot believe that it opened immediately after adding to the tank. Does this answer your question?

FYI : My tank is exactly 6 months old (December 2008)

edit --> so far zero retraction of tentacles, "lips" nicely pursed.
I'm a total noob anenome wise, but it looks better than it did in the shop.

 

[WDLV]

Feed it lots of meat. I feed mine the same stuff I'm feeding my fish.... puree tilapia and table shrimp mixed with cyclopeeze, mysis and plankton. It started looking rather shoddy and was moving a lot before i started feeding it. Now it has been in the same spot for a couple months.

 

[jmadison]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15030773#post15030773 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by conorwynne
FYI : My tank is exactly 6 months old (December 2008)

This could be your downfall, not gauranteed, but your tank is a bit immature and mags a extremely difficult to keep. Keep a close eye on it, there are numerious stories of them being fine for first couple months and then out of no where one day just quickly going down hill.

 

[conorwynne]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15032094#post15032094 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jmadison
This could be your downfall, not gauranteed, but your tank is a bit immature and mags a extremely difficult to keep. Keep a close eye on it, there are numerious stories of them being fine for first couple months and then out of no where one day just quickly going down hill.

Normally I would agree, but this tank was setup with 100% biologically active LR (most cooked for over a year), the rest from a holding tank while I procrastinated with the tank I wanted.

The tank never cycled, and never went through any algal stages associated with a new setup (have a small cotton candy issue now though, no biggie). I was not planning on getting a nem, but I couldn't resist as the price (and specimen) was right.

I will watch it like a hawk though!
I fed it today and it ate up.

How often should they be fed? Once a week? Several times a week with small portions? Daily with smaller?

I don't wish to thread-jack, but I believe this is relevant to the OP.

 

[WDLV]

I disagree. While it is generally accepted that it takes about a month for a new tank to cycle, it is also pretty well accepted that it takes a year for a system to become "established."
Rocks loaded with bacteria and other larger maintenance organisms are great and if you can start off with a batch of liverock or baserock that has been part of an established system you are likely to be better off and will have less of an ammonia spike as you start the new system. Cooked rock from a tub that has been completely separated from any other system will not be prepared to deal with the bioload of a fully stocked system and will need to repopulate to the new system's bioload and water parameters.
There are other factors that will determine the chemical stability of a system such as whether you used "new" sand to start the system, how large and populated the system is, how much is fed on average etc.
Even if you start with a healthy bacteria population, pods and other maintenance organisms, there is a time frame for those animals to die off, re-populate and stabilize their numbers to accomodate the bioload of the particular system.

This is not to say that you cannot have corals and anemones in a relatively young system if you are an experienced reefer with a well maintained system but most experienced reefers already know what organisms their system is capable of handling even if they push their luck from time to time.

 

[WDLV]

BTW, I feed mine about a teaspoon of meaty food 2-3 times a day. It's about 8" fully extended.

Hope that helps.

 

[tufacody]

I've failed twice with magnificas, and each followed the same exact pattern: acclimated well, looked great for 7-10 days, started deflating daily, and dead within 20. This is how 90% of them go.

 

[tufacody]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15033052#post15033052 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WDLV
BTW, I feed mine about a teaspoon of meaty food 2-3 times a day. It's about 8" fully extended.

Hope that helps.

WOW - thats a lot of food.

 

[Dragonlady]

My magnifica would not stop deflating for about an hour every day for the first few months. I started to feed it small amounts every other day and it has stopped deflating, and it might be turning into 2 anemones. I will not consider them fully acclimated until about 6 months to a year.

 

[WDLV]

I've tried several mags though the years and only recently have I learned how important food was. By contrast I never target my BTAs and they do great.

 

[Pacific Reefs]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15034150#post15034150 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WDLV
I've tried several mags though the years and only recently have I learned how important food was. By contrast I never target my BTAs and they do great.

+1 this is sometimes overlooked!

When I feed mine I make sure the food is chopped or in small pieces...I feel this really helps with the digestive process. I hope your magnifica does well

 

[OrionN]

I have had a few H. magnifica over the last 12 years, I find that good tank condition is a must. If everything is optimal, I know that if the anemone is going to do well or not within the first two weeks.
Food is need if you want the anemone to grow, otherwise just minimal food is need to keep them stable and same size. They will capture fish food from flakes to frozen to mixed home make food. I feed my current H. magnifica every 2 weeks or so because I don't want him to get any larger than he is. I keep him in a species tank 30 g cube with my A. percula pair and a Mandarin Dragonet.

Both H. magnifica and Mandarin are not recommended for 30 g tank, but my case is a very special case. I certainly have contingent plans if there is any problem with this set-up.