My first anemone

Tony44

Tony44

New member
Just picked up this anemone from the LFS today. They sold it to me as a maroon, long tentacle. I have a pair of false perculas in my tank. I was not buying the anemone for them, as if I am not mistaken they don't hose in long tentacle anemones.

I put it in the tank, 10 minutes later one of them goes in it, an hour later they are both in it. I am very happy with the purchase so far!!

What do you guys think?

And is it common for false perculas to go in this type of anemone?

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This is not a long tentacled anemone, but it is a ritteri anemone (H. magnifica) and it is a natural host for ocellaris clownfish (false perculas). They are very hard too keep long term with most perishing within the first couple of months.
 
Yeah I might go back to the LFS and complain. Normally this store is very knowledgeable, I'm sure if I complain and say that they sold me something as something else, then they might give me back what I paid.
 
I've got 6 T5 bulbs with Icecap 660's over my tank.

If I were to keep this anemone would you suggest having it at the very top of the tank? Or where?
 
Your LFS may not be completely wrong. Granted they are hard to keep alive, a majority of them reach the buyer in dismal conditions and the buyer is facing an uphill battle from the very beginning. Your anemone looks like it is in very good condition and so long as your tank is pristine, good lighting, proper flow, clean water, and you're able to maintain these conditions, you should have no problems with this nem
 
If you intend to try to keep this anemone they like a good amount of flow and direct lighting. Typically they like a high point in the tank with somewhat direct flow. From the angle your pics are it looks somewhat healthy but in that spot it wont be for long. I would move it to a rock up higher in the tank with flow. Also you need to do a LOT of research on how to care for these anemones as these literally are imo the hardest anemones to keep. I hope you acclimated it properly. How long has it been in your tank now and how is it looking currently?
 
I do have to admit, the anemone is very healthy looking, there was one right next to this one and it did not look very good at all.

My tank is fairly new, just about three months. I have zero phosphates, zero nitrates so this should not be a problem. As you can see in the third picture, the anemone is towards the bottom of the tank. I put the mouth in a crevice, some of the tentacles do not really get any light as they are in the crevice as well, but 80% of it is getting direct light. I have 1 Tunze 6100 on my tank, the powerhead is up high and it does a pretty good job of moving things around in the tank. I will put the anemone up higher if I have to, but I just don't see how I can put it higher and not have it get blow around like crazy, and there are corals that I would have to move as well

Are there some sites or places that I could go to research these anemones? Should I start a thread asking for advice on the care of these anemones? Has anyone reading this kept, or have one of these guys? If this anemone was starting to die, what would it look like? Also, if it does not move to a new spot I take it that is a good sign?

At this point I like the anemone so much that I would hate to return it to the store. I was so excited when the clownfish went in it, and they look so awesome inside of it!!
 
I would be very surprised if it still looks good in about two weeks. And you put the foot in a crevice.. not the mouth. It probably hasn't been able to move from where you put it. If you give it a flat surface up high and turn off the flow for about 30 minutes it will attach its foot to the rock and will not blow around. Im sure you can find a lot of threads here on RC about caring for these anemones but feel free to start one. However you will get the same response that you have gotten from us on this thread.
The only reason I have not kept one is because of their tendency to die. However I have successfully been keeping a S. Gigantea Carpet Anemone from a long time now. These are also known as one of the hardest to keep anemones so I guess you could say I know what i'm talking about.
If your nem starts to die it usually starts with a process of inflation and deflation and a gaping open mouth.. which by the way is in the center on the anemone between the tentacles, its not the foot you put between the rocks.
 
I strongly advise that you take it back to the store, especially if this is your first anemone. If the anemone has attached its foot, please do not move it unless you plan on returning it to the store for credit or exchange. There are other anemone species that are much more forgiving. If you have powerheads, cover the intake with foam or nylon if you decide keep it.
 
Returning it would may save you money but i would be 90% sure it would mean the death of the anemone. Let it settle in your tank, if it dies at least you tried. If it goes to the store it would be another stressful move until it finds a new home which is another stressful move.
 
I just went through a few weeks of taking care of a magnifica that fell ill and died. I believe a link to my thread has been posted on this site as a reference, I would advice you to watch the procession of my anemone to compare yours to.

Questions:
Does the anemone inflate and deflate it's tentacles throughout the day? Is the mouth open or tightly closed and poking up?

Advice:
Don't feed the anemone ANYTHING. I believe this was the downfall of my anemone because it became ill right after it ate some mysis shrimp. Don't try moving the anemone at all. Leave it alone, the more change and variation in it's environment the worst off it is. The anemone may be happy with that level of light; some magnifica's like a lot of light, others don't need as much, it all depends on what depth and location they were collected from the reef and their time in transit. Good surging flow is the best kind of flow. Not so much continuous blast, but a random flow that moves the tentacles in different directions. I have other advice summed up at the end of my thread.
 
My bad, I just confused mouth with foot, dumb mistake on my part.

Anyways, after looking at the anemone it looks like the mouth is closed. This is bad sign I assume? The tentacles are open throughout the whole day. Also, the anemone isn't attached inside the crevice, I thought I did but it isn't, maybe it moved? It is attached to a piece of rock that is fairly flat, I am sure it could move if it wanted to.

I have not decided what I will do yet, but as Musho said, I am sure this anemone will die if I bring it back to the store as they will just sell it again to someone who does not know how to care for it. Anyways, I have to go back to the store somewhat soon and return this if I am to return it, if I go back two weeks from now and complain I am sure they won't do anything for me; however, if I go within the next few days I might be able to get my money back.
 
It is good if its mouth is closed. If it is expanding and foot holding onto rock, it is a healthy specimen. I would say you try your best to keep it rather than return to your LFS because your tank do have good requirements for it, (unless a ritteri specialist wants it of course).

Give it small piece of shrimp every week or so, it should be alright. And yes they need lots of light.
 
So far from your description the anemone looks fine. If it seems happy then don't move it up in the tank or take it back to the store. I would start feeding it in a few weeks to avoid stressing it out and introducing and bacteria to the inside of the animal. Many successful magnifica keepers never feed theirs directly. I would keep it for a few months and if it's health improves I would consider selling it to someone on reef central; a known healthy magnifica specimen will go over a pretty penny here.
 
How much would mine cost in a store or on here?

I paid $60 for it, is that a bad price to pay for one of these?
 
So far it looks like today the anemone moved over a few inches. He also seems like he is a lot more open today, tentacles waving all over the place, I assume this is a good sign?
 
That's pretty cheap for a magnifica. I imagine if you keep it for long enough and sell it to someone on here you can probably charge around $200. Sounds like it is doing fine. But things can change quickly with this anemone
 
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