Thought I would share my magnifica journey...
I have a 180 gallon mixed reef. One of my favorite reef fascinations has always been the clownfish / anemone relationship. I have had this tank set up for about 8 years and about 5 years in my current house. I have had the clowns for about 10 years. In the tank they have had some bta's but I always wanted a nice magnifica! I had the tank set up for one...a stand alone rock under a 250W halide right next to a sea swirl.
I was on the lookout for about a year to find one. One day I was at an aquarium store to get some dry goods. This store typically does not have good livestock. I was looking around and noticed a magnifica in a dimly lit tank with no water motion whatsoever. It was high up on the glass screaming for some light. It was bleached but I could tell it had some nice colors....yellow tips and a pinkish base. I debated for a while but decided to get it....the journey began!
This was December 2008 when I excitedly placed it in my tank.
It was bleached but didn't look too bad....little did I know what I was in for... It never moved much but it never looked great. Didn't deflate much either... Month after month is was living but never thriving. It would eat but didn't have great reactions...the anemone was shrinking...and pretty rapidly.
Still alive after a year it was about half or less of the size it was when I got it. However, the color was much different and was eating better and I could tell it was finally getting healthy (June 2009).
A few months later the color was even better and was doing much better (Aug 2009). The clown fish regularly spawned by the anemone as you can see.
I have now owned this anemone for several years now...and it is growing rapidly. I recently had to re-aquascape to give it a bit more room as it was stinging corals on the neighboring rocks. The color is a beautiful intense yellow with a purple-ish base.
I have some great pieces in my tank but this guy is by far my favorite. It has been a frustrating and rewarding journey to say the least... These guys are not easy to get established but once they do they seem to be pretty resilient.
Mine doesn't seem to look or act like other magnifica's. It has long tentacles and I haven't seen it take the typical 'ball' shape. I really like the look of the shorter tentacles with the tight shape...mine is more free-flowing...not sure what causes the differences?
Mike
I have a 180 gallon mixed reef. One of my favorite reef fascinations has always been the clownfish / anemone relationship. I have had this tank set up for about 8 years and about 5 years in my current house. I have had the clowns for about 10 years. In the tank they have had some bta's but I always wanted a nice magnifica! I had the tank set up for one...a stand alone rock under a 250W halide right next to a sea swirl.
I was on the lookout for about a year to find one. One day I was at an aquarium store to get some dry goods. This store typically does not have good livestock. I was looking around and noticed a magnifica in a dimly lit tank with no water motion whatsoever. It was high up on the glass screaming for some light. It was bleached but I could tell it had some nice colors....yellow tips and a pinkish base. I debated for a while but decided to get it....the journey began!
This was December 2008 when I excitedly placed it in my tank.
It was bleached but didn't look too bad....little did I know what I was in for... It never moved much but it never looked great. Didn't deflate much either... Month after month is was living but never thriving. It would eat but didn't have great reactions...the anemone was shrinking...and pretty rapidly.
Still alive after a year it was about half or less of the size it was when I got it. However, the color was much different and was eating better and I could tell it was finally getting healthy (June 2009).
A few months later the color was even better and was doing much better (Aug 2009). The clown fish regularly spawned by the anemone as you can see.
I have now owned this anemone for several years now...and it is growing rapidly. I recently had to re-aquascape to give it a bit more room as it was stinging corals on the neighboring rocks. The color is a beautiful intense yellow with a purple-ish base.
I have some great pieces in my tank but this guy is by far my favorite. It has been a frustrating and rewarding journey to say the least... These guys are not easy to get established but once they do they seem to be pretty resilient.
Mine doesn't seem to look or act like other magnifica's. It has long tentacles and I haven't seen it take the typical 'ball' shape. I really like the look of the shorter tentacles with the tight shape...mine is more free-flowing...not sure what causes the differences?
Mike
