Riterii Anemone Care

[dendronepthya]

I would like to try to keep one of these in my 75 gal reef. I understand that their needs are great and many, but I think I have a setup suitable for one of these beautiful anemone. I am wondering if there is anything else that I should be considering. I have read TRAv2 and TMCRAv2 but am wondering if anyone has any personal experience keeping these guys.
My water parameters check out, and I do a 10 gal. water change every two weeks.

My setup is a 75 gal (48"L), 100 lbs of liverock(20 lbs. of which resides in the sump), MTC airstone skimmer, and a very strong lighting system. The lighting system consists of 2-400W 6500K Iwasaki MH's, 4-28W PC actinics, and 2-110W VHO's(50/50 and actinic). The canopy/pendants is cooled by a total of three fans(two in the pendants, one 4" fan in the canopy), so the temperature stays a pretty consistent 78-80 degrees. I understand that Riterii require strong current, and I have a spray bar system powered by a SEN900 sending water across the top and also down to get behind the aquascape. In addition I have a Sea Swirl powered by a Magnum350 Canister Filter(no filter material) to provide an oscillating current across the top. I have the aquascape set up so that there are two large rock structures, one on the left and right. I plan on keeping the anemone on the left so that it gets the most of the current provided and also to keep it away from the overflow box that is very close to the rock structure on the right. I don't want it jumping onto it and blocking the flow. If I keep it on the left, it has to climb all the way down, walk across the tank, and climb up the second structure and into the overflow. I don't see why it would do that since there is less flow there and the light is just as strong where it was originally.

I have very few corals, and none anywhere near where I want to place the anemone on the left rock. I am not too concerned with it running around stinging anything since I am giving it a very large area to roam. I currently have no fish, but would like to get a pair of Percula clowns and perhaps a Chevron tang.

The tank is very young(only 2 mo. old), and I do not plan on adding anything(maybe a detritivore kit) for at least another 2-3 months. Is there anything I am forgetting? Do these guys settle into one location or are they always nomadic? Thanks in advance.

 

[Heinrich]

It would be a really good idea to add a refugium on top of the tank to provide a continous supply of live foods.
Feeding seems to be very important. From the people I know keeping a ritteri more or less successful the key has been, strong currents and really strong light especially for the more colorful one's. But feeding is especially important. Daily feedings of mysis shrimp and other zooplankter is especially important. You might want to consider getting more flow through the seaswirl, something along the lines of a sen 900 through the seaswirl should be good.
Main other thing is doing sufficient waterchanges and actually using regular dechlorinated tapwater instead of RO water.
Lighting seems to be about right. Make sure to secure your overflow else your anenome will get shredded. I suggest to insstall another large box of 1" mesh plastic grating. If your anenome loosens itself from the spot it was at it will let the current take it right up to the overflow box. And exactly that will happen to your tank when the anenome blocks the overflow. Then it will get shredded and you'll have a giant mess. I suggest having the meshing form a cyclinder 1" around the overflow so that even if the anenome gets pulled into it there is sufficient flow around it to not damage it and the remaining water can go out the overflow.
Another good idea is a 4-6hr hour bath with an antibiotic. Perferably in a dip while you acclimate the salinity. Something along the lines of 50mg per gallon of nitrofurazone along with 250mg per gallon of neomyacin.
Works very well. The main initial problem is bacterial diseases. So you might opt not to stress out the anenome but keep these antibiotics at hand and treat at the first sign of trouble. Before getting the anenome make sure to do some good large waterchanges and that your salinity is at 35-37ppt. NSW.
Very important. Check if they got it from the red sea then go for 40ppt check the salinity with another hydrometer at the store. Perferably you want to get a large glass hydrometer. Salinity is very important as well as a lunar cycle for long term success. But mainly be prepared for bacteriological problems and then slowly drip by drip acclimate the anenome.
There's a whole lot more if you want you can e-mail me and I'll run some more info by you.

DISCLAIMER: Do not purchase any H. magnifica if your not willing to give it the suitable enviroment, a species tank, sufficient light along 8-15w per gallon ideally for the larger more colorful species. The survival rate in hobbyist tanks is dreadful. And they are threatend in the wild.

 

[hesaias]

Read up real good and then read some more before you buy! I was told they are very hard to keep, but me and my hard head killed 2 before I decided not to buy any more
I was told that a temp of 75-78 was what they need, my tank was 80 and both wasted awat in a matter of days.
Good luck though, they are very beautiful animals

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hesaias

my homepage

 

[RT]

Hi,

I've kept 2 ritteris in the last three years. One was added to a 58 gallon system with a 250W 6500K bulb and approximately 1800 gallons of flow. The anemone sat on its own rock which was slightly larger than its base. It shipped very poorly and when I brought it home from the store, its mouth was gaping horrendously. Additionally, it released some acontia filaments. I reduced photoperiod to 4 hours, placed the anemone in an area of moderate flow (slightly higher than what I subjected my LPS to). Additionally, I added a small pair of A. percula. Over the course of 2 weeks, the anemone recovered and I slowly raised the photoperiod back to 12 hours. I had that anemone for 1.5 years after which I gave it to a friend (to make room for some corals...the most moronic move I made that year

He still has it in a 75 with 2 250 and that anemone has gone strong for 3 years now. The second ritteri I tried was rescued from a friend's setup. It was dying and I couldn't figure out why. Turned out his system was at 90 degrees for 2 weeks (his thermometer read 80). It didn't survive unfortunately. The last ritteri was in a 75 gallon system. It had a single 400 W MH (36" long tank). Current was approximately the same as the first system. It survived a painful move to a 160 gallon system (lost 6 Tridacna maximas and 3 large Acropora heads). Ritteris, in my experience, have always proved rather easy in their care. It is best to get a healthy specimen, as nursing an anemone back seems to be a rather uncertain proposition. Strong lighting and moderate flow are important as is the presence of a suitable symbiote (A. percula and A. occellaris are the two I've had success with). Additionally, you can prevent them from moving by placing them on a separate rock and directing strong current to either side of them. Make sure to not allow any tentacles to touch the main reef structure or the anemone will move. Also, I've found that feeding a silverside the first couple of weeks helps keep the anemone sedantary. I have not fed my ritteris and didn't have good experiences with feeding them. They grew too quickly with supplemental feeding and already recieved a great deal from my clowns (who grab food and take it back to the anemone, lose it to the anemone, and then go get some more). Additionally, there seems to be a misconception that these anemones require abnormal conditions (high salinity, low temp, etc). Again, I can't say for every specimen but my systems run at approximately 1.025 at 80-82 degrees. Good luck and if I can help, please feel free to ask.

regards,
Roni