Ritteri Nem too bleached?

[tallreefguy]

I picked up a Ritteri / Magnifica anemone the other day.
Is it too bleached out to save? I tried feeding it, but it didn't take it.
It seems to wander around - mostly towards the top. It's foot is not real sticky, but enough to hold on.
It's under a 250w 10k XM bulb.

 

[garygb]

Mags can recover their zooxanthellae if given proper conditions. You will want the specific gravity around 1.026, temperature 80-82F, very low nitrates, good water flow. I would suggest you make frequent water changes to keep the water quality excellent. It can take a mag a few weeks to settle in and start to behave normally. You have sufficient lighting, assuming the bulbs aren't too old. If it is wandering, it hasn't found the conditions to suit it. They prefer a flat-ish rock to perch on top of in good water flow with strong light. I wouldn't worry too much about feeding it yet. Let it find a place and stay put for a few days before trying to feed. When you do feed, start with small (pea size) pieces of fresh food, like shrimp from the seafood dept. or a small piece of fresh fish (e.g.,trout or salmon). Keep us posted.

 

[tallreefguy]

If I end up trying to save it, I would want to move it into my 100g breeder tank - just because it's a huge anemone for a 35Hex or whatever size it is. The issue there is that will would be joining a Blue Carpet and a Speckled RBTA (and move the 2nd RBTA into the 35 Hex). Not sure how I feel about 3 different species of anemones in 1 tank.

 

[Genin]

Looks pretty darn good actually tallreefguy. People have kept multiple species of anemones in tanks but I am pretty sure they all run carbon religiously. I'd be concerned too if I were you. I have also seen threads where anemones all start moving and getting restless when a new one is introduced, maybe due to chemical signals/warfare. Something to keep in mind.

 

[garygb]

I personally wouldn't want to keep a carpet, magnifica, and RBTA in the same tank. However, as Genin said, it might work ok if you regularly change out your carbon--and I would add over-skim. Which type carpet may also make a difference. From what I've read, haddoni are particularly noxious to other species.

 

[tallreefguy]

Interesting - I don't think I've heard of that before - they start moving and get restless when introducing a new one. I'll have to look around the interwebz some more about that.

 

[garygb]

yeah, the term allelopathy may help you with your search. It seems that anemones can "sense" the presence of other anemones, especially other species of anemones. From my understanding, there is a "chemical shed" into the water. This can lead to movement, as well as a general decline in the health of some of the aquarium occupants. To what extent this occurs with conspecifics, is not very clear, but some speculate that it happens. The safest bet is to have either one anemone or clones of one anemone, then there is no chance of allelopathy (corals is another story and there can definitely be chemical warfare between corals and anemones). But generally, I think having the same species in the same tank, even if not clones, is a pretty safe bet. To be completely safe, physically separating them wouldn't be a bad idea if there appears to be any decline in health.