Ritteri

docsky

New member
Wanted to post some pics and ask some questions on my Ritteri. Some history... i have had it around 3 years now. I started it out in QT for two months before adding to my display tank. You can see below photos just into qt and photo right before i pulled it out. I keep the Ritteri in my main display 300g for around 2.5 years and never had an issue with it until one day i came home and my 6" powder brown was gone. The Ritter had it fully inside it mouth minus the tail. I had the tang around 7 years so not sure if it passed and the Ritteri ate it or if the Ritteri grabbed it. It was about a month later that a larger nano tang 13" was massively stung but not consumed by the Ritteri, it died 3 days later. After this incident i pulled the Ritteri out and put him in my frag tank. I have not been happy with how i have him displayed ever since. He has been in the frag tank with a yellow tang and has not messed with him at all. I have even seen it touch the tang without any reaction from the tang. So to sum it up my Ritteri was fine for over 2 years mixing it with fish, and ever since then in the frag tank with a yellow tang. Do you think the fish that it did capture were weak and sick? I am wanting to place the Ritteri back into my display but don't want it to go on another killing spree again. I am wonder what you think about the Ritteri being fish killers of healthy fish. i know first hand that they can eat large ones pretty easy but just not sure if it was because they were sick/dead or if they were healthy and still snagged buy the Ritteri. Please let me know you thought and experiences.
 
Here are some pics when it was in the main display.





In temp tank until i had my proper frag tank set up


At its current home in my frag tank tied to my main system.

 
Wow, really to beautiful to be in a frag tank. I am sure others will say this, so I'll say it first. Do you have the room/resources to set up it's own tank? there are people on here who would die to have this guy in their tank. But I love nems so I say if nothing else, put him back in your DT. I have haddonis, so I know what fish eating nems are all about. I have just learned to live with it. There are fish in my Dt, and they have learned to stay away from these guys. :) . Good luck either way
 
I often dream about putting this guy up in a nice square tank with nothing but it and some clowns. My only issue right now is that i am still a MH guy. I am currently running 4 400watt MH so not sure if i can justify adding a 5th. Not sure of the track record with these guys under leds so input there is welcome.

The main reason i was thinking of moving him back to the display was so that i can enjoy him better, the frag tank is not cutting it for me.
 
My two Magnifica do beautifully with Radion 2 Pro and 3 Pro
My electricity bill doesn't bite me like it used too.

The other thing is that over at least 20 years, I never lost a fish to any of my Magnifica, not even a tiny fish. It is very strange that you lost two tangs to your's. Carpets, Haddoni and Gigantea, is another story.
 
The other thing is that over at least 20 years, I never lost a fish to any of my Magnifica, not even a tiny fish. It is very strange that you lost two tangs to your's. Carpets, Haddoni and Gigantea, is another story.

That is good new to me. I am wondering if the tangs were just sick and the Ritteri took advantage. Prior to these two events i never had an issue with it messing with fish.
 
I believe the tang was sick and weak for the anemone to catch it.I have had mine for alittle over three years now and hasn't bother any of my fish.Just don't let it get into a power head,it will nuke your tank.Lost all my fish except my clowns.Btw great looking H.Mag you got.
 
I have personally seen my mag eat at least 3 fish but I suspect he has eaten 2 others. I saw him catch 2 flasher wrasses and 1 chromis. All were healthy they just got caught chasing food around the tank. Needless to say, I do not feed with the pumps on any more! I had a chance to buy a large mag with your exact colors years ago and I passed because of the price. I am still kicking myself to this day as that (in my mind) are the most beautiful colors of all the mags. Good luck with him!
 
Almost always when I see or hear of a nem eating a fish it is due to either the fish being sick or weak to begin with, or too small of space for both nem and fish.
 
Ive 2 ritteri in my tank about 2years now nevr ate anything unless I fed it to them. But I do notice often, that the algae growth near or tup side of the anemone still attracts my tang. I wouldn't be surprised if yours was snacking on something close & snatched up by your ritteri

Ive also noticed my cleaner shrimp love the shade under my anemones and set up cleaning stations there... just my observations & thoughts.
 
Davocean, I have owned mags for years now and I can say with 100% certainty that if anything other than a clown touches a healthy mag, its toast. PERIOD. My fish were very healthy but rather small and in a 93 cube. All it takes is a moment of lost focus and bam they are wrapped up like a deli sandwich.
 
Davocean, I have owned mags for years now and I can say with 100% certainty that if anything other than a clown touches a healthy mag, its toast. PERIOD. My fish were very healthy but rather small and in a 93 cube. All it takes is a moment of lost focus and bam they are wrapped up like a deli sandwich.

Well I agree there, and that is somewhat my point, that is a good size for a cube but still it may not allow room enough for swimmers like tangs to swim freely around something as large as a mag.

Now however some fish do seem to adapt, my chromis are actually under my mag right now, and I had chromis is nems before, of course them and clowns both being in the damsel family.
Looks like other reefers are having fish somewhat adapt too going by this post.
But my main reason for comment on this is how often I see people think their nem is hunting, or on the attack or something, and they often blame the nem when it usually is something else, and most commonly sick fish or tight swim space
The nems are just being opportunists.
 
My almost 20 year journey with mags has cost me only one fish, and that was a distressed damsel that did a 'suicide' run. Otherwise I've neither seen a fish eaten nor observed any evidence of one eaten unseen. My fish have the good sense to steer clear, and if they don't the resident clowns are happy to chase them off. My arm, however, has not gone similarly unscathed.
 
I have never lost a fish to my Magnifica over the last 20 years. I have lost fishes to Haddoni or Gigantea and even LTA (once), but never Crispa, Malu or Magnifica.
 
The Anemone is doing great. I will try and post up some recent photos i took. I am down south in Cincinnati.
 
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