Heteractis Magnifica - Tell me some success stories

[smp]

I'm only starting this thread as a matter of curiosity, no I didn't go out and dump one into my PC lighted 29 gallon tank

the previous owner of said setup DID however and when it arrived to my care the Magnifica was bleached, gaping and basically dying. I took it to the LFS pronto hoping that they would take care of it because I knew it would die in my tank. It died at the LFS.
I feel badly because every wild caught anemone that goes into captivity is one less home for generations of clown fish in the wild.


Now, I want to ask any of you if you have kept this beautiful anemone successfully, and I mean .. for a length of years. Has it split or reproduced for anyone in captivity?
I've been reading some books etc and a Magnifica is one of my prime motivations for going to a monster tank at some point down the road (once I own a house, have kids and settle down for a lengthy period of time).
Also, how often are they seen at the LFS? The place I took mine labeled it as a "red base anemone" and one week later it was decaying. (I told them what it was, they looked confused)
Right now I have an RBTA that I got as a small clone about a month ago and it seems to be doing great .. it doesn't wander and it's been growing rapidly. Now, the two false percs that came with the tank were hosting in the dying anemone and have been ignoring the RBTA since it's arrival, I'm obviously hoping that they take up residence. When I got the tank from the previous owner he had been keeping a yellow tank, a sleeper goby, scooter blenny, two green chromis and a flame angel (yes, all in a 29 gallon). Right now only the two clowns remain as I traded all of the other fish for store credit. My assumption here is that the clowns aren't in a rush to host in anything because they have no fish competing with them in the tank for food and they don't feel threatened .. does that theory hold any water? I mean, I know that their hosting instinct is in tact...

Anyways, be really happy to hear about your Magnifica, so please share

[delphinus]

I have a Heteractis magnifica, and I'm approaching my 5th anniversary caring for this animal (purchased in April of 2001).

No splits, but does spawn 2 or 3 times per year.

You definitely require a monster setup for this anemone, and I would suggest that it is extremely foolhardy to keep this anemone in a mixed setup (i.e., anything other than a dedicated setup built specifically for the anemone). Size being a major consideration, but also in that this anemone poses a serious risk to tankmates. I have lost several fish over the years as a result of the anemone being disturbed. My own personal recommendation now is don't house fish other than commensal anemonefish unless you're comfortable with them dying needlessly if something happens that disturbs the anemone. It's conceivable that this risk is diminished with smaller specimens but it's important to remember that small specimens have the capacity to one day become large specimens.

I purchased the anemone at 5" and within 6 weeks was over 18" in diameter. Today at full expansion the anemone can reach 24" in diameter although there is a fair amount of variation due to external influences, flow changes, time of day, lighting, how sunny it is outside, etc. etc.

My current setup for it is a 115g cube tank (30x30x30), flow is via 2 Tunze 6100's on a multicontroller, lighting is a single 250W DE 14k.

Flow is an immensely important consideration with this species. Strong laminar (but alternating) flow seems to lend the anemone some structure. Without flow (i.e., if I turn my pumps for as little as a minute), the anemone flattens into a pancake. I estimate I have between 30-40x volume turnover although it's hard to accurately guage since the intention is for recreating wave action in a shallow reef (given the anemone's natural preferred habitat on the top of a reef).

I realize that saying this makes me something of a hypocrite, but it is a species I personally strongly recommend anyone attempt to keep unless they are very, very serious about making a very, very serious commitment to this anemone. It is not an anemone to "try on a whim!" For the amount I have invested into this one animal's well-being, I could have built a serious system to rival the nicest SPS tanks out there. My friends and family think I'm nuts. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if it's just an association between anemonefish and an anemone you wish to see, there are far easier (and easier-on-the-wallet) alternatives out there.

The percula/BTA pairing that you have in your tank may not be a natural pairing (i.e., "as seen in nature"), which may be a contributing factor to the fish not taking to the anemone readily. However, in my experience, they likely eventually will. Ok I can't really promise that but my first anemone was a BTA, and I think at least 6 weeks transpired before my captive-raised percula's took to it. My advice is give it some time, they will likely eventually go in, they just need to realize what it is.

Sorry I don't mean to be a downer (and I didn't mean to make such a long post, sorry about that, I could probably talk for hours about this anemone though, since it's been such a large focusof my reef hobby for a very long time), but I do want to press the message that it can be a very sobering experience to keep this species. You definitely need to know what you'd be getting yourself into!

I will try to take some pictures of my anemone in it's new home (as of last month moved into the cube) and post them. It's time for some new pics anyhow. Here's a (crappy) picture taken a few hours after the transfer:


I sure hope the anemone doesn't outgrow this tank as fast as it has outgrown its previous homes. It was last in a standard 90g, and it was just a bad scene overall how badly it was needing a bigger home. Here is a picture of it in the 90g from 2004:


I currently have no fish in my cube tank. In the 90g I had a pair of percs that were associating with the ritteri, although since the removal they are now taking up residence in a green S. gigantea carpet. Given the size of the fish and the (much smaller!) size of the carpet, it actually makes for a nicer display. I'm currently deciding what species to keep in my 115g, given that I no longer am willing to keep any other (i.e., non-anemonefish) fish alongside this anemone due to the risks involved, I may as well choose something unusual for the anemonefish themselves. I'm not sure what I'm keen on, there are a couple choices. Perhaps A. akindynos or A. chrysogaster... at any rate, something I don't otherwise really get to see very often.

[Amphiprion]

How's your S. gigantea doing? If it is doing as well as the magnifica, I would definitely like to see some pics.

[delphinus]

I actually have two, 1 in my 90 (the green one) and 1 in my 75. Both seem to do OK. Here are some pics (man I really need to take some new pics,.. sorry! I end up discarding most of them because my tank pic taking skills do truly lack).

green: (got it last April/May)
http://members.shaw.ca/hobiesailor/a...ntea1Nov05.jpg

tan: (got it almost 2 years ago now)
http://members.shaw.ca/hobiesailor/a...a_20040621.jpg

I came across a blue S. gigantea this last weekend and it was all I could do not to buy it because I knew I have nowhere to put it.

(Apologies for the thread hijack BTW!! I'll try to restrict further comments to be more-on-topic {H. magnifica}).

[smp]

That's a nice cube and a nice anemone, I'm jealous!
Everything you've said, I've read a thousand times already, though that doesn't mean it shouldn't be repeated! This is exactly why I don't have one

More people need to know that though apparently, like I said my 29 gallon originally had one (albeit a dying one) as an occupant and under a single 55 watt power compact. :/

[shutiny]

What type of lightings do you have for your H. magnifica and S. gigantea?
Thanks

[delphinus]

The H.magnifica is currently directly under a single 250W DE 14k pendent.

The green S. gigantea is under 2x175W 10k. The tan S. gigantea is under 2x250W 10k with 2x110W VHO actinics additionally.

Here are some pictures that I took today of the ritteri:

[shutiny]

Awesome animal, and you have done a great job! Thanks for sharing.

[Pavlo]

I too have been fairly successful with a magnifica.

I have had mine for over three years during which time it has split.

I have a friend who has kept one for over 5 years and his has split into four.

Anyway, heres a picture of mine

[maxxII]

Reviving a dead thread...

Delphinus,
Do you still have your H.magnifica? If so, you're approaching 11 years with it!

I've kept one of mine for 5 years as of March, the other I've had for only 3 months.....not anywhere near long enough to be considered a success.

The newest one is getting alternating flow from a pair of Tunze 6000's which move approximately 1850 gph, but I have them cranked down to the lowest setting which is supposed to be somewhere around 30% of max, (555 gph?).

Delphinus, I noticed you were running (back in 2006) dual 6100's for your H.mag...did you have those cranked all the way up? That would turn a 30x30 cube in a whirlpool!

Nick

[maxxII]

Obligatory H.Magnifica photo's as of 12-10-2010

120 Gallon display, (48x24x24)
Dual 250 W Phoenix 14k SE's powered by an HQI ballast
Sump return is a Pan World 100PX-X, moving about 900 gph through a now non moving Wavy Sea. It now sits stationary, blowing the return over the anemone.
In tank flow is two Tunze 6000's and two Tunze 6100's, alternating in a gyre type flow, (one 6000 and one 6100 simulatneously, then alternating every 6 hours. IE Front left Stream and Rear right Stream, alternating with Front right and Rear left)

FTS



Anemone itself (now about 10-12 inches in diameter)



With Rod's Onyx mated pair



Nick

[delphinus]

Ahhh ... sadly, no, I don't have him anymore and unfortunately it's a sad story. One thing the anemone would do that was becoming harder and harder to deal with was kill off an entire tank load of fish if it got disturbed. It happened a few times and the last time it happened in about the fall of 2009 I couldn't take it anymore so I decided to sell it.

I sold it to someone who was very keen on doing right for it but had an enormous bout of bad luck with her tanks between an outbreak of velvet and maybe a tank too small to handle the enormous bioload the anemone put out, the anemone perished.

I am still a little sad. 11 years would have been a remarkable milestone and I regret my moment of weakness sometimes, but it was getting to be very difficult to constantly make the choice not to have any fish besides the clownfish..

[MarinaP]

It will be 11 years in captivity for mine in March , 6 out of 11 in my care. Notice how close to the water surface it sits, right under 400W Radiums. I had to move it from a tank where I have dozens of RBTAs, mag was not happy

[Pavlo]

Five years on and mine has now been in my care for over eight years. It has split again too so there are two in the tank that live next to each other. The female clown still spawns every two weeks and is now 16 years old.

[maxxII]

I received the anemone in the first week of November. It came in looking very bad. The mouth was gaping severely and the anemone looked more like an old ragged frayed sweat sock as opposed to a healthy anemone. However, the tentacles were long, and not short/stubby like I’ve seen on starving anemones.

I immediately put it into a container with freshly mixed ASW. The water had been mixing for about 24 hours. I drained out all of the water the anemone was shipped in. It was cloudy and smelled bad. The anemone was placed into the container with an airstone and a single 100mg tablet of Doxycycline was added. The container was placed into my display tank to maintain temperature and was left for 6 hours.

The anemone began to look better, but was still very flaccid and the mouth was still gaping, although not as bad as before.



I placed the anemone into an established 58 gallon tank, lit by a single XM 250 watt 15K bulb, circulation is by two Tunze Stream 6000’s on a controller.

The anemone attached to a rock directly under the light and under the Tunze’s flow pattern. After waiting a day, I attempted to feed it a small piece of scallop and a small piece of raw shrimp. It took neither.

I fished those out and tried a few pieces of PE Mysis. The anemone accepted the Mysis. Feeding response was very sluggish and it took the anemone over 45 minutes to move the Mysis into the mouth, and swallow them.

The next morning, the anemone had let go of the rock and was floating about the aquarium, blown by current. I was unable to get the anemone to attach, or to take any more food.

I honestly figured the anemone was certain to die at this point, but kept attempting to place it on a rock somewhere and to feed it. All to no avail. Every morning the anemone would be face down behind the rocks somewhere. Every time I would right the anemone and place it face up some where. The mouth would be gaping, but would close fairly quickly once the anemone was righted.

After two weeks, the anemone was still alive, and the tentacles were still lengthy, and the mouth was still tight-ish.

Realizing I had nothing to lose, I made up a small container with egg crate sides, and placed the Ritteri inside it. I moved one of the sump returns so that the anemone was getting significant current/flow, and kept it there. The container was an acrylic frag rack with small holes on the bottom. The egg crate sides were zip tied in place to keep the anemone inside the container. The container was placed at the top of the tank in a relatively shaded area, but the anemone could move to a better lit area if it desired to do so. The anemone never attached to the acrylic, or to a small piece of tile I placed in the container specifically for that reason.





A pair of Picasso Percula clowns had decided to grace the Ritteri with their presence. I had to chase them out every time I fed the anemone. Otherwise they would steal the food from its mouth.



*Note, the faint lettering and white-ish stripe are not a watermark, they are the reflection of the PVC return line above the container

The anemone stayed in the make shift frag rack container for a month. I fed it every day. Its feeding response was very sluggish. It took about 45 minutes to an hour to take the food in. Sometimes, it didn’t take it at all. Eventually, the anemone’s feeding response got better. It was began swallowing Mysis in about 30 minutes.


After a month, I moved the anemone over to another container. This one was made of the frame of a breeder’s net. I removed the net, and attached egg crate to the inside of the frame. I surrounded that with window screen, but left enough space for the clowns to come and go. I placed a piece of tile on the bottom of the container hoping the anemone would attach to it, but again no luck.

I also moved this container to more directly under the light. I placed window screen on top of the container to shield the anemone from too much light. The container was placed in the front of the tank, and had a pretty good flow of current as the Streams blew right past the outside of the container. The anemone could still get some flow inside the container, based on what I saw with tentacle movement.



After a week of the anemone being in this enclosure, it appeared to be panning for light, (struggling to get more light), so I removed the window screen from the top of the container.

This was not a good idea. The anemone quickly bleached, and stopped eating for a few days. As soon as I realized the anemone was bleaching from too much light, I immediately covered it back up. I can only assume the anemone was actually trying for more water movement, and I mistook that for wanting more light.

Finishing up feeding in the first image, this is why the mouth is inflated/everted some.





Within a month, the anemone was back to gaining a nice healthy tan color. The tentacle tips were still a faint purple, but looking better all the time.

As before, I fed the anemone every day. This was labor intensive since the clowns had to be chased out and kept out during the entire feeding process. Otherwise, they would rip the food from the anemone, even if it had been mostly swallowed. Try explaining to the wife why you are disappearing down into the basement for 30-45 minutes every night, and sometimes come up cussing like a sailor….telling her you were feeding a sick anemone didn’t make much sense to mine…

It should be noted that the anemone was not always strong enough to pull food into its mouth with the Streams running. To feed the anemone and ensure it took the food in I needed to shut off the Streams, chase off the clowns, and hover over the damn thing, watching, and ready to run the clowns off when ever they tried to sneak back in. The male got very quick at darting back into the anemone if left unattended for a few seconds.

Then anemone began to accept small chunks of raw, (uncooked) scallop and shrimp. If fed too large a piece, the anemone would regurgitate the undigested portion and the clowns would go nuts.

After a month in the 2nd container, the anemone was feeding much faster and had a much stronger feeding response. Feeding times were down to 10-15 minutes.

On January 26th, (over 3.5 months of having the anemone in my care), I once again moved the anemone to the original rock formation, directly under the light, (approximately half down the tank), just underneath the flow of the Streams. The anemone gets vigorous water movement and can easily stretch and get violent water movement if desired. The Streams are dialed down as far as possible, which I believe is approx 30% of total power, (1849 gph at max, 30% = 550 gph approx per stream. They are set to alternate, left then right for approximately 2 hours run time per side).

Initially, the anemone had a weak hold on the rock at best. Only half of the foot was firmly attached, the rest of it just kinda bobbling around. I was worried about it, but it seemed to be holding on, and the parts of the foot that were not attached, would attach and it would promptly release some other part of the foot. It appeared as if it were getting “reacquainted” with attaching to rock work.



Because I worried about the clowns pulling food from the anemone while it was getting back to life outside the container, I pulled the clownfish from the display.

The next day I fed the anemone, worried it once again detach off the rock. It easily took several pieces of Mysis and ate them with no issues. The anemone did not detach from the rock at all.

I was no beginning to be cautiously optimistic of the anemone’s survival.

I kept the clowns out of the display for two weeks, and continued feeding the anemone daily. After a week of the anemone feeding itself, I quit turning off the Streams to see if the anemone was strong enough to pull food into its mouth with the current blowing. It was.

After one week of the feeding the anemone without turning off the Streams, I realized the anemone was beginning to add mass and size from the daily feedings. Initially, the anemone was around 5 inches in diameter. It had now expanded to approximately 8 inches in diameter. The oral disc was a nice healthy tan color as were all the tentacles. The base remained a pale lavender, and the tentacles still had a faint purple tip.

I released the clowns from purgatory, and they immediately moved right back into the H.magnifica anemone. I fed the clowns initially, and then fed the anemone, wanting to see if it was strong enough to keep the clowns from stealing from it. If it wasn’t, the clowns were going to be banished again.

Fortunately, the anemone was strong enough to hang onto its food and to keep the clowns from stealing from it. In fact, the anemone actually pulled some food from the smaller male clown and ate it.

The anemone has been in my care now for almost 5 months, no where near long enough to be considered a success. But, I’m quite happy with the anemone’s over all health and response to food, light, water flow, and the clowns. As long as I don’t have any unforeseen incidents, the anemone should be a success story.





Nick

[maxxII]

Delphinus, sorry to hear of your Ritteri. I loved the one pic I saw of it, it had electric green tentacle tips....stunning!

Nick

[xtlosx]

Originally Posted by maxxII

I received the anemone in the first week of November. It came in looking very bad. The mouth was gaping severely and the anemone looked more like an old ragged frayed sweat sock as opposed to a healthy anemone. However, the tentacles were long, and not short/stubby like I’ve seen on starving anemones.

I immediately put it into a container with freshly mixed ASW. The water had been mixing for about 24 hours. I drained out all of the water the anemone was shipped in. It was cloudy and smelled bad. The anemone was placed into the container with an airstone and a single 100mg tablet of Doxycycline was added. The container was placed into my display tank to maintain temperature and was left for 6 hours.

The anemone began to look better, but was still very flaccid and the mouth was still gaping, although not as bad as before.



I placed the anemone into an established 58 gallon tank, lit by a single XM 250 watt 15K bulb, circulation is by two Tunze Stream 6000’s on a controller.

The anemone attached to a rock directly under the light and under the Tunze’s flow pattern. After waiting a day, I attempted to feed it a small piece of scallop and a small piece of raw shrimp. It took neither.

I fished those out and tried a few pieces of PE Mysis. The anemone accepted the Mysis. Feeding response was very sluggish and it took the anemone over 45 minutes to move the Mysis into the mouth, and swallow them.

The next morning, the anemone had let go of the rock and was floating about the aquarium, blown by current. I was unable to get the anemone to attach, or to take any more food.

I honestly figured the anemone was certain to die at this point, but kept attempting to place it on a rock somewhere and to feed it. All to no avail. Every morning the anemone would be face down behind the rocks somewhere. Every time I would right the anemone and place it face up some where. The mouth would be gaping, but would close fairly quickly once the anemone was righted.

After two weeks, the anemone was still alive, and the tentacles were still lengthy, and the mouth was still tight-ish.

Realizing I had nothing to lose, I made up a small container with egg crate sides, and placed the Ritteri inside it. I moved one of the sump returns so that the anemone was getting significant current/flow, and kept it there. The container was an acrylic frag rack with small holes on the bottom. The egg crate sides were zip tied in place to keep the anemone inside the container. The container was placed at the top of the tank in a relatively shaded area, but the anemone could move to a better lit area if it desired to do so. The anemone never attached to the acrylic, or to a small piece of tile I placed in the container specifically for that reason.





A pair of Picasso Percula clowns had decided to grace the Ritteri with their presence. I had to chase them out every time I fed the anemone. Otherwise they would steal the food from its mouth.



*Note, the faint lettering and white-ish stripe are not a watermark, they are the reflection of the PVC return line above the container

The anemone stayed in the make shift frag rack container for a month. I fed it every day. Its feeding response was very sluggish. It took about 45 minutes to an hour to take the food in. Sometimes, it didn’t take it at all. Eventually, the anemone’s feeding response got better. It was began swallowing Mysis in about 30 minutes.


After a month, I moved the anemone over to another container. This one was made of the frame of a breeder’s net. I removed the net, and attached egg crate to the inside of the frame. I surrounded that with window screen, but left enough space for the clowns to come and go. I placed a piece of tile on the bottom of the container hoping the anemone would attach to it, but again no luck.

I also moved this container to more directly under the light. I placed window screen on top of the container to shield the anemone from too much light. The container was placed in the front of the tank, and had a pretty good flow of current as the Streams blew right past the outside of the container. The anemone could still get some flow inside the container, based on what I saw with tentacle movement.



After a week of the anemone being in this enclosure, it appeared to be panning for light, (struggling to get more light), so I removed the window screen from the top of the container.

This was not a good idea. The anemone quickly bleached, and stopped eating for a few days. As soon as I realized the anemone was bleaching from too much light, I immediately covered it back up. I can only assume the anemone was actually trying for more water movement, and I mistook that for wanting more light.

Finishing up feeding in the first image, this is why the mouth is inflated/everted some.





Within a month, the anemone was back to gaining a nice healthy tan color. The tentacle tips were still a faint purple, but looking better all the time.

As before, I fed the anemone every day. This was labor intensive since the clowns had to be chased out and kept out during the entire feeding process. Otherwise, they would rip the food from the anemone, even if it had been mostly swallowed. Try explaining to the wife why you are disappearing down into the basement for 30-45 minutes every night, and sometimes come up cussing like a sailor….telling her you were feeding a sick anemone didn’t make much sense to mine…

It should be noted that the anemone was not always strong enough to pull food into its mouth with the Streams running. To feed the anemone and ensure it took the food in I needed to shut off the Streams, chase off the clowns, and hover over the damn thing, watching, and ready to run the clowns off when ever they tried to sneak back in. The male got very quick at darting back into the anemone if left unattended for a few seconds.

Then anemone began to accept small chunks of raw, (uncooked) scallop and shrimp. If fed too large a piece, the anemone would regurgitate the undigested portion and the clowns would go nuts.

After a month in the 2nd container, the anemone was feeding much faster and had a much stronger feeding response. Feeding times were down to 10-15 minutes.

On January 26th, (over 3.5 months of having the anemone in my care), I once again moved the anemone to the original rock formation, directly under the light, (approximately half down the tank), just underneath the flow of the Streams. The anemone gets vigorous water movement and can easily stretch and get violent water movement if desired. The Streams are dialed down as far as possible, which I believe is approx 30% of total power, (1849 gph at max, 30% = 550 gph approx per stream. They are set to alternate, left then right for approximately 2 hours run time per side).

Initially, the anemone had a weak hold on the rock at best. Only half of the foot was firmly attached, the rest of it just kinda bobbling around. I was worried about it, but it seemed to be holding on, and the parts of the foot that were not attached, would attach and it would promptly release some other part of the foot. It appeared as if it were getting “reacquainted” with attaching to rock work.



Because I worried about the clowns pulling food from the anemone while it was getting back to life outside the container, I pulled the clownfish from the display.

The next day I fed the anemone, worried it once again detach off the rock. It easily took several pieces of Mysis and ate them with no issues. The anemone did not detach from the rock at all.

I was no beginning to be cautiously optimistic of the anemone’s survival.

I kept the clowns out of the display for two weeks, and continued feeding the anemone daily. After a week of the anemone feeding itself, I quit turning off the Streams to see if the anemone was strong enough to pull food into its mouth with the current blowing. It was.

After one week of the feeding the anemone without turning off the Streams, I realized the anemone was beginning to add mass and size from the daily feedings. Initially, the anemone was around 5 inches in diameter. It had now expanded to approximately 8 inches in diameter. The oral disc was a nice healthy tan color as were all the tentacles. The base remained a pale lavender, and the tentacles still had a faint purple tip.

I released the clowns from purgatory, and they immediately moved right back into the H.magnifica anemone. I fed the clowns initially, and then fed the anemone, wanting to see if it was strong enough to keep the clowns from stealing from it. If it wasn’t, the clowns were going to be banished again.

Fortunately, the anemone was strong enough to hang onto its food and to keep the clowns from stealing from it. In fact, the anemone actually pulled some food from the smaller male clown and ate it.

The anemone has been in my care now for almost 5 months, no where near long enough to be considered a success. But, I’m quite happy with the anemone’s over all health and response to food, light, water flow, and the clowns. As long as I don’t have any unforeseen incidents, the anemone should be a success story.





Nick

Great work man! It's awesome to hear people who really care and spend their hard earned money and time on these beautiful creatures.

I'm hoping it is doing well still to this day? Updated pics?

[maxxII]

Its doing well. I will try to take some new pics soon. Thanks for the compliments!

Nick

[BonsaiNut]

The purple tips coming back are a very good sign. It appears the column is darkening as well. I agree the anemone is looking 100% better. Good job!

It is interesting how you can really see the verrucae on your anemone right now. Normally the verrucae on magnificas is not that noticeable. It is good to have as a reference shot for people to understand how they look versus the ones on other species.

I have witnessed the "weak foot" behavior you describe when first placing your anemone on the rock in your main tank. I always wondered if it might have been due invisible damage the anemone sustained during collection. Understand that in the wild these guys are stuck to rock like glue - it is VERY difficult to get even an edge of the foot lifted off the rock. You almost feel like you are going to tear the foot if you are not really REALLY careful. I have never seen a magnifica attached this strongly in an aquarium - and don't really know why. But I can easily see how an anemone that is attached this strongly in the wild might suffer internal pulling or tearing that is not apparent on the outside. I know when I collected a few it would take me over an hour to get a small one free from a flat rock...

[maxxII]

Thanks BonsaiNut!

The tips are a much brighter purple and the column has darkened some, but its still a pale lavender as opposed to a definite purple. I know that sounds like splitting hairs...
At least its obviously a colored base. Initially it could be mistaken for an off white base.
Currently its under a 15k XM SE 250 bulb. I will be changing that over to a Pheonix 14k of the same wattage so I'm hoping that after acclimation, the anemone colors up even further.

Its interesting that you bring up the weak foot thing. Earlier this week I saw the anemone had let go with half of its foot and was sorta bobbing with the current. There was an Astrea snail where that half of the foot was usually attached, but I dont know if that was related to the anemone releasing its hold, if its just coincidental. I've never seen anything like that before, (either with this H.magnifica or my other one which has been with me for 5 years now). I removed the snail and left the anemone alone, it has since reattached...so who knows.

Sorry for the lack of pics right now, but I'll try here shortly.

[trueblackpercula]

Originally Posted by delphinus

I have a Heteractis magnifica, and I'm approaching my 5th anniversary caring for this animal (purchased in April of 2001).

No splits, but does spawn 2 or 3 times per year.

You definitely require a monster setup for this anemone, and I would suggest that it is extremely foolhardy to keep this anemone in a mixed setup (i.e., anything other than a dedicated setup built specifically for the anemone). Size being a major consideration, but also in that this anemone poses a serious risk to tankmates. I have lost several fish over the years as a result of the anemone being disturbed. My own personal recommendation now is don't house fish other than commensal anemonefish unless you're comfortable with them dying needlessly if something happens that disturbs the anemone. It's conceivable that this risk is diminished with smaller specimens but it's important to remember that small specimens have the capacity to one day become large specimens.

I purchased the anemone at 5" and within 6 weeks was over 18" in diameter. Today at full expansion the anemone can reach 24" in diameter although there is a fair amount of variation due to external influences, flow changes, time of day, lighting, how sunny it is outside, etc. etc.

My current setup for it is a 115g cube tank (30x30x30), flow is via 2 Tunze 6100's on a multicontroller, lighting is a single 250W DE 14k.

Flow is an immensely important consideration with this species. Strong laminar (but alternating) flow seems to lend the anemone some structure. Without flow (i.e., if I turn my pumps for as little as a minute), the anemone flattens into a pancake. I estimate I have between 30-40x volume turnover although it's hard to accurately guage since the intention is for recreating wave action in a shallow reef (given the anemone's natural preferred habitat on the top of a reef).

I realize that saying this makes me something of a hypocrite, but it is a species I personally strongly recommend anyone attempt to keep unless they are very, very serious about making a very, very serious commitment to this anemone. It is not an anemone to "try on a whim!" For the amount I have invested into this one animal's well-being, I could have built a serious system to rival the nicest SPS tanks out there. My friends and family think I'm nuts. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if it's just an association between anemonefish and an anemone you wish to see, there are far easier (and easier-on-the-wallet) alternatives out there.

The percula/BTA pairing that you have in your tank may not be a natural pairing (i.e., "as seen in nature"), which may be a contributing factor to the fish not taking to the anemone readily. However, in my experience, they likely eventually will. Ok I can't really promise that but my first anemone was a BTA, and I think at least 6 weeks transpired before my captive-raised percula's took to it. My advice is give it some time, they will likely eventually go in, they just need to realize what it is.

Sorry I don't mean to be a downer (and I didn't mean to make such a long post, sorry about that, I could probably talk for hours about this anemone though, since it's been such a large focusof my reef hobby for a very long time), but I do want to press the message that it can be a very sobering experience to keep this species. You definitely need to know what you'd be getting yourself into!

I will try to take some pictures of my anemone in it's new home (as of last month moved into the cube) and post them. It's time for some new pics anyhow. Here's a (crappy) picture taken a few hours after the transfer:


I sure hope the anemone doesn't outgrow this tank as fast as it has outgrown its previous homes. It was last in a standard 90g, and it was just a bad scene overall how badly it was needing a bigger home. Here is a picture of it in the 90g from 2004:


I currently have no fish in my cube tank. In the 90g I had a pair of percs that were associating with the ritteri, although since the removal they are now taking up residence in a green S. gigantea carpet. Given the size of the fish and the (much smaller!) size of the carpet, it actually makes for a nicer display. I'm currently deciding what species to keep in my 115g, given that I no longer am willing to keep any other (i.e., non-anemonefish) fish alongside this anemone due to the risks involved, I may as well choose something unusual for the anemonefish themselves. I'm not sure what I'm keen on, there are a couple choices. Perhaps A. akindynos or A. chrysogaster... at any rate, something I don't otherwise really get to see very often.

Thank you for the information...i have a 30 x 30 x 30 as well and looking to put a Gigantea in it all alone other then my picasso clowns. I was set up for reef but after 5 years i decided to go back to my pasion cownfish breeding ..... my biggest problem is finding a S.Gigantea.

[trueblackpercula]

Originally Posted by MarinaP

It will be 11 years in captivity for mine in March , 6 out of 11 in my care. Notice how close to the water surface it sits, right under 400W Radiums. I had to move it from a tank where I have dozens of RBTAs, mag was not happy

Hi MarinaP how are the clowns doing you got from me?

[mrabolli]

im thinking of owning one of these in my 200 deep dimension tank. What about building a pedestal rock rising about a foot to a top "dish" area and planting him up there? obvious to secure the pedestal type rock with a wide base but really unless hes willing to fall off there's nowhere for him to go. I saw a pic of a similar setup once but cant seem to find that thread.

[delphinus]

That is more or less how I had mine (when I had it). On a bommie (rock pedestal) that was centred under a halide. He never strayed from the spot.

[krak256]

nick, thanks so much for ur detailed write up and pics. definitely helpful for everyone