I know the general consensus is to not keep h. magnifica but i really like these anemones and my LFS has a huge one that hes had for like 10 years. He says hes had no problems whatsoever with it and its easy to keep. I was just wondering if I put one of these at the very top of my tank, will my dual 175w MH and 80 watts actinic be enough light for this beautiful creature?
ritteri anemone and light?
- Thread starter reefNewbie
- Start date
Hey newbie, go to http://www.wetwebmedia.com and go into the marine animals link, then click "Non-vertebrate life", then scroll down to "Cnidaria". In that section, IIRC, there should be good general info on lighting reef inverts, and a bit further down should be some EXCELLENT info specifically on the Ritteri.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marlgtganthony.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/acclimcoralslight.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inver ... emones.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inver ... crispa.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inver ... ngfaqs.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/anemonelgtgfaq2.htm
This will be pretty much by itself, right? No other sessile invertebrates in there with it? If you have softies or any other cnidarians, don't put any anemone with them. These should get ya started.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/acclimcoralslight.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inver ... emones.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inver ... crispa.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inver ... ngfaqs.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/anemonelgtgfaq2.htm
This will be pretty much by itself, right? No other sessile invertebrates in there with it? If you have softies or any other cnidarians, don't put any anemone with them. These should get ya started.
It will be the only anemone in the tank, though i would like to have a few other polyps, softies and SPS corals all of course farther away from the anemone. I was thinking of adding the anemone first, before all corals, let him settle into place and then add the other corals... this way it would keep them from being stung. thanks for your help seamaiden!
I tried a h. magnifica in my old 60g reef with 2 175's. After about a week it didn't look very good so I returned it to my LFS so it could be under their 400's. Mine would move around the sand, but wouldn't go up on the rocks. I first placed it right under the 175's on a flat rock but it moved down into the sand where it stayed until I returned it.
Good luck, but if you see it start to turn for the worst I would return it so it doesn't crash your tank.
Good luck, but if you see it start to turn for the worst I would return it so it doesn't crash your tank.
I think h. magnifica's have some of the most beautiful colors of any anemones. I successfully kept one in my 60, under 4x96 PC lighting (though this setup is probably not recommended for magnifica's--I was a newbie and bought one on impulse). It grew from about 4" across to over 10" in a matter of 6-7 months or so. I eventually gave him up. I think in order to give these guys room to grow you really need at least a 2x2 area for it. As far as lighting I think your setup will give enough light provided you have rockwork allowing the anemone to be high enough. Mine also loved tons of current--it situated itself about 2" from a maxijet 1200 powerhead. So, good luck and hope this helps!
I would never recommend a Ritteri as a first anemone. A BTA would be much better. Ritteri anemones are one of the most difficult anemones to keep. We had one in a 75 gallon tank a few years back before we knew better. It moved all over the tank (as anemones will do) and ate a couple of our fish before it died and caused our tank to crash.
Do a search on this and other forums and you will find that the Ritteri anemones have one of the worst survival rates of all anemones in captivity.
Best of luck!
Brian
Do a search on this and other forums and you will find that the Ritteri anemones have one of the worst survival rates of all anemones in captivity.
Best of luck!
Brian
confirming ritteri as one of the tougher anemones. i also believe they have a tendency to get huge and therefore become the centerpiece if not the sole inhabitant of the tank. the big guy below belongs to a buddy of mine, and when fully enlarged, is probably close to 3' across. he's in a larger tank now (bowfront, not sure the exact size), but previously was in a 4' long 50 gal, and took up essentially the entire tank. the two 2" percs who host in it truly dissapear for minutes at a time in its tentacles. you can see one on the underside of the anemone.
another pic:
another pic:
would it be unwise to add one after a tank has been up for only 3 months? I know its recommended to wait 6 months, but all my parameters are great and i have finally gone through all of the algae blooms and everything is good now. I used some of the water and LR initiall from an older setup so i guess technically my tank is 6 months old.
teevee,
Do you happen to know how much light this anemone is under? My H. magnifica is right under a 400 W MH, only about 4 inches under the water. They need lots of light and lots of water movement. When I was a newbie, I had a Ritteri under 175 W MH with 2X110 W VHO in a 100 g tank. This anemone did not like this and moved all over the tank. I returned it to the LFS where it eventually died.
Minh Nguyen
Do you happen to know how much light this anemone is under? My H. magnifica is right under a 400 W MH, only about 4 inches under the water. They need lots of light and lots of water movement. When I was a newbie, I had a Ritteri under 175 W MH with 2X110 W VHO in a 100 g tank. This anemone did not like this and moved all over the tank. I returned it to the LFS where it eventually died.
Minh Nguyen
my LFS has a huge ritteri that the guy has had for about 4 years now. hes keeping it under a single 175w pendant. how can it be that somany differnt people have different experiences with these anemones? Some are fine under lower wattage MH some dont like it and want more!
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