Purple Ritteri (H. Magnifica)

[Texreefer]

I have had this guy for a couple of days now and he is looking very healthy, he has a bright purple base and green tinted oral disc. this morning I fed him two large krill and he ate them right away. everything looks very promising so far.:bigsmile:
Here are some bad pics from my other thread. I will try and get Ace to take some quality photos soon.

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o258/itili/DSC01735.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o258/itili/DSC01734.jpg

[clamgal]

Sweeeet!! Where did you get it? I've been after one for about 8 months... haven't found a healthy one.

[Texreefer]

I happend upon it at Aquarium Designs.. so far he is doing great

[jrsatx20]

would that be the one i told rayallen bout. it was in the tank next to the solana tank. if it is that thing is huge and a nice show piece.

[Texreefer]

um. probably,,, yeah its big

would that be the one i told rayallen bout. it was in the tank next to the solana tank. if it is that thing is huge and a nice show piece.

[justahobby]

:cry_smile: It's so beautiful! LOL I'm getting anxious for more pics. How long and what type of acclimation did you use? What size lights and how close to them is the big guy?

[alton]

Mike what is the positives or negatives when having a ritteri? In reading information they sound hard to keep?

[Texreefer]

Mike what is the positives or negatives when having a ritteri? In reading information they sound hard to keep?

Positives are obvious if you see a nice one in person.. one of the most awesome anemones you can get your hands on besides maybe a Gigantea.
Negatives,, extremely tough to find a healthy specimen and very hard to keep alive,, Need great lighting, excellent water flow, a very well established tank(year or more in my opinion), and very stable water conditions, grow to incredible size and can take over a tank, so yeah they are pretty hard to keep.. I have been at this for years and have wanted one for a long time,, this is the first time I have dared try one.


:cry_smile: It's so beautiful! LOL I'm getting anxious for more pics. How long and what type of acclimation did you use? What size lights and how close to them is the big guy?

I will convince Ace to take some pics soon, he has his hands full right now. as for acclimation, I have read conflicting Ideas here but in this case with his size I just temp acclimated for a while and dumped him right in.
as far as lights go, I have 316 watts of T5 and an 18" sun tube, he sits about 4-6" under water almost directly under the sun tube... waterflow and lighting are key with these guys and I won't know for sure if he is happy and will make it till I have had him for a month or so.

[Texreefer]

here are a couple more from tonight.. not much better quality but have my clowns in it. the one you see is a full grown 3" female
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o258/itili/DSC01737.jpg

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o258/itili/DSC01736.jpg

[jrsatx20]

was just at a&d and yup thats the one i told rayallen about. take it from me that thing is huge.

[JeffCo]

Sweet, that clown looks right at home.

[apedroza]

Good luck with it Mike!!!!!

[alton]

Thanks for the info

[Texreefer]

10 days and eating well, colored up nicely and looking very healthy,, FYI, Darby's in NB has a yellow tipped Ritteri thats about 6" for only $45

[Texreefer]

More pics today
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o258/itili/DSC01747.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o258/itili/DSC01746.jpg
another clutch of eggs
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o258/itili/DSC01755.jpg
Peekaboo the baby is in the corner
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o258/itili/DSC01756.jpg
one more just because
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o258/itili/DSC01749.jpg

[cpreefguy]

The aneomone looks really happy, as do the clowns.
Are you going to try and raise clowns again?

Also, you are getting pretty good with the camera!

[Texreefer]

I think I am going to have to start a Ritteri support group. any little change with this guy and my stomach is in knots,, I constantly wake up at night wondering if it is OK. today his mouth didn't close all the way so I spent hours watching him to see if anything was wrong. tonight he looks a little smaller than he normally does so thats got me worried.... why do we have to make things so complicated for ourselves.

[cpreefguy]

^ I thought this hobby was trouble free?


:)

[alton]

Some of us get bored and live on the edge trying new things. Yesterday mine looked bad but today he/she/it looks better than ever?

[seatrueblue]

I think I am going to have to start a Ritteri support group. any little change with this guy and my stomach is in knots,, I constantly wake up at night wondering if it is OK. today his mouth didn't close all the way so I spent hours watching him to see if anything was wrong. tonight he looks a little smaller than he normally does so thats got me worried.... why do we have to make things so complicated for ourselves.
I think you should talk to the people on RC, there is people on there that have been taking care of magnificas for 10+years. Beautiful anemone btw :) Even though I like the look of a Magnifica I don't like the challenge to keep them happy and alive. I might try one some day, but I would have to get another tank. My Mertensii anemone will probably take over half of my 120g tank by May 09. :p

[Texreefer]

Over two weeks now, he is eating well and has great color but looks like he has lost a bit of size, hopefully just adjusting to aquarium life

[Texreefer]

He won't eat today,, I have been feeding whole krill.. he will hold onto it but there is no feeding response and eventually the clowns will dislodge the food. I did not feed yesterday so he should be hungry

[Mr Cob]

He won't eat today,, I have been feeding whole krill.. he will hold onto it but there is no feeding response and eventually the clowns will dislodge the food. I did not feed yesterday so he should be hungry

Maybe he's getting enough food from the regular tank feedings. My GBTA's also stopped feeding like yours did. It will hold the pieces of krill then eventually the clowns will eat it or send it floating...so I just stopped feeding mine regularly.

[RayAllen]

I feed my LTA anemone silver sides once a week and its huge now, but it also catches small debri from the tank feedings. I know yours is a much harder species to keep but from what Ive read the feeding habits are the same. check out the new pics in the photo forum to see how big it is.

[thedude]

Feeding anemones (ritteri included is my understanding) krill and silversides is a common misconception in this hobby. Think about an anemone in the wild and how many dead fish/shrimp simply float into an anemone in a month and allow it to have a large meal.

You should be feeding smaller foods such as mysis, cyclops, etc. Most of the time anemones will take krill and silversides but spit them out in a gross mucuous ball at night.

[RayAllen]

Mine love silversides, but also note that it gets other meaty food particles that I feed to my fish.

[thedude]

They will definitely accept silversides and krill with gusto but they do throw them up. Calfo had a large presentation on anemones at Houston's MACNA and this is the one point he stressed.

[RayAllen]

They will definitely accept silversides and krill with gusto but they do throw them up. Calfo had a large presentation on anemones at Houston's MACNA and this is the one point he stressed.


I agree 100%

Mine really likes Ocean Nutritions Prim reef frozen mix which is a combo of Mysis, pods, krill, clam, mussels etc...

[seatrueblue]

Yeah, smaller anemones will spit the food out if you feed them too much. I feed my Mertensii every other day or it will start to shrink. My anemones don't care much for krill. Try feeding it silversides, squid, clam, scallops or mysis shrimp.

[DrMark]

.... why do we have to make things so complicated for ourselves.[/quote]

I ask that question of myself all the time.
mark

[Bill S]

Feeding an anemone silversides is just like dumping a dead fish in your tank. The anemone processes it, but most of it ends up in your system. I RARELY feed my anemones - other than what they manage to catch when I feed.

[Texreefer]

I'm not a fan of silversides either. Thanks for all the help guys, however,, I would not have even attempted this guy without reading every piece of info I could find on the web and in my books. I was really just more or less documenting what is going on with him. that doesnt mean I don't need a second opinion every now and then:shades:

[Mr Cob]

I'm not a fan of silversides either. Thanks for all the help guys, however,, I would not have even attempted this guy without reading every piece of info I could find on the web and in my books. I was really just more or less documenting what is going on with him. that doesnt mean I don't need a second opinion every now and then:shades:


Note: "This thread is for documenting purposes only, please do not reply with any personal experiences. I am MIKE, THE TexReefer... "

LOL!

Sorry Mike, had to do it...

[Texreefer]

yeah, I know.. sounded a little self-serving:bigsmile: but did not mean it that way of course. just reminded me of Reef Central.. you post something and 50 experts tell you your wrong and the other 49 are wrong as well:angel::)I love you guys:wub:

Note: "This thread is for documenting purposes only, please do not reply with any personal experiences. I am MIKE, THE TexReefer... "

LOL!

Sorry Mike, had to do it...

[RayAllen]

Reefcentral, whats that? LOL

Hows the nem looking today Mike?

[Mr Cob]

LOL, nice smileys!

[Texreefer]

Mr Mag is looking great and doing great,, Here is a tid bit for inquiring minds.. Especially true for H. Mags.. not so true for E. Quadricolor.. Mags like an exposed solid outcroping of rock, generally the highest spot for best flow and light. so If you want it to stay where you put it, place it on a large rock away from the glass and other rock structures,, it will generally not crawl DOWN a rock to go back up another on, if it can't just go up it thinks thats the highest it can get and wont' go anywhere else.. and yes i already know anemones cant "think" LOL

[alton]

Tell that to mine Mike. I had him high on a rock by flow, and he crawled down to a low flow area on the sand, attached himself to a smaller rock next to the glass so he can look at himself. I guess the thing has a mind of his own?

[Texreefer]

Just proves what I said earlier about there being an exception to every rule:wink_smile:

[Texreefer]

Just an update on Mr. Mag. He has had a somewhat gaping mouth for a week now. he won't eat but he will grab onto food. Yesterday I thought he was headed south, he shrunk up to about 1/4 his original size(deflated) H. Mags generally won't do this much,, stayed that way the whole day. this morning and today he looks fat and happy again. still very colorfull and close to his original size, so I'm holding out hope the he will settle in and survive. it has been about a month since bought him.

[alton]

That is weird mine shrunk up to nothing yesterday also and today he was fine? Could it have something to do with the full moon coming? Anyway mine finally settled in a crack of the rock I first placed him on. Thanks for the update on yours.

[Texreefer]

if you get a chance post some pics of yours