H. magnifica (ritteri)

[goldenboy]

What are you guys doing to keep H. magnifica (ritteri) succesfully long term? Has any of you had great success w/ them? Is there a size that seems to adapt better e.g. smaller ones?

BTW, why do you guys call them ritteri? I thought the name was changed from Radianthis ritteri to Heteractis Ritteri to H. magnifica.

Don't worry I haven't bought one yet. But I am interested.

FYI, I have been a successful reef keeper for 8yrs. and am able to provide for the anemones needs.

 

[y2kbombsu]

Well, to be perfectly honest with you we call em ritteri because we can't pronounce there first names! They get about five feet long and live in my basement next to the water heater! I feed em leftovers on occasion or roadkill if I come across it they also like the accessional jelly donut!

PS oh yeah, don't let you dog play with it for too long!

(Seriously folks this is purely a joke and I apologize for anything I have done to hurt or disorientate you and yours!)

 

[Anonymous]

H.magnifica is difficult to keep being it requires intense light,strong currents, and a large area to grow. The water quality must be up to par as well. Ritteri and Bubbles may be a good person to ask. He says he has been keeping H.magnifica without problems.

 

[jamesw]

I set up a tank specifically for an H. magnifica anemone. I concurr w/ the above.

This anemone REALLY needs a special tank set up just to meet its requirements which are:

At least 30" across tank in all directions
Live rock pinnacle for the anemone
400w mh
Strong current (too strong for most soft corals and LPS)
Heavy to moderate feeding of whole cut up fish.

Some pix here:

http://www.reefpix.org/modules.php?op=m ... all&gid=10

Cheers
James

 

[Minh Nguyen]

Ritteri needs the brightest light and highest current of all anemones like James said. I bought one. He split into two the first week in my tank (from injury I think). Now both of mine are right under my 400 W 6500K MH about a few inches below the water surface in a 400 g tank. They are each about 18 inches fully expanded. When irritated, they form a ball of 6-8 inches.
To be successful, you must have a large tank, ideal water condition, high current, and high light. If you don't have light current and good water, your anemone will move around in search of a better spot before finally succumb to the poor condition of the tank. A 1-foot diameter anemone can kill lots of corals moving around.
They like to place in the highest point in the rockwork, and will move to this area, or to the side of the tank to get higher. This is how you often find Ritteri at LFS, with its butt against the upper front glass.
Good luck. Don't get one unless your tank is at least 30 inches wide. I have a friend who returned a Ritteri to the LFS because he get too big for his 120 g tank.

 

[Ritteri&Bubbles]

Ive been keeping Ritteri anemones for quite some time now with great results. My oldest one has been with me now for close to 2 years, I also have 2 other "younger" ones for clownfish breeding purposes(True and False Percs).

The basic lowdown is as stated above, but I will add a few things.

1. Strong lighting needed. As these creatures are photsynthetic and depend on light quite a bit. I originally kept mine under 400 watt 5500k and 6500k lights to begin with, then moved to 10k and finally 20k 400 watt lights. All seemed perfectly fine for the anemone. But the last 4 months I switched to 150 watt DE(double ended)HQI 20k bulbs with results that have been just as good as the single ended MV and HQI setups.

2. Strong current. I have 2 maxi 1200's blowing over my large Ritteri back and forth with an Osci-wave. Along with the return nozzle blasting over the back portion as well. Since these creatures are found on the reef crest its quite obvious that the more flow the better. I would think a wave2k would be awesome for this creature too. I will be experimenting with one in the future.

3. Large live rock boulder. The larger the better, and preferrably smooth as well. As they have HUGE foot and need plenty of room for anchorage. I have found that smooth surface rock is preferred by them and they will tend to wander less with this accomadation.

4. Feeding. Feed them alot, they will literally mop up flake and frozen food that the fish in the tank dont get to with their mop like tentacles as they are very efficient filter feeders . They are also predators and will take feeding directly. I feed mine once a day and feel that this should be a minimum. Some people subscribe to the "twice or 3 times a week" idea, but I find that to be too little. As in the wild they do feed practically 24/7 something that doesnt happen in our own tanks. On my large anemone I can go through almost 2 pounds per week. I also feed according to their size, the larger they are, the more food they get and the larger their portions are. Alot of folks would be shocked at how much food goes into my tank. My fish also love this fact! And so do my detrivores! I also do have a super efficient protein skimmer(Euro-reef and PM products)and highly recommend a top notch skimmer for an anemone tank too.

5. Natural symbiants. Or however thats spelled, it doesnt hurt to have a pair of natural hosting clownfish either. It makes for a more comfortable home for both the anemone AND the clownfish. I have a pair of True Percs that get lost literally in the large one. THey are a full grown breeding pair and they look tiny in it. Check out this link: http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=17158

 

[Minh Nguyen]

Here is the picture of my H. magnifica and my trio of clowns

Minh

 

[goldenboy]

Thanks guys!!! It looks like I will hopfully be setting up a Ritteri tank in the near future as funds allow. I'm crossing my fingers.
Sorry for letting it go so long before I thanked you all for the advise I got busy at work and forgot about this post. :roll: