New Anemone, H. Magnifica

[Anonymous]

I bought a new anemone the other day, and the LFS thought it was a bubble tip, and when I got home, saw some webpages and it looked very much like a gold tipped ritteri. Sure enough.. it was a magnifica (unsure if its a gold tipped one though.. even though the tips are whitish/green), anyone have any comments on the specific kind? It has a deep maroon foot/mouth area too.

Here's a picture after I put it in the tank. Taken with my super-crappy olympus d-380 (ok for generic pictures, not so good for closeups)

Then 30 seconds later one my newest tomato clown wanted to check out the new digs, leaving the old BTA.

And of course the boss came over a little bit later, and now claims it as her own, leaving the man over at the BTA, its not quite big enough for both to frollic in it.

Then today I went by and swiped my moms Fuji S3000 (which has a macromode! and a bunch of manual adjustment, F2.8 etc.. good stuff), and got this picture which I think is 10x better than the one I snapped.

Tonight I hope to get one with the lights out, and some moonlights shining on it, making it look a super bright electric green.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok I get ready to take one with the lights out, and whats he do, decides to be comfy in the crevase.. *sigh* anyways here's him with 470nm leds shining on him, even though the green really doesn't do justice with the picture.

 

[DaisyPolyp]

Sorry mate, but that looks very much like E. Quadricolor :

 

[DaisyPolyp]

H. Magnifica tends to have a much sleeker tenticular structure:

 

[Anonymous]

Hmmm really? everyone over at reefcentral said H.Magnifica after I posted a picture of the mouth area. Saying they have pyramid mouth structure, and BTA dont usually have the purplish/maroon mouth/foot area.

*sigh* will the mystery never end!

 

[Anonymous]

I'm calling H. magnifica. Please see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inver ... nifica.htm

 

[DaisyPolyp]

I'm calling H. magnifica. Please see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inver ... nifica.htm

...I did reference that page, but didn't really help with our ID here. I'm looking at the following classic taxinomical classification:

HETERACTIS MAGNIFICA (QUOY AND GAIMARD, 1833)
Cylindrical column of uniform bright colour (commonly blue, green, red, white, chestnut brown). Oral disc to 1 m diameter (although commonly 300-500 mm), flat to gently undulating, densely covered with finger-like tentacles (to 75 mm long) that hardly taper to blunt or slightly swollen end. May irritate human skin and raise welts. Lower portion of tentacles same colour as oral disc (usually shade of brown), terminal portion yellow, green, or white; some tentacles bifurcate or with side branch. Tentacles approach mouth to within 20-30 mm; central oral disc yellow, brown, or green, often raised so that mouth sits on a cone. Column with longitudinal rows of translucent verrucae same colour as column or slightly lighter or darker.


ENTACMAEA QUADRICOLOR (RÜPPELL AND LEUCKART, 1828)
Each long (to 100 mm) brown tentacle usually with bulb at or somewhat below end; tip of tentacle red (rarely blue), equator of bulb white. Bulb seems to be related to presence of fish, and can disappear; tentacle lacking a bulb has white ring where equator would form. Tentacles without bulbs are blunt-ended. As a rule, in shallow water (e.g. on tops of reefs) polyps small (oral disc diameter 50 mm), clustered together in crevices or adjacent on coral branches, so that tentacles are confluent, forming extensive field; in deep water (e.g. on reef slopes) polyps solitary, large (to 400 mm diameter), with base anchored in deep hole.



I keep looking at the slightly bulbous forms below the tips that are noticeable on the clear picture and are indicitive of E. Quadricolor .
I will say though, that most anemone identification is based on disection and analysis of nematocysts etc.
I have H. Magnifica in my aquarium and with a specimin of that size, it is really the tenticular structure that gives it away.

 

[Anonymous]

Well this is quite a small specimin, regardless of what it might be, so that alone is probably why its hard to tell what it is. Either way, I like the anemone and I'm going to do my best to keep it healthy, I dont want it ending up like my other bubble tip.

 

[DaisyPolyp]

Either way, I like the anemone and I'm going to do my best to keep it healthy, I dont want it ending up like my other bubble tip.

Well said!

 

[Anonymous]

Well this is quite a small specimin, regardless of what it might be, so that alone is probably why its hard to tell what it is. Either way, I like the anemone and I'm going to do my best to keep it healthy, I dont want it ending up like my other bubble tip.

Mega flow and lots of light (like 400W MHs) will help.

 

[Anonymous]

well the megaflow I can do if he wanders into it, the 400W MH just are not an option. Recently it crawled into the dark recesses of a rock formation and stayed there for a few days, now he starting to peek out again, maybe he's hungry