Is it possible to keep an Magnifica in a Biocube?

[The new fish on the block]

I see this happen from time to time with mags -- they partially deflate, but only one section at a time and in a particular pattern (mine have done it in a clockwise pattern where sections deflate from 12-2 then 2-4 then 4-6, etc.). I don't have an explanation other than maybe it's adjusting its zoox population, but as long as it doesn't completely deflate, you should be fine.

Interesting, thank you for the info!

 

[The new fish on the block]

is this something to be concerned about? The mag has deflated like this for 2 nights now, it only happens when my lights start ramping down. It looks great during the day.

@D-Nak

 

[The new fish on the block]

About an hour later the mouth has closed back up and tentacles are slightly more inflated.

It’s quite possible I am being paranoid but better safe than sorry.

 

[D-Nak]

If it's happening when the lights are dimming down, I think it should be fine. It might just be getting ready for bed.

 

[anything prints]

these have been fineky at times in my experience,ive had one in a 20g with clowns and had very good luck.mine will deflate oddly when it poops and will stress me out at times lol.

 

[anything prints]

is this something to be concerned about? The mag has deflated like this for 2 nights now, it only happens when my lights start ramping down. It looks great during the day.

@D-Nak

and mine would do that at dark and close up for the night sometimes.

 

[The new fish on the block]

If it's happening when the lights are dimming down, I think it should be fine. It might just be getting ready for bed.

Thanks for the info @D-Nak! Your help is once again greatly appreciated. I have one more concern that I haven’t personally experienced with any clownfish I’ve owned in the past. My current clownfish are often nuzzling into the nems mouth, is that normal behavior?

 

[anything prints]

Thanks for the info @D-Nak! Your help is once again greatly appreciated. I have one more concern that I haven’t personally experienced with any clownfish I’ve owned in the past. My current clownfish are often nuzzling into the nems mouth, is that normal behavior?

are they trying to feed it? what does it look like they are doing to you?

 

[The new fish on the block]

are they trying to feed it? what does it look like they are doing to you?

It doesn’t look like they’re trying to feed it, more so they’re trying to like swim into the mouth.

 

[The new fish on the block]

I think I am starting to notice a pattern over the last couple of days,

About 1-2 hours before lights ramp down, the nem seems to want to deflate. It does this for about an hour, then perks its self back up and gets ready for bed.

I have been wondering if it has been getting enough dissolved O2 in the water as I do not have a protein skimmer on this tank, so I added an air stone to the back chamber of the tank. We will see if that makes any difference.

Pic of nem as of 6:21 PM

 

[The new fish on the block]

9:00 pm Update:

I think what I am seeing could be the start of an infection.

Last night and tonight, I noticed what looked like hair coming from the nems mouth, i did not think anything of it last night, but seeing it again tonight it’s definitely not hair.

No pictures of this as it was to thin to show up on my phones camera.



Edit: I did some testing yesterday, these were my results:

Salinity is a little low but should come up tomorrow.

 

[The new fish on the block]

Well looks like I was concerned for what seems to be nothing. Today, the mag looks biggest I’ve seen since I got it.

I posted this in another nem group, and was told it looks like it’s hungry, which could be due to my nutrients being bottomed out.

I have ordered some neophos and neonitro to get my nutrients back to where they need to be.

Will update in a few days.

 

[D-Nak]

Well looks like I was concerned for what seems to be nothing. Today, the mag looks biggest I’ve seen since I got it.

I posted this in another nem group, and was told it looks like it’s hungry, which could be due to my nutrients being bottomed out.

I have ordered some neophos and neonitro to get my nutrients back to where they need to be.

Will update in a few days.

I don't comment much in that group, because there is a lot of mis-information being shared and it's not worth trying to correct the so-called "Group experts" and others who post. Unlike this site, the threads on FB move so quickly then disappear that the information is what I consider disposable.

There isn't a direct correlation between nutrients being bottomed out and the mag being hungry. They don't "eat" nitrate and phosphate directly from the water column. Yes, it could be stated that it's hungry because it's reaching for light (to "feed" the zooxanthellae and thus provide nutrition) but that doesn't mean that you should add nitrate and phosphate to your tank. In other words, I wouldn't add nutrients (nitrate) to your tank, just feed as you normally do, and your nitrate level will go up naturally. You can actually overfeed your nem on purpose to get it to grow and your nutrient level will go up quicker just based on the waste that it's producing.

Your mag will be just fine in water with zero nitrate and phosphate (it won't stay that way for long unless you do a lot of water changes), and you can quickly do more harm than good by adding them, especially if you're not using a protein skimmer or refugium.

 

[D-Nak]

I should also mention that I have seen a direct correlation between high nutrient levels and mags starting to move around. As soon as my nutrients level get high, one of my mags starts to walk around the tank. It basically tells me that it's time for a water change.

 

[The new fish on the block]

I don't comment much in that group, because there is a lot of mis-information being shared and it's not worth trying to correct the so-called "Group experts" and others who post. Unlike this site, the threads on FB move so quickly then disappear that the information is what I consider disposable.

There isn't a direct correlation between nutrients being bottomed out and the mag being hungry. They don't "eat" nitrate and phosphate directly from the water column. Yes, it could be stated that it's hungry because it's reaching for light (to "feed" the zooxanthellae and thus provide nutrition) but that doesn't mean that you should add nitrate and phosphate to your tank. In other words, I wouldn't add nutrients (nitrate) to your tank, just feed as you normally do, and your nitrate level will go up naturally. You can actually overfeed your nem on purpose to get it to grow and your nutrient level will go up quicker just based on the waste that it's producing.

Your mag will be just fine in water with zero nitrate and phosphate (it won't stay that way for long unless you do a lot of water changes), and you can quickly do more harm than good by adding them, especially if you're not using a protein skimmer or refugium.

Ok, thanks for your insight.

I definitely trust the experts on this forum quite a bit more than on that group, but I know time is of the essence when I comes mags declining so I figured it couldn’t hurt to get some other opinions.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

How is this situation going?

I'm contemplating starting a very similar setup.

 

[The new fish on the block]

How is this situation going?

I'm contemplating starting a very similar setup.

Hey Randy!

So far things are going well!

Here is picture I just took via my tank side WiFi camera. So not the greatest quality but good enough haha.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Glad to hear it is going well!

What sort of rock is that?

 

[The new fish on the block]

Glad to hear it is going well!

What sort of rock is that?

I believe it is Marco shelf rock, but not 100% sure as I was not the one that built the scape, I had someone else build it for me.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I believe it is Marco shelf rock, but not 100% sure as I was not the one that built the scape, I had someone else build it for me.

Ok, thanks.