Magnificent anemone help

[Babayaga]

Hey guys I have a question about my fairly new mag (had it about 3 weeks now). I’ve successfully kept mags and gigs for many years but I’ve never seen a magnificent anemone behave like this. I bought it from a LFS a few hours away from my home, they offer shipping but we all know they normally don’t ship well. Another reason I jumped on it was because the shop had it for a few months as well as other mags but I wanted a small one for my nano and this one was perfect size (about 4-5 inches). I placed it in the middle of my tank on a flat piece of rock with good flow and strong lighting with hopes it would stay put but we all also know they will go where they want. That being said it moved (no big deal cause not many corals it could sting cause this was going to be the main attraction to the tank) instead of moving higher up in the tank or closer to the powerhead it decided to go lower. It seemed strange but I wasn’t too concerned since it still looked extremely healthy and my clowns made it there home almost immediately. It stayed in the same spot for about 2 weeks and then decided to change position but this time upside down. It’s foot is firmly attached to the rock but the top of the nem is facing down. Has anyone ever experienced this before with a mag? Little information on the tank, it’s a Waterbox 10g AIO cube with Smatfarm Led light and a Jebao SLW-5 powerhead. Water temp stays around 77-78 degrees. No ammonia, zero nitrite , nitrate around 5-10 ppm (API test kit, yes I know) , cal 420 , Alk 8 , mag 1320 and not sure about po4 in the process of getting a Hanna. Cal,Alk and mag all tested with Redsea test kits, I only use the api for the basics. I’ll attach some pics, the first few are from the first week and the latter are from today. Thanks for any help

 

[billysprout]

I believe it was bleached from pic 1 and is avoiding the light because it lacks the zoox to process the full-on LEDs. I'm not experienced w/ mags so tagging @Fish Styx. Check out pacific east aquaculture's shop for good photos of a fully colored-up mag.

 

[Babayaga]

I believe it was bleached from pic 1 and is avoiding the light because it lacks the zoox to process the full-on LEDs. I'm not experienced w/ mags so tagging @Fish Styx. Check out pacific east aquaculture's shop for good photos of a fully colored-up mag.

Definitely not bleached.This a very common color with mags, it’s actually more blue in person (hard to capture the color without a filter under leds) . In the shop it was under Radions and was out in the open on a rock. Thanks though

 

[GK3]

How long has it been there? Does it extend towards the light during the day?

 

[Fish Styx]

It is definitely not bleached. It looks perfect healthy to me. Nems are gonna do nem things. It will keep moving around until it is happy. Monitor, but let it be. If it begins to inflate and deflate frequently, keeps its mouth open, or you see any issues with the pedal disc, then you can be worried.

For now, your biggest concern should be the size of your tank. It is way too small for that nem. Mags can and will grow to be 24" - 36" around.

Some light reading:

Magnificent Sea Anemone (Heteractis magnifica) - JungleDragon

The magnificent sea anemone, also known as Ritteri anemone, is a species of sea anemone belonging to the Stichodactylidae family native from the Indo-Pacific area.

www.jungledragon.com

Magnificent Sea Anemone | Animal World

First called the Ritteri Anemone, it is now known as the Magnificent Sea Anemone… And it sure is! The Magnificent Anemone Heteractis magnifica is an absolute favorite. It used to be known primarily as the Ritteri Anemone because for years it was classified as Radianthus ritteri. Long time...

animal-world.com

And most importantly:

https://www.tfhdigital.com/tfh/nov_dec_2018/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1448795#articleId1448795

 

[billysprout]

Definitely not bleached.This a very common color with mags, it’s actually more blue in person (hard to capture the color without a filter under leds) . In the shop it was under Radions and was out in the open on a rock. Thanks though

Could you take another photo under white lights? Or there's a lens filter app called Aquarium Cam on apple store. Might help the mag-heads diagnose better.

Keep in mind a radion mounted at 3' might still be imparting less PAR than a smatfarm at 5"!! Goodluck

 

[garygb]

In the past, any time my mags moved at all it was when there were detectable nitrates. If you were to get undetectable nitrates on your API test, I would expect it to stay put.

 

[Fish Styx]

In the past, any time my mags moved at all it was when there were detectable nitrates. If you were to get undetectable nitrates on your API test, I would expect it to stay put.

I keep my nitrates at around 15 and my Magnifica is just fine. I'd be more concerned with high phosphates. If the OP drops his nutrient levels too much, it will cause more problems for the nem, and the tank. Mags move. A lot. More so than most other nems we keep.

Again, the OP's biggest concern is the inappropriately sized tank for that creature.

 

[Babayaga]

It is definitely not bleached. It looks perfect healthy to me. Nems are gonna do nem things. It will keep moving around until it is happy. Monitor, but let it be. If it begins to inflate and deflate frequently, keeps its mouth open, or you see any issues with the pedal disc, then you can be worried.

For now, your biggest concern should be the size of your tank. It is way too small for that nem. Mags can and will grow to be 24" - 36" around.

Some light reading:

Magnificent Sea Anemone (Heteractis magnifica) - JungleDragon

The magnificent sea anemone, also known as Ritteri anemone, is a species of sea anemone belonging to the Stichodactylidae family native from the Indo-Pacific area.

www.jungledragon.com

Magnificent Sea Anemone | Animal World

First called the Ritteri Anemone, it is now known as the Magnificent Sea Anemone… And it sure is! The Magnificent Anemone Heteractis magnifica is an absolute favorite. It used to be known primarily as the Ritteri Anemone because for years it was classified as Radianthus ritteri. Long time...

animal-world.com

And most importantly:

https://www.tfhdigital.com/tfh/nov_dec_2018/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1448795#articleId1448795

Thank you for a reply that actually makes sense lol. I posted in my original post that this is NOT my first mag so I know what a bleached mag looks like and also aware of the signs of a sick mag (deflated, gaping mouth) thank God this guy doesn’t do any of that. I’m also aware of how big they get which is why I purchased a small one and when it gets bigger I’ll transfer it to one of my other tanks. My only concern and question is why it would be upside down and not perched up like my other mags have in the past but like you said nems going to do nem things lol which in fact makes sense. Thanks for the help

 

[garygb]

Mine are very stationary unless the nitrates creep up to a detectable level, which used to happen in the past without chaeto/algae and skimming. When they're happy, they tightly attach and don't shift around.

 

[Babayaga]

Mine are very stationary unless the nitrates creep up to a detectable level, which used to happen in the past without chaeto/algae and skimming. When they're happy, they tightly attach and don't shift around.

Yes mine have always been stationary as well unless I shifted a powerhead or changed something up in the tank. I’m just trying to figure out why it positioned itself the way it did, not typical mag behavior but then again anemones have a mind of their own lol.

 

[garygb]

I suspect the place it is now is temporary. Once the water parameters are to its liking, I imagine it will attach in a more customary location, on the upper part of a rock where it gets good light. If it were me, I would get those nitrates down to undetectable, I bet you will see it clamp down and stay that way. As far as mags getting too big for your tank, it's true they can grow to a huge size, but in the wild they are usually in the 8" to 12" across. They grow fast if you feed regularly and slowly if you don't direct feed.

 

[billysprout]

Thank you for a reply that actually makes sense lol. I posted in my original post that this is NOT my first mag so I know what a bleached mag looks like and also aware of the signs of a sick mag (deflated, gaping mouth) thank God this guy doesn’t do any of that. I’m also aware of how big they get which is why I purchased a small one and when it gets bigger I’ll transfer it to one of my other tanks. My only concern and question is why it would be upside down and not perched up like my other mags have in the past but like you said nems going to do nem things lol which in fact makes sense. Thanks for the help

Hope I didn't sound condescending, the blues made it look bleachy to my untrained eye. Do you have any photos of the gigs you kept? Would love to see

 

[Babayaga]

It’s all good, I didn’t take it personally. Here are some pics of different anemones I’ve kept over the years.

 

[billysprout]

Gorgeous! Very impressive resunemone (edit: my brain combined resume and anemone and im not changing it). What are your favorite sources for gigantea? I'm on the hunt for a blue one right now

 

[Babayaga]

Gorgeous! Very impressive resunemone (edit: my brain combined resume and anemone and im not changing it). What are your favorite sources for gigantea? I'm on the hunt for a blue one right now

Thank you. When looking for a gig I usually first try to find one from a local reefer who has an established one so I’m less likely to have to treat it. If that fails I’ll ask my LFS if they can special order one for me and if they do I’m prepared to do the Cipro treatment cause it will almost certainly need it.

 

[billysprout]

Thank you. When looking for a gig I usually first try to find one from a local reefer who has an established one so I’m less likely to have to treat it. If that fails I’ll ask my LFS if they can special order one for me and if they do I’m prepared to do the Cipro treatment cause it will almost certainly need it.

Noice. None of my LFS know what a non-haddoni carpet anemone is LOL. Fish styx was saying that magnificas get infected in transit because vibrio colonizes the pedal column and then gets in the mouth when it gapes during shipment.

im wondering if the same is true for gigs. and if we can pre-treat the nems for vibrio, with a focus on the foot, before we ship it to improve survival rates.

 

[Fish Styx]

Noice. None of my LFS know what a non-haddoni carpet anemone is LOL. Fish styx was saying that magnificas get infected in transit because vibrio colonizes the pedal column and then gets in the mouth when it gapes during shipment.

im wondering if the same is true for gigs. and if we can pre-treat the nems for vibrio, with a focus on the foot, before we ship it to improve survival rates.

Meh.. close enough.

 

[Hot2na]

Billysprout=This is for humans = but note the treatment :

What is the treatment for vibriosis?​

Treatment is not necessary in most cases. Drink plenty of liquids to replace fluids lost through diarrhea. Severe cases may require use of ciprofloxacin antibiotics and hospitalization.

another quote=Kanamycin is pretty effective against Vibrio. Kanamycin + Nitrofurazone is even better.

 

[billysprout]

Billysprout=This is for humans = but note the treatment :

What is the treatment for vibriosis?​

Treatment is not necessary in most cases. Drink plenty of liquids to replace fluids lost through diarrhea. Severe cases may require use of ciprofloxacin antibiotics and hospitalization.

another quote=Kanamycin is pretty effective against Vibrio. Kanamycin + Nitrofurazone is even better.

Ooh interesting. I wonder if it was luck or science that hobbyists decided to use cipro for anemones.

Meh.. close enough.

What did I get wrong? I don't want to spread misinformation!