Ritteri Help

bwpuckett · Sep 11, 2024

I have had a Ritteri Anemone for several years and about 6 months ago it started shrinking. The clowns that host this anemone are still staying with it. It was about 12" across and now it is probably only 3-4 inches. Tank is 180G with Radion XR-15. I have discussed at length with our local Aquarium Shop with no idea of what could be causing this. Anyone help with this would be appreciated.

bradleym · Sep 11, 2024

Hello! Please share the parameters for your tank. This will help us determine what could be happening.

bwpuckett · Sep 11, 2024

Nitrates 3
Phosphates 2.5
PH 8.3
Salinity 1.024

bradleym · Sep 12, 2024

Off hand, I would say it is shrinking due to a lack of free floating nutrients. Your phosphates are a bit high, but nitrates should be at least 5 times that to support most anemones.

D-Nak · Sep 12, 2024

A few questions:

How many XR15s are on the tank? From comparison sake I have two XR30s on a shallow 120 gallon tank.
Are you feeding the ritteri? If so, what are you feeding it? If you overfeed this will typically take care of the nitrates that @bradleym mentioned.
Speaking of which, are you sure that your numbers for nitrate and phosphate are correct? Usually we like to see something like a 10:1 ratio.
What type of powerheads/gyres are you using? When they get dirty and slow down sometimes this ticks off an anemone (but not to where it starts to shrink).
What else do you have in the tank? Any other anemones or soft corals, such as leathers or xenia?

bwpuckett · Sep 16, 2024

D-Nak said:
A few questions:

How many XR15s are on the tank? From comparison sake I have two XR30s on a shallow 120 gallon tank.

Are you feeding the ritteri? If so, what are you feeding it? If you overfeed this will typically take care of the nitrates that @bradleym mentioned.

Speaking of which, are you sure that your numbers for nitrate and phosphate are correct? Usually we like to see something like a 10:1 ratio.

What type of powerheads/gyres are you using? When they get dirty and slow down sometimes this ticks off an anemone (but not to where it starts to shrink).

What else do you have in the tank? Any other anemones or soft corals, such as leathers or xenia?

1. I have 3 XR 15s ( Ritteri is directly under one of the lights about 4-6 inches under the water)
2. I feed the anemones krill 2 times per week.
3. Yes the numbers are correct using HANA testers. working on getting phosphates down now using GFO.
4. 2 nero 5 power heads with return pump for sump (Not sure of model)
5. 3 Bubble Tip anemones, 1 leather coral, large amount of GSP green star polyps, and several colonies of Hammer coral.

D-Nak · Sep 16, 2024

The lighting should be fine. Crank them up to 100% if they're not already.

What type of krill? Is it freeze dried? If so, if you can try a frozen version of better yet, frozen mysis or even fresh sushi grade salmon or tuna to see if the Ritteri will perk up.

I am not constantly running GFO and carbon on my anemone tank and they seem to like it, so GFO sounds good.

Water movement sounds fine.

The leather could be a problem, if it's big and close to the ritteri. If you can remove it and do a water change and run carbon to see if the Ritteri reacts favorably, then you may have found the issue.

bwpuckett · Sep 16, 2024

D-Nak said:
The lighting should be fine. Crank them up to 100% if they're not already.

What type of krill? Is it freeze dried? If so, if you can try a frozen version of better yet, frozen mysis or even fresh sushi grade salmon or tuna to see if the Ritteri will perk up.

I am not constantly running GFO and carbon on my anemone tank and they seem to like it, so GFO sounds good.

Water movement sounds fine.

The leather could be a problem, if it's big and close to the ritteri. If you can remove it and do a water change and run carbon to see if the Ritteri reacts favorably, then you may have found the issue.

The Krill i am feeding is frozen not freeze dried. The krill is around 1/2 - 3/4 inch in length. The Leather is about 3 inches across the head and about 4 inches tall but it is around 14 inches away from the Ritteri. What issues can the Leather be causing?

bwpuckett · Sep 16, 2024

Here is a picture of the Anemone

D-Nak · Sep 17, 2024

Wow... that magnifica is definitely not looking happy. Are able to move it into a QT tank to see if it perks up when isolated (meaning no other inhabitants, including the GSP)?

The krill you're feeding should be fine. The leather sounds small enough not to cause any issues, but sometimes they secrete mucus or other chemicals (this is known as allelopathy) that could be irritating the Ritteri, though I'd expect it to be moving a lot if that were the case. In looking at your photo, I'm wondering it the GSP is somehow irritating it.

Also, in my statement below, it should've read "I am now constantly running GFO and carbon on my anemone tank and they seem to like it, so GFO sounds good."