Ritteri Anemone

[liquidreamer]

Hi all. I bought a HUGE Ritteri Anemone 4 days ago and all has been well.. He is so big in fact that he looks like 3 or 4 stuck together and is grey with yellow tips - really beautiful and worth the 140.00! 8O Anyways - he stayed wide open with the occasional deflation of tentacles for a few seconds until they would pop right back up big and fat and the clowns took to him within seconds of me putting him in which they all seemed to love it (they were really small clowns which didn't even get close to the other 2 anemones that I had that died As soon as a few tentacles would deflate, they would mouth and suck on them and up they went again. This is the happiest I have seen my fish EVER! Well, today and last night it seems that he is taking up noticiably less space.. not a ton - just smaller in diameter. Also, tentacles seem to stay deflated much longer - minutes sometimes and more. The tentacles that are up are really fat - but the ones that are deflated are super empty. I did get the coralife aqualight pro with dual mhs and dual actinic pcs so lighting shouldnt be an issue. He is almost near the sand bed at the end of the tank on top of lr attached to lr rubble he came on in medium to low current and hasnt moved an inch - i think he likes the local. Anyways - all my params are pretty good except for my calc... the last I tested a few days ago it was over 500. Could that be it? How do I get it down? Also, dosing manual phytoplankton or something help? I only have small pellets and frozen bryne/mysid shrimp in the little chunks in the trays from the lfs and have only spot fed him once a little bit and although his tentacles seemed to grab it when I placed it near his mouth, I think the clowns got the most of it. I also did a water top off earlier because my levels were pretty low and I thought maybe my salinity may have been a little too high for him. I also did a 15% water change the evening I got him when he was doing good that didnt seem to effect him. I have TONS of pods in my fuge/sump and in my tank... so many that before him the clowns would STAY on the glass -seriously 100% of the day eating on them. Does that help him out feeding wise? Am I just being overly paranoid? At first days actions - I thought the quick deflate and inflates were normal because every pic I have seen of this speces has had tentacles deflated. I just wonder why he seemed a tad happier at the lfs... I will attach a pic to describe how he looked when I got him - now he just stays like that much longer and a good bit smaller in size. Thanks all - and let me know if I can supply any more info.... because I always leave out somethin'

 

[Jason]

That anemone is really nice.

If your clowns are hosting it they should feed it when you feed them. you could feed it brine or whatever, but the clowns will feed it if they host in it (normally). phyto plankton couldn't hurt either.

 

[liquidreamer]

Thanks... that's actually not a pic of mine.. but mine has a little better color though. I just notice his mouth is open but looks a nice white/clear color... tentacles are still very deflated. What is a common cause for deflation in anemones?

 

[steve-s]

Overfeeding and stress.

Cheers
Steve

 

[electrikat]

It is also going to take several days before he acclimates completely to your lighting. I'm sure yours is better than what the store had. It took nearly a month for our sebae to come out of the rocks because our lighting was too strong for him. Then he shrank nearly in half. After about 2 months he was back out in the open and has nearly tripled in size since then.(about 10 to 12 " across)

 

[liquidreamer]

Actually - I think both are very good points but I think one is more than the other. I have only fed him once directly but it could be the stress from the clowns. The reason I think it may be the light is because he was under dual power compacts in an anemone only tank at the lfs that was shallow to give him enough light... I just realized that all day with the halides and actinics on, he look deflated. I just manually cut the lights out for the evening and he is looking like 40% better at a constant (not deflating hardly at all). I also noticed his mouth was puffy and outside/open while the lights were on and now that they are off, he has it perfectly sealed. So, I think it is my halides. Also, how often and how much frozen brine should I direct feed without it hurting him with him being so big? Just a corner of a cube (a pinch)? Once a week? Also, how do I go about getting live phyto? Can I buy it? Grow it? Any articles or posts in particular? Thanks Elec and Steve...

 

[electrikat]

When I feed my anemones, I use either frozen shrimp or scallops. I take a small chunk(depending on the size of the anemone) and soak it in marine zoe or selcon for till it thaws out. I don't feed floating foods. I drop it directly into its mouth and guard it till it closes(the shrimp and star like to steal it ).

 

[IworkatPSP]

WHat temperature is your tank at? If its too hot he might be tryin to get comfortable.

 

[liquidreamer]

Thanks for that info Electrikat... always come through for me hmm...temp is 78-80

 

[steve-s]

I just realized that all day with the halides and actinics on, he look deflated. I just manually cut the lights out for the evening and he is looking like 40% better at a constant (not deflating hardly at all). I also noticed his mouth was puffy and outside/open while the lights were on and now that they are off, he has it perfectly sealed. So, I think it is my halides.

Depending on what else is in the tank you should really consider light acclimating the anemone if possible. Light shock can be quite stressful and typically cause bleaching or worse.

Also, how often and how much frozen brine should I direct feed without it hurting him with him being so big? Just a corner of a cube (a pinch)? Once a week? Also, how do I go about getting live phyto? Can I buy it? Grow it? Any articles or posts in particular? Thanks Elec and Steve...

Depending on what and how often you feed your fish, feeding the anemone directly is not necessary and can often result in adverse circumstances. IME direct feedings result in one of to things, a dead anemone or a giant. In either case not to your advantage or it's. A Ritteri will get quite large even with the casual feeding of fish alone. With the proper light it only needs supplimental proteins, not as a primary diet.

Cheers
Steve

 

[liquidreamer]

Thanks so much for that explaination Steve... I was kind of lost on the feeding subject. One more thing - I do weekly 15% water changes right now and use the red sea calcium test kit. My calcium has been over a constant 500ppm while all other specs are ok. How do I get that down and will it neccesarily hender the growth of my 3 or so only corals in my tank and/or corraline algea growth? Is it bad?

Edit: I know my goal is 430-450... I have only a small hammer coral, flowerpot, and green mushroom atm.

 

[steve-s]

My calcium has been over a constant 500ppm while all other specs are ok. How do I get that down and will it neccesarily hender the growth of my 3 or so only corals in my tank and/or corraline algea growth? Is it bad?

If the calcium is that high without additions of a stand alone Ca product then I would have the Mg tested. Low Mg will cause Ca to climb independantly without additions until it gets quite high. I would also look at what a new batch of SW tests at to see if that's the cause. 500 ppm Ca will cause you problems eventually. It causes scleractinians to deposit CaCO3 much faster but in doing so the skelatal structure is very brittle and reedy. If it gets much higher, you could also experience polyp bail out with your LPS corals.

Edit: I know my goal is 430-450... I have only a small hammer coral, flowerpot, and green mushroom atm.

Actually I would suggest your goal be 400-420 ppm. There's no reason to go beyond NSW levels. It serves no healthy purpose. Balance the alk and you'll be suprised how healthy your corals and mobile inverts will be.

Cheers
Steve

 

[liquidreamer]

Awesome, just awesome. Definitely sheds some light on the parts I was clueless about. I guess I should have read up on all portions of the elements that make up the water cycle.... So, you think that if I bring a water sample to the LFS that they can test for MG? What should it be at? ....and what the hell are scleractininians? lol sorry, had to ask...

 

[steve-s]

So, you think that if I bring a water sample to the LFS that they can test for MG?

Not all stores carry this type of kit but a decent SW store should. I would also take a sample of newly mixed SW so they can help determine if there a deficiency there.

What should it be at? ....and what the hell are scleractininians? lol sorry, had to ask...

A scleractinian is a coral with a hard skelatal frame. Some assume the acronym SPS stands for small polyp stoney coral. It actually stands for small polyp scleractinian.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scleractinia

Cheers
Steve