Magnifica help

Jdadams · Nov 17, 2021

So I’ve had my magnifica for about 2 months now. Up until a week ago it was fully expanded everyday, sticky, mouth tightly closed and looking good. Well now the past week or so it’s only staying about half sized and all folded up and the mouth gets puffy like I just fed it and it’s getting the food or something. Yesterday I did feed it just to see what would happen, it took the food and the mouth closed up tight for the rest of the evening and night. I came home today and find it back to puffy mouth. It’s not deflating or gapping it’s mouth so I’m not worried about infection. It’s still sticky and balls up at night sometimes and it hasn’t moved. The only thing I can think of is my lights aren’t turned up enough. Might start adding 1-2% everyday. I have 2 other nems as well a sebae and a gigantea that are both doing great. Any other mag owners experienced this? I will post pics tomorrow

vetteguy53081 · Nov 17, 2021

Word is stress. They have some strict requirements starting with placement, then light followed by flow. They are not the easiest to own but with a few considerations and theyre relationship with clowns can be of moderate care.
Most anemones in general require a bit of work to keep these creatures healthy! In short, theyre not recommended for first-time aquarists. Carpets are sensitive to water changes and require pristine conditions to stay in good shape. Failing to meet their needs can result in early death and damage to the tank environment as a whole.
They also prefer warmer temps.
Monitor water conditions regularly to avoid any major changes. Ammonia and nitrate levels should be undetectable at all times using a good quakity test kit and Not API either.
Here are some water parameters to follow.

Water temperature: Between 77°F and 82°F (stay close to the middle of this range)
pH level: 8.1 to 8.4
Water hardness: 8 to 12 dKH
Specific gravity: 1.024 to 1.025
Nitrate < .5

When you first introduce the anemone to the tank, turn down any pumps. The flow should be minimal until the anemone gets settled in. Once settled, focus on lighting which is a very important aspect of their care. These anemones need a lot of light to thrive because they’re photosynthetic which means that they absorb light to produce food and growth. The anemone has zooxanthellae in its body, which are symbiotic microorganisms that they feed on. Without proper lighting, the anemone will expel the zooxanthellae and turn white. This process is called bleaching and often leads to death.
A moderate amount of flow is recommended. Many aquarists will notice that too much flow will cause the anemone to stretch out and look stringy. Keeping things moderate will help avoid this from happening. Avoid directing your flow directly at the anemone. These nems enjoy subtle movement at all times but too much direct flow hitting the anemone will force it to move.

Terry Le · Nov 21, 2021

I agreed with the above. But the OP had for 2 months and there are no changes. So what else can it be?

Jdadams · Nov 21, 2021

It’s just odd because it’s not deflating, it’s still sticky and will grab food although I fed it yesterday morning and it swallowed and later spit it out later and got super upset so no more feeding. I haven’t made a single change to my tank and I never touch them. I keep it at 80 degrees and all I have is 2 clowns in the tank. I got this pic this morning but I will try to get one better later. I believe it’s moving as well to get more in front of the mp10. I have a skimmer on the tank as well and I do water changes every couple weeks.