Magnifica won’t settle down

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Here’s what it looks like right now on top of that rock which is on top of the rock island, with side and front views:

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Idk anemones be moving sometimes , my purple LTA loved to take long walks weekly. Nothing was wrong with it , it actually liked it darker then I expected and wanted to be on corner of lights or who knows but it would never stay in the middle of the tank. I do think feeding helps nems stay put also , maybe makes them think it’s a good spot lol

Thanks for the info. :)

 

[dvgyfresh]

Thanks for the info. :)

No problem, I want the nem in the middle , made a perfect spot and it said no lol , then a week later would be back to the middle then next morning back to corner

 

[Seancj]

Anemones are the 'cats' of the reef tank! They do whatever they want, whenever they want, don't take commands, are fickle, and do things just to annoy us, yet still we love them!
I sure hope this one settles in for you! It's a beauty and you've done everything appropriate for it to be healthy and happy.

 

[Ron Popeil]

how is your lower flow strategy going so far?

i agree that the smooth surface rock is crucial but i would argue that your anemone may want more flow than what im seeing in the first video....here is an example of the flow i kept mine in.

 

[Hot2na]

Another flow champion ... I dont think a steady blast like shown in that video is normal or beneficial..I have a 20-sec pulse back and forth motion in the tank where the nem gets a few seconds of "peace " in between ..

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Another flow champion ... I dont think a steady blast like shown in that video is normal or beneficial..I have a 20-sec pulse back and forth motion in the tank where the nem gets a few seconds of "peace " in between ..

Thanks.

FWIW, It wasn't a steady blast. It was a pulsing flow as shown below, but I agree that flow may be the issue and I moved the direct flow away from the anemone yesterday so that it primarily goes right above its top. It’s hard for me to get a true back and forth with my setup, but I’ll put that on my list of things to try.

It has only been a bit over 36 h, but it has not moved at all since I picked it it off the bottom, put it back on top of the rocks, and reduce/altered the flow.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Last week, the anemone released again from the rock and came loose. I added some dead coral rock pieces around the edges of the flat area in case it wanted a better grip. Those were attached by gluing using standard TLF epoxy and a reef cyanoacrylate gel.

On returning the rock and the anemone to it, it released again that night. It never released that fast, so one working theory is it did not like the glue residue, and a second is that the rock itself is a problem (it was in my back yard for eight years, though did get a thorough cleaning and extensive bleach treatment).

With that in mind, I decided to switch out that old rock and use a new TBS rock that was a Walt Smith creation and was an extra that has been in my sump. I cut a flat section on top of that rock, replaced it in the tank, and put the anemone onto it. It's been a week now and the anemone has not released, nor has it moved as much. Fingers crossed it is now happy.

I'm also about to get an Oceamo inorganic and organic test that might help say if there is any apparent issue with the water itself.

Here's what it looks like today, with all three clowns still happily residing in it (and riding with it those times it released lol). Below that is a picture of the cut rock it is now on.

 

[Hot2na]

something tells me -it wants a BIGGER piece of real estate that that rock

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Could be, but its foot doesn’t cover the top. :)

 

[garygb]

I would also wonder if the rock is large enough. They like a flat rock bigger than their foot when it is spread out. I think you are on the right track with the flat rock. When they're happily attached, they look like a tree on flat ground, with their column tapering down to the rock just like the trunk of a tree. And as others have said, variable flow seems to suit them. I find mine are fine with moderate flow, but they just don't seem to like laminar flow. The only other thing I can think of, in the past, I've had nitrate spikes that would trigger my mags to shift around or actually move, then they would stop moving once the nitrates were back low.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks. :)

If this current rock doesn’t work, I’ll see about making a bigger flat top for it!

Nitrate is not likely a problem. I dose ammonia to keep it from falling. I try to keep it at 5-10 ppm.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Here are a couple of pictures that may better show the foot size in relation to the rock top:

 

[skyrne_isk]

Here’s my flow, they never move.

I have seen them become uncomfortable when cyano, dinos are present. Something chemically irritating I think.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks. :)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The issues continue. About 10 days ago it somehow got off its rock island, likely by releasing from the rock and letting the current take it. It was found in the AM attached to the back overflow.

It climbed to the top and then along the top to lower light and flow areas where it stopped under my glass center brace. It stayed there for 10 days, and I hoped my plan to just let it go where it wants might work.

But just now it seems to be getting ready to bail out again, with its foot mostly released.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I took lighting measurements at various locations, and documented them here. It passed through some pretty bright locations (380 par) on its way to its current position in lower light (200 par), so appears to not be completely high light driven. Rock island top is about 240 par.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/randys-tank-and-learn-thread.1103636/page-128#post-14059938

 

[BoaConservationist]

You want a rock hole- like, the gap between two pieces of reef rock, in this case about half dollar sized x2-3 - a cheap way to help them split also is a few holes next to each other what would seem uncomfortable sized or a more snug fit but still have some flow , ive actually had the best luck with a hole saw and putting two pieces together, and popping a hole in the seam , not always 100% through both rocks, but they do like a little flow on the feet. with this ive had some not move for many months , works on alot of nems solomon bta here for ref but this is ideal

also when it comes to flow I find literally every one is different, some will park right at the filter dump, some far away from flow etc, comes down to the system in general, if the water qualitys good they will pick a mid flow region typically

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Maybe its foot was tired and needed a rest. lol A half hour later the foot is fully down and it’s back to normal.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

You want a rock hole- like, the gap between two pieces of reef rock, in this case about half dollar sized x2-3 - a cheap way to help them split also is a few holes next to each other what would seem uncomfortable sized or a more snug fit but still have some flow , ive actually had the best luck with a hole saw and putting two pieces together, and popping a hole in the seam , not always 100% through both rocks, but they do like a little flow on the feet. with this ive had some not move for many months , works on alot of nems solomon bta here for ref but this is ideal

I’ll try anything at this point, but I’ve mostly read about magnificas liking fairly flat surfaces, and when it was on it’s rock island there were lots of gaps between rocks where it could, and sometimes did, have its foot in the gap.

Some folks suggested a larger flat area than it had, but it was big enough for the whole foot.