Ritteri Anemone - Purple

The ritteri or magnificent anemone (Heteractis magnifica) is the classic clownfish host of Indo-Pacific reef tops, and this purple form carries the colour on its column rather than its tentacles. On the reef it sits high on exposed rock in bright light and moving water, with long, blunt-tipped tentacles that catch the current.

Aquarium care

• This is an animal for experienced keepers. It needs a mature, chemically stable marine system, and it does poorly in tanks less than a year old.
• It requires intense reef lighting and strong, turbulent flow. Under weak light it will shrink, bleach and eventually fail.
• Anemones wander until they find a spot they accept, so screen every powerhead, pump and overflow intake before you introduce one.
• Feed small meaty pieces such as mysis or chopped seafood every few days while it establishes, alongside the light it lives on.
• It stings. Give corals a wide margin, since both its reach and its ability to relocate work against a fixed aquascape.
• Choose only fully expanded specimens with a firm, intact foot, and never tear one off rock.

Best matched with clownfish species that naturally host it, in a dedicated system where the anemone comes first and the corals second.

Stock rotates. Local pickup at our Lethbridge store; see current saltwater fish and invertebrates.