anemone info

[reef]

Easier to keep anemones

Stichodactyla haddoni, Saddle Carpet, saddleback anemone, Haddoni anemone

This anemone is often not distinguished from other carpets in the dealers tanks. The tentacles are short and knobby and usually densely packed. There is usually a reddish to pinkish ring around the mouth that isn't present on other carpets. Groups of tentacles on the same anemone may be of different colors forming a striped pattern on the anemone. If not striped they are usually a greyish-green, although bright greens, yellows and even blues are sometimes seen.

Good Points- This may be the easiest anemone to keep for long periods of time. Light suitable for soft corals and commonly kept hard corals is enough. I have had one growing slowly for over 7 years in the bottom of a 30 gal. tall aquarium with only 60 watts of fluorescent light. Reasonable nitrate levels for fish seem to be OK for this anemone. For its first 3 years my anemone lived in water that measured 30 ppm of nitrate on a Seatest Kit and showed no ill effects. They will grow faster however given better conditions.

Bad Points- This anemone will eat your fish! (not your clownfish) Dwarf angels, small tangs, blennies and small shrimp seem to be prone to getting eaten. Pseudochromis, hawkfish and some others don't seem to have a problem. The clownfish that accept this anemone also seem to be limited. They are accepted by saddleback clowns, true sebae clowns, Clarki clowns and usually tomato clowns.

Entacmaea quadricolor, Bulb, bubble, bubble-tipped, maroon anemone

Recently obtained individuals will usually have unmistakable swollen ends on the tips of their tentacles. Specimens in captivity will often lose their bubble-tips for periods of time and just have long straight tentacles. The tentacles usually have a green color especially when exposed to only actinic light. The tentacles may also have a frosty white ring around the tip. The base is often rusty-red but may also be purple or just tan. The Rose anemone is a color variation of this anemone.

Good Points- Normal reef lighting is enough (above 4 watts per gal.) for this type of anemone and may be more than enough. Nitrate levels below 20 ppm are preferred. Small ones may reproduce asexually in your aquarium by dividing into two smaller anemones. Their sting is rather weak and won't harm your other fish. They are accepted by Clarki-type clowns, all the different tomato-type clowns, maroon clowns and sometimes, although very rarely, percula and ocellaris clowns.

Bad Points- These anemones tend to wander around the tank more than others, sometimes causing their own deaths from lack of light or being sucked through a powerhead. They like to have their foot shaded inside a crevice in the rock or coral with their tentacles in the light. This preference might be met by placing a short piece of PVC pipe, sized to the anemone, where you want the anemone to stay and putting its base into the pipe. They seem to be sensitive to being shipped. Make sure the one you pick out has a tight mouth and is firmly attached to something in the dealers tank. Any anemone that is not attached to something in the dealers tank is probably not healthy. In addition, when the dealer tries to remove the anemone from the tank the anemone should show some type of reaction, usually they contract.

Macrodactyla doreensis, Long-tentacled anemone

These anemones have very long (up to 5-6 in.), smooth, thick tentacles sometimes with longitudinal stripes extending into the oral disk. The tentacles originate from a round flat oral disk, distinguishing it from the condylactis anemone. The foot of the base is almost always bright red or orange.

Good Points- They are hardy if kept under Metal Halide lights. Under lower light levels they seem to slowly waste away. They come in a variety of patterns and colors including purple. Accepted by Clarki clowns, tomato-type clowns and pink skunk clowns.

Bad Points- They must have bright lighting. They normally live with their base buried deep in the sand and sometimes have a difficult time finding an attachment spot in a reef-type tank.

Difficult to keep anemones

Heteractis crispa or H. malu, Sebae anemone, Singapore anemone, pink-tipped (but not condylactis) anemone

Tentacles range from long and thin to short and fat depending on the condition of the anemone (short and fat usually means it is starting to waste away). Tentacles usually have magenta colored tips although yellowish-green tips are not uncommon. Colors can be dyed yellow, dyed pink, natural pink/purple, natural yellow, tan, but by far the most common is pure white. The oral disk may also have a green sheen under actinic light.

Good Points-They are very common in stores and are usually the least expensive of the host anemones. They are accepted by virtually all clownfish whether they occur together in nature or not. Some not so white specimens can regenerate their symbiotic algae thus becoming a brown color. If you can obtain a tan specimen with long thin tentacles they should do well under conditions similar to that required for bulb anemones.

Bad Points- No one I have spoken with, not even the public aquariums, can keep the white or yellow ones alive for more than 6-8 months. Out of the over 20 responses I received regarding sebaes only 2 anemones had stayed alive for over one year. Both of the anemones were tan in color either when purchased or had turned tan shortly there after. One thought is that sebae anemones may expel their symbiotic algae shortly after capture and when it is completely gone it is not easily replaced. Frank Greco of the New York Aquarium says that he has been successful in getting otherwise healthy sebaes to "color up" by feeding once a week with fresh fish, clam, shrimp or gelatin. They also get live brine shrimp, adult and baby, and a yeast based diet of his own design. In addition to the frequent feedings the anemones are exposed to very bright light, three 400 watt metal halide bulbs over the six foot by six foot, four foot tall anemone tank. If the anemone is not able to replace its zooxanthellae it is doomed to a very slow starvation once in the tank. There are cream colored sebae anemones found in shallow water in the wild, but they are not the transparent white color found in the dealers tanks. These don't seem to be a good beginner's anemone despite articles I have read that say they are.

Heteractis magnifica, Ritteri, African, yellow-tipped anemone

This anemone is usually rather large. Their tentacles are long with very blunt tips that are lighter in color than the shafts. The base may be red or purple but brown is more common.

Good Points- They are relatively common in the market. They are accepted by almost every variety of clownfish.

Bad Points- They tend to move to the highest point in the tank, often up the sides of the glass very near the water return pipe. In nature they tend to be found at the highest parts of the reef exposed to strong light and currents. In the aquarium they will need very strong lighting (metal halide) and very strong alternating (wave) currents to do well. They also have a reputation for being able to catch and eat medium sized non-clownfish.

Stichodactyla gigantea, Giant carpet, colored carpet

These anemones have short pointed tentacles that seem to constantly vibrate. The tentacles are usually not very densely packed except near the edges of the disk. Specimens with blue, bright green, yellow, or white tipped tentacles can be found and at some times of the year are even common, but light brown is still the most common color. The oral disk often lies in a wave pattern if the anemone is on a flat surface.

Good Points-The colored ones are very pretty! A pink specimen is featured on the cover of Martin Moe's "Beginner to Breeder " book. They are accepted by most clownfish.

Bad Points- They can sting non-clownfish and may even eat other anemones. Giant carpets unlike their relative the saddle carpet seem to be very difficult to keep in captivity. The only report I had of a success died in a move after living for 10 years and the aquarist was unable to have any success with any giant carpets after that. It is possible that the first anemone may have been a saddle carpet rather than a giant carpet, but I haven't been able to find out for sure. One of the reasons for the difficulty in keeping the giant carpets may stem from the fact that most are collected from very shallow water, sometimes less than 3 feet deep. This leads me to believe that it may be difficult for the aquarist to give the anemone all the light that it is accustomed to in nature.

There are a couple other natural clownfish host anemones that will sometimes appear in your dealers tanks, but I wasn't able to gather enough information on them to include an accurate description. These are the Sand, corn or aurora anemone (Heteractis aurora) and the Mertin's carpet (S. mertinii).

Some clownfish will also accept non-natural hosts such as purple mat anemones, reef anemones, condylactis anemones, gonipora corals and other long tentacled corals. There have been reports, however, that clownfish that associate with condylactis anemones and corals may be more prone to skin infections than normal.

[skuzza]

I had a bright neon green capet type anemone with a white base.I had it for only about 2 months as it apeared some how to hunt my fish.It was the most amazing anemone i have seen for its colour and character.It could make the green tips look as if the were doing the mexican wave.DO NOT PUT ONE IN YOUR REEK TANK.My one ate my cleaner wrasse and some how nearly ate my large purple tang.It seemed to be able to sence things close to it and move towards them.Many times it would change its shape to be able to reach my finger coral.It would grab on and pull for about 2 minites than let go.I sold it and the new owners have lost over 9 fish trying to keep it in there reef tank because of its colour.They have now moved it to its own tank as they cannot part with it.

[Brianemone]

i think animals like that deserve their own tank, well worth the effort, they are so beautifull