What kind of anemone is this?

auntkaren

Member
I got this anemone with a shipment of live rock and cleanup crew. There was a condylactis anemone too but I can't determine what this one is. My best guess is either a carpet or a flower anemone. It came from the Gulf of Mexico around Tampa, FL. Can anyone help me identify this anemone, please?
 

reefkprz

Active Member
90% positive its a rock anemone. I have two of them a pink and a yellow most are brown to tan in coloration
 

swlover

Member
yup it's a little bleached out but deffinately rock/flower anemone. Watch small polyps around it..if it can grab ahold of them it will eat them....you can have more than one of those guys in a tank, get along with condys too!
 

reefkprz

Active Member
Originally Posted by swlover
yup it's a little bleached out but deffinately rock/flower anemone. Watch small polyps around it..if it can grab ahold of them it will eat them....you can have more than one of those guys in a tank, get along with condys too!

she's not kidding about it eating stuff my pink one went on the move once and chowed my xenia on its way to the top of a rock.
 

auntkaren

Member
Thanks for the help! Now... how do I care for it? Y'all are right it does move around and I got some wonderful pics of it turning into a ball and bouncing about to a different spot.
I will probably take it to the LFS for credit because we don't want anemonies in our tank as we plan to get a gobie and pistol shrimp and other bottom dwellers. I'd rather have the entertainment value of gobies than anemonies. BUT I want to keep it healthy until we can get to the LFS. What does the darn thing eat??
 

reefkprz

Active Member
it'll eat any thing from frozen foods to flake. it'll eat copepods too. I feed mine chunks of haddok and squid.
 

swlover

Member
He should be anchored already..they are the first anemones to anchor and stay put..you may not have enough light, thats why he's rolling. Yea feed it small frozen pieces, about the size of an eraser head, just stick it to him and he will do the rest. It shouldn't bother the gobie or shrimp or any other inverts.. my hermits, emeralds and shrimp climb all over mine, the shrimp are so light footed most of the time mine don't even know they are there, the hermits and emeralds are rough and molest mine constantly... they just pinch them if they get too sticky and they will close up quickly. Corals are another story..mushrooms will be pulled right off of rock and small colonies of zoos..but they will spit the zoos back out...I had a small red zoo frag float right into a large flower, two days later he spit it out, I glued it to a large rock and now is the best zoo colony I have. I would keep it..they are an interesting part of the reef and easy keepers as long as you have enough light. Once they find a spot they like they stay put.
 

michaeltx

Moderator
they also have come in many many colors and will color up once he gets happy and settles in the tank.
Here is one I had it only more colorful as it grew.
Mike

 

auntkaren

Member
Thanks for the ID and info! I will keep the flower anemone and take the condy to the LFS for credit. My tank is well lit with Metal halides the anemone was moving before the halides came on. It's settled dead center front of the tank and is really a beautiful addition. It was entertaining to watch it slowly bounce to it's new spot. I've tried feeding it shrimp (pencil eraser size pieces and smaller), talipia and scallop but it releases all offerings so far. I've only had it in the tank for a week and have read that they are only to be fed once a week. Is this correct? When should I worry about it not eating? Anything different I should offer?
 

michaeltx

Moderator
mine would go for weeks without feeding and other times every couple of days if it dont eat dont worry cause it may not be hungry it will still get nutrients and all from the light just keep offerein git to it so if it will take it. if it starts to look rough then you can start worrying abit but when I first got this one it didnt eat for about a month and in the mean time it doubled in size so i knew it was alright.
mike
 

auntkaren

Member
Oh wow that's reassuring. It's on the bottom directly under the halide light. We only keep the halides on 5 hours a day. Actinics are on 2 hrs before the halides and 2 hours after is that enough light for him? BTW how big to these get?
 

michaeltx

Moderator
not sure how big this one got to be about the size of my hand.
as far as lighting this one was under PC lights so you have even more light than I did.
mike
 

swlover

Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
It looks to me like a Stichodactyla tapetum, not a Rock Anemone.
Can you sent me the original picture (the huge sized one).
guynwarsaw@yahoo.com
Ya know he could be right now that I look at it...from this picture it's hard to tell. You could always send it in thru ImageShack and then we could all see a close up. Here is my rock anemone..besides the color it looks alot like it.
 

auntkaren

Member
Alright I'll watch it. I have noticed that the center is turning a healthy tan color. (Y'all said it was looking bleached, remember?) It is looking healthy and it's pooped a couple of times so it's sifting something out of the system! Thanks for all your responses they have been a big help.
AK
 
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