Anenome identification

lcstorc · 04-07-2006, 06:21 PM

I'm pretty new to this whole saltwater aquarium thing, but my husband got us started and now I'm hooked.
Unfortunately, I let him make all the decisions in the beginning and he is the worst person to keep track of names etc.
He bought an Anemone several months ago which has since split and then both of those split again. It is a really pretty anemone, but I really want to know what it is and he of course doesn't remember. I have tried searching a number of sites and so far have not found a picture that matches. I'm a bit frightened since it keeps splitting and I don't really want an all anemone tank. I was very excited at the first split, but now I am up to 4 and getting a bit paranoid that the LFS sold him something that is considered a nuisance by those in the know. They are each about an inch and a half across, though slightly smaller right after a split. I have tried to attach a picture so hopefully someone knows what it is and if I need to give it to my step-daughters marine biology class or if I should just keep them. Also, if anyone has any ideas why I they are splitting so much that would be great. I don't know if I am doing something very right or very wrong. I am guessing I am feeding them too much, though I cut back to once a week or less about 2 months ago after the first split and some investigation. I also have several other anemones and one of my bubble tips has also split if that helps.
Thanks for any help you can give.
I'm also new to forums on the web, but love reading the posts so I figured I would try one. Please forgive any mistakes I may have made in this post.
Thanks again

cheeks69 · 04-07-2006, 06:34 PM

What is the color of the base or foot ? Does it host any clownfish ? Feeding it often can cause them to split. What type of lighting do you have ?

The BTA and Ritteri are the only Hosting Anemones that I'm aware that will split. The splitting isn't something that normally occurs in the wild and many believe that's it's a sign of stress. If you have proper lighting then I would only feed occasionally.

BTW welcome to RS !

lcstorc · 04-07-2006, 06:55 PM

Thanks for the reply and the welcome.
No, it does not host the clown. This is the only anemone I have that my clown totally ignores. I have never seen any of my fish pay any attention to it at all. I always assumed it was because it is relatively small. I have the specs for the lights at home (sorry, I'm at work now) and can add those later tonight, but according to my local coral store I have enough light for soft coral but not hard coral if that helps. So far all of the soft coral I have bought from him (a cabbage leather, purple bush gorgonian, a number of different mushroom corals and most recently a frogspawn) seem to be doing beautifully so he appears to be at least in the right ballpark as to the lights. Unfortunately I did not get this anemone from him and he doesn't recognize it from the picture either.
Stress may have been a factor in one of the splits at least. I thought it was pretty odd at the time. We did a pretty major water change and re-aquascape of the tank (125 gallon tank) and I inadvertently had the rock it was attached to very near the glass for about 15 minutes. When it split both of them were on the glass and one is still there. They can move, but certainly don't move much and I am afraid to try to move them and accidentally hurt them. I just leave them be and figure they will go where they are happiest.
The foot is pretty much the same color. A bit lighter but not much.
When you say feed occasionally, how often do you mean?
What about my bubble tips? Is once a week too often for those? They are much bigger, but my clown goes back and forth from one to the other, and I occasionally see him feeding them. He does tend to steal food from one to take to another, but most people seem to agree that less is more for feeding anemones in general.
Thanks again for the warm welcome and quick response.

cheeks69 · 04-07-2006, 07:33 PM

It may be of the Condylactis variety but can't say for sure since I've never seen one that color and I don't know if these normally split.

AFA feeding that really depends on the amount of light you have, the more light the less often you need to feed. I used to feed my BTA's once a week but they kept splitting so I removed most of them and now I feed the ones I have once every couple of months BUT I have metal halide.

BoomerD · 04-07-2006, 08:17 PM

The color of it and the fact that it has split, makes me think it's a rose BTA. Has it ever looked any different than it does in that pic?
Here are a couple of pics of some of my rose garden:

lcstorc · 04-07-2006, 09:01 PM

Beautiful garden!!!

It has always looked the same. Yours look much larger based on the picture with the clown. Mine are only about and inch and a half across total. The foot is maybe the size of a quarter to a half dollar.
It is a rather dark maroon color. Sometimes gets a bit lighter but generally pretty dark. It is actually a bit translucent. Kind of hard to describe.
I just got home and one of them split again. I'm now up to 5 from 1 in about 4 or 5 months. From 2 to 5 in a couple of weeks.
Some are definitely going to school for their very understocked tanks. It is very pretty so I'll keep a pair at least for now. Her teacher will be thrilled since 3 are on a gorgeous piece of rock and I'll just give him the whole thing.
This was the answer I got on the lights.
125 gallon tank with a 48inch coralife light w/ 2 65 watt true actinic 03 blue bulbs and 2 65 watt 10,000k daylight straight pin compact fluorescent and 4 ¾ watt lunar blue moon glow led lights.
Does that make sense?
I know I need more light, but haven't really figured out what I am going to do yet (or where the money will come from).
Thanks

BoomerD · 04-07-2006, 09:16 PM

Wow...not nearly enough light for ANY anemone. 3 times that much is still not enough! Stress is one of the most common reasons anemones split. COULD be from the lack of light. Not sure. Do you feed it?

cheeks69 · 04-07-2006, 10:51 PM

The fact that the tenticles are stringy is a sign that it's not receiving enough light. The question is why does it keeping splitting at such a frenetic pace ???
I've had many splits but never this many in such a short period of time.

lcstorc do you have a pic of the largest of the clones ? I'm still not certain it's a BTA

lcstorc · 04-08-2006, 08:43 AM

I do feed them. They each get a small piece of silverside on Sunday. I missed last week, but usually I do. I have 3 bubble tips and one green bubble tip that appear to be just fine. The mysterious red one has been in the tank longest, and is the closest to the bottom of the tank so it does get less light I supppose. I had a pink tip, but gave it away because it was just too big and my gold stripe maroon clown wouldn't even go near it. (One of the many reasons I no longer go to the LFS that sold them both to me.) Once of my bubble tips split once, but other than that they open up beautifully during the day and look great. I am getting a bit frightened since I know that anemones take a long time to show problems and now I'm all paranoid that I am hurting them.
Any good ideas for my lack of lighting? I knew it was a bit low, but didn't realize it was that bad. Pretty much everything in the tank looks great including a number of soft corals, the anemones, and fish. My husband doesn't like the idea of MH. Apparently they give off lots of heat and living in Florida we are already trying to decide if we need a chiller. Tank stays at about 79 generally, but if I put MH lights we are afraid a chiller will be unavoidble and the combo would break the bank right now.
I was thinking about buying a second light like the main one but if I am at less than a third, that obviously won't do it.
This has been quite informative. When I started the thread, I was terrified the response would be the dreaded "A" word. Now it appears I have a whole other set of problems.
Live and learn. Hopefully I can get something to at least help with the lighting issue quickly enough that everybody is ok and I just have some extras to give away or trade.
The newer pictures are not as clear, but I will pull a couple from my other computer and attach them later today. I have no idea which is the original and which are the clones, but I do have some others. I can try to borrow a camera today and take a pic of the foot of the one that is currently on the glass. My camera was stolen two weeks ago so now I have to borrow.
Thanks again.

cheeks69 · 04-08-2006, 10:26 AM

Is it possible to add another Power compact fixture ? As BoomerD mentioned you have a very low amount of light for a tank that size. I would definitely consider upgrading or adding more light ASAP.

Quote:

I am getting a bit frightened since I know that anemones take a long time to show problems and now

Yes that is correct and usually when it gets to that point it's too late to do anything for them.

dragonladylea · 04-08-2006, 10:49 AM

Do an internet search on Actinia Equina or Beadlet Anemone - based on the reproduction yours is doing I would say this fits the description.

lcstorc · 04-08-2006, 11:59 AM

Thank you both.
I will look up the anemones mentioined and the lights mentioned. Would a power compact be what I have now? That is what I was originally thinking. I wanted to get a second light that was the same or similar mostly because it would fit and make keeping replacement bulbs easier since they would be the same size etc. Since I haven't bought it yet now is the time to change my mind if I need to.
Meanwhile, I took a picture of the foot of one which is attached to the glass and another pic of the piece of rock with 3 on it. There were 2 yesterday when I went to work and 3 last night when I came home so this is a picture pretty much right after a split.

cheeks69 · 04-08-2006, 12:07 PM

Humm those definitely DON'T look like BTA's !

Quote:

Would a power compact be what I have now?

yes if you could get another fixture with the same amount of bulbs you currently have then you would be fine.

cheeks69 · 04-08-2006, 12:09 PM

I think that dragonladylea is on the right track with the Actinia equina.

http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/in...ctinia_equina/

lcstorc · 04-08-2006, 12:42 PM

Was just doing a search, and I agree. There are several pics there that look very much like mine. The only thing that makes me wonder is the pictures of them when they turn into a bubble. Mine has never really done that. Sometimes it does kind of close in on itself, but it has never looked like the pictures I found. Still, it is by far the closest match to date. The size seems in the right ballpark etc.
I don't seem to see much info on them other than that they are very common in Britain. Makes me wonder if maybe my water is warmer than it would like, since Florida (even inside w/ac) is certainly warmer than the ocean in England.
Thanks much for the help on the lights. I may order a second light this weekend. I'll have to check out the sponsors and see if I can find a good deal and save a few dollars.

Thanks for everybody's help. I could tell from reading the posts that this was a friendly place to get info.

04-07-2006, 06:34 PM	#2 (permalink)
cheeks69 Wannabe Guru Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Northeast Posts: 6,843 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Anenome identification What is the color of the base or foot ? Does it host any clownfish ? Feeding it often can cause them to split. What type of lighting do you have ? The BTA and Ritteri are the only Hosting Anemones that I'm aware that will split. The splitting isn't something that normally occurs in the wild and many believe that's it's a sign of stress. If you have proper lighting then I would only feed occasionally. BTW welcome to RS ! __________________ Robert My Cube “A spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe—a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.” Albert Einstein

04-07-2006, 06:55 PM	#3 (permalink)
lcstorc Sunshine Reefer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Cocoa Fl Posts: 20,786 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Anenome identification Thanks for the reply and the welcome. No, it does not host the clown. This is the only anemone I have that my clown totally ignores. I have never seen any of my fish pay any attention to it at all. I always assumed it was because it is relatively small. I have the specs for the lights at home (sorry, I'm at work now) and can add those later tonight, but according to my local coral store I have enough light for soft coral but not hard coral if that helps. So far all of the soft coral I have bought from him (a cabbage leather, purple bush gorgonian, a number of different mushroom corals and most recently a frogspawn) seem to be doing beautifully so he appears to be at least in the right ballpark as to the lights. Unfortunately I did not get this anemone from him and he doesn't recognize it from the picture either. Stress may have been a factor in one of the splits at least. I thought it was pretty odd at the time. We did a pretty major water change and re-aquascape of the tank (125 gallon tank) and I inadvertently had the rock it was attached to very near the glass for about 15 minutes. When it split both of them were on the glass and one is still there. They can move, but certainly don't move much and I am afraid to try to move them and accidentally hurt them. I just leave them be and figure they will go where they are happiest. The foot is pretty much the same color. A bit lighter but not much. When you say feed occasionally, how often do you mean? What about my bubble tips? Is once a week too often for those? They are much bigger, but my clown goes back and forth from one to the other, and I occasionally see him feeding them. He does tend to steal food from one to take to another, but most people seem to agree that less is more for feeding anemones in general. Thanks again for the warm welcome and quick response.

04-07-2006, 07:33 PM	#4 (permalink)
cheeks69 Wannabe Guru Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Northeast Posts: 6,843 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Anenome identification It may be of the Condylactis variety but can't say for sure since I've never seen one that color and I don't know if these normally split. AFA feeding that really depends on the amount of light you have, the more light the less often you need to feed. I used to feed my BTA's once a week but they kept splitting so I removed most of them and now I feed the ones I have once every couple of months BUT I have metal halide. __________________ Robert My Cube “A spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe—a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.” Albert Einstein

04-07-2006, 08:17 PM	#5 (permalink)
BoomerD Reef Shark Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Northern California Posts: 5,637 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Anenome identification The color of it and the fact that it has split, makes me think it's a rose BTA. Has it ever looked any different than it does in that pic? Here are a couple of pics of some of my rose garden: __________________ Intelligence is not knowing all the answers, but knowing where and how to find them! www.google.com

04-07-2006, 09:01 PM	#6 (permalink)
lcstorc Sunshine Reefer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Cocoa Fl Posts: 20,786 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Anenome identification Beautiful garden!!! It has always looked the same. Yours look much larger based on the picture with the clown. Mine are only about and inch and a half across total. The foot is maybe the size of a quarter to a half dollar. It is a rather dark maroon color. Sometimes gets a bit lighter but generally pretty dark. It is actually a bit translucent. Kind of hard to describe. I just got home and one of them split again. I'm now up to 5 from 1 in about 4 or 5 months. From 2 to 5 in a couple of weeks. Some are definitely going to school for their very understocked tanks. It is very pretty so I'll keep a pair at least for now. Her teacher will be thrilled since 3 are on a gorgeous piece of rock and I'll just give him the whole thing. This was the answer I got on the lights. 125 gallon tank with a 48inch coralife light w/ 2 65 watt true actinic 03 blue bulbs and 2 65 watt 10,000k daylight straight pin compact fluorescent and 4 ¾ watt lunar blue moon glow led lights. Does that make sense? I know I need more light, but haven't really figured out what I am going to do yet (or where the money will come from). Thanks

04-07-2006, 09:16 PM	#7 (permalink)
BoomerD Reef Shark Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Northern California Posts: 5,637 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Anenome identification Wow...not nearly enough light for ANY anemone. 3 times that much is still not enough! Stress is one of the most common reasons anemones split. COULD be from the lack of light. Not sure. Do you feed it? __________________ Intelligence is not knowing all the answers, but knowing where and how to find them! www.google.com

04-07-2006, 10:51 PM	#8 (permalink)
cheeks69 Wannabe Guru Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Northeast Posts: 6,843 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Anenome identification The fact that the tenticles are stringy is a sign that it's not receiving enough light. The question is why does it keeping splitting at such a frenetic pace ??? I've had many splits but never this many in such a short period of time. lcstorc do you have a pic of the largest of the clones ? I'm still not certain it's a BTA __________________ Robert My Cube “A spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe—a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.” Albert Einstein

04-08-2006, 08:43 AM	#9 (permalink)
lcstorc Sunshine Reefer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Cocoa Fl Posts: 20,786 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Anenome identification I do feed them. They each get a small piece of silverside on Sunday. I missed last week, but usually I do. I have 3 bubble tips and one green bubble tip that appear to be just fine. The mysterious red one has been in the tank longest, and is the closest to the bottom of the tank so it does get less light I supppose. I had a pink tip, but gave it away because it was just too big and my gold stripe maroon clown wouldn't even go near it. (One of the many reasons I no longer go to the LFS that sold them both to me.) Once of my bubble tips split once, but other than that they open up beautifully during the day and look great. I am getting a bit frightened since I know that anemones take a long time to show problems and now I'm all paranoid that I am hurting them. Any good ideas for my lack of lighting? I knew it was a bit low, but didn't realize it was that bad. Pretty much everything in the tank looks great including a number of soft corals, the anemones, and fish. My husband doesn't like the idea of MH. Apparently they give off lots of heat and living in Florida we are already trying to decide if we need a chiller. Tank stays at about 79 generally, but if I put MH lights we are afraid a chiller will be unavoidble and the combo would break the bank right now. I was thinking about buying a second light like the main one but if I am at less than a third, that obviously won't do it. This has been quite informative. When I started the thread, I was terrified the response would be the dreaded "A" word. Now it appears I have a whole other set of problems. Live and learn. Hopefully I can get something to at least help with the lighting issue quickly enough that everybody is ok and I just have some extras to give away or trade. The newer pictures are not as clear, but I will pull a couple from my other computer and attach them later today. I have no idea which is the original and which are the clones, but I do have some others. I can try to borrow a camera today and take a pic of the foot of the one that is currently on the glass. My camera was stolen two weeks ago so now I have to borrow. Thanks again.

04-08-2006, 10:49 AM	#11 (permalink)
dragonladylea Star Polyps Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 172 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Anenome identification Do an internet search on Actinia Equina or Beadlet Anemone - based on the reproduction yours is doing I would say this fits the description. __________________ Dragonladylea When I have learned everything bury me! 55 reef - 5 nano Flame Angel, GSM Clown, Orange spot goby, Green Mandarin, Double-shot Pistol Shrimp and asst SPS, LPS, Clams, Softies and Inverts.

04-08-2006, 12:09 PM	#14 (permalink)
cheeks69 Wannabe Guru Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Northeast Posts: 6,843 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Anenome identification I think that dragonladylea is on the right track with the Actinia equina. http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/in...ctinia_equina/ __________________ Robert My Cube “A spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe—a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.” Albert Einstein

04-08-2006, 12:42 PM	#15 (permalink)
lcstorc Sunshine Reefer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Cocoa Fl Posts: 20,786 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Anenome identification Was just doing a search, and I agree. There are several pics there that look very much like mine. The only thing that makes me wonder is the pictures of them when they turn into a bubble. Mine has never really done that. Sometimes it does kind of close in on itself, but it has never looked like the pictures I found. Still, it is by far the closest match to date. The size seems in the right ballpark etc. I don't seem to see much info on them other than that they are very common in Britain. Makes me wonder if maybe my water is warmer than it would like, since Florida (even inside w/ac) is certainly warmer than the ocean in England. Thanks much for the help on the lights. I may order a second light this weekend. I'll have to check out the sponsors and see if I can find a good deal and save a few dollars. Thanks for everybody's help. I could tell from reading the posts that this was a friendly place to get info.

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