Bubble-tip anemone
Bubble-tip Anemone, Bubble Anemone, Bulb-tip Anemone, Bulb Anemone, Rose Anemone
Entacmaea quadricolor
History
I obtained this specimen from a local fish store on 26th January 2000 and placed it in my 60g tank. My logbook says it was 4" across when inflated and was pale green with pink tips.
This guy has pretty much stayed where I initially put him. He did go wandering a little way once - see the image below and subsequent comments. As of July 2000 he is about 8" across when expanded.
The image to the right shows what the anemone looks like when it is deflated. Compare it to the image above using the horizontal overhanging rock as a reference (you can only see the left half of the rock in the image above). Note the green colour of his tentacles when contracted (and note how grumpy the clown looks!).
This second image also offers a good view of how the anemone has moved over the year. I initially placed him facing upwards in the crevice at the bottom centre of the image (left of that patch of coralline algae). The anemone stayed there for a few months, but then eventually started wandering diagonally up and to the right along that ridge of rock (immediately below and to the right of the anemone's tentacles). After a few days it had got as far as the right side of the image, it then started along the overhanging rock (turning upside down in the process). It then began to move back to the left and has settled in the position shown.
I feed this anemone a scallop or a shrimp, or sometimes a thawed cube of frozen seafood mix, about once a week.
Observations
This anemone, along with the Long-Tentacled Anemone (Macrodactyla doreensis) is widely regarded as the easiest clownfish-hosting sea anemone to keep in captivity. They are not as light-demanding as other hosting anemones and, in the case of the bubble-tip anemone, less prone to wandering about. The bubble-tip also hosts a large number of different species of clownfish. Currents should be low to medium (as you can see in the top image my anemone is in a medium current and seems happy with it - remember the anemone chose this spot, in the original location his trunk was never exposed).
I've been keeping this guy about 18" under the surface under a 150W double-ended 10,000K metal halide lamp. He is now a pale tan/beige colour all over with very tiny purple points on his tentacles. In essence he has lost some colour. However he is now about 8 " across when fully expanded now. Some would argue that the light is bright enough so he has lost some unnecessary zooxanthellae (thus the paler colour), but the reduction in size of the pink tips makes me wonder if it is getting enough light. Furthermore my anemone has never had bubble-tips - according to Delbeek & Sprung this may be indicative of insufficient light. Or it may not, no one really knows - Fautin & Allen speculate that bubble-tips on appear on anemones which host clownfish (not true in my case).
References
Anemone Fishes and Their Host Sea Anemones, Fautin & Allen
Clownfishes: A Guide to Their Captive Care, Breeding & Natural History, J. Wilkerson
The Reef Aquarium vol. 2, Delbeek & Sprung
The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium vol. 2, Fossa & Nilsen
The Reef Tank Owner's Manual, J. Tullock
The Conscientious Marine Aquarist, R. Fenner
Online Field Guide to Anemonefishes and their Host Sea Anemones, Fautin & Allen
