Rock Anemones
Rock Anemones
Unknown sp. (Anemonia sp.?)
History
I obtained one of these anemones (approx. 2" disc) as a hitchhiker on a piece of live rock on 3rd November 1999 and put it in my 12g tank under very low light (2 x 15W normal-output fluorescent). I fed it a piece of seafood about the size of a fingernail about once a week and it appeared to grow slowly.
On 19th December 1999 the anemone divided via longitudinal fission into 3 anemones (first it split into two, then one of the daughter anemones split again just a few hours later). They remained as 3 anemones until 7th May 2000 when either one or two of them split again, leaving me with 5 anemones. Up until this point all three had sat on the rock in a row as shown in the image above (there is a third one behind the anemone to the right). However after the split to 5 they started moving all over the place. At the time of this writing all but one of them are in crevices and behind rocks (i.e. I cannot see them unless I move stuff out of the way).
On 30th June 2000 I added two Sexy Shrimp (Thor Amboinensis) and to my surprise both shrimp seem to be associating with one of these anemones. At least whenever I look in the tank the shrimp are within 1 centimeter of the anemone.
Observations
Not one of the anemones has ever had an oral disc larger than the original one. At full extension they stands approximately 2" tall, although they are more often stretched out quite flat on the rocks. The base is a beige-white and the disc is a brown with a faint purple tinge.
The anemones seem to eat anything I feed them. I have tried scallop, shrimp, crab and squid - everything offered was taken. I feed the ones I can see about once a week with a piece about a quarter the size of the oral disc.
These anemones don't seem to be photosynthetic as they inhabit just about any location, including upside down inside caves. Current should be low to medium.
References
The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium vol. 1, Fossa & Nilsen
