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FAQs on Sebae Anemone Use in Marine Aquariums 3

Related Articles: Heteractis crispa/Sebae Anemones, Bubble Tip Anemones, Anemones, Cnidarians, Colored/Dyed Anemones

Related FAQs: Sebae Anemones 1, Sebae Anemones 2 Sebae Identification, Sebae Behavior, Sebae CompatibilitySebae Selection, Sebae Systems, Sebae Feeding, Sebae Disease, Sebae Reproduction, Anemones, Anemones 2, Caribbean Anemones, Condylactis, Aiptasia Anemones, Anemones and Clownfishes, Anemone Reproduction, Anemone Lighting, Anemone Identification, Anemone Compatibility, Anemone Selection, Anemone Behavior, Anemone Health, Anemone Placement, Anemone FeedingHeteractis Malu

Sebae Health        2/3/16
Ok have a 220 reef I have had this set up since 10-07-15. 1 Sebae which has thrived up until lately.
<Clown, anemone?>
A couple of months ago I introduced a rose bubble tip which within 30 days split.
The sisters are doing great. So is a large Toadstool coral a few very small stony's way up in the rock work, some Zoos,
<The Sarcophyton and Zoanthids don't play well w/ other Cnidarian groups. >

IF there is some sort of physical, chemical challenge in the system there could be real trouble here>
feather dusters and 13 small fish, 300lbs of live rock, 40 gallon sump/refugium and 3 Kessil 360 W lights. Water parameters are great. Run big Skimmer plenty of flow with double overflows and Tunze Wave Box.
The Sebae a bout 3 weeks ago started to get smaller at times
<Oh, so, Heteractis crispa>
so I started feeding a couple of times a week with Silversides
>See WWM re feeding this species<

only about the size of the mouth. Fed the bubbles at same time too and they look great but the Sebae wants to sometimes completely shrink up and go into the sand briefly which never worried me but it seems to be more inflated in the morning and evening hours or in darkness. At peak lighting times it's smaller and not extended as much. It does host an anemone crab
but has for 90 days at least. It is about 22 inches from a bubble tip and maybe 10 inches from the Toadstool coral which is very healthy.
I do water changes about every 3-4 weeks and do 3+ gallons.
<What volume is this?>

Everything looks great except the Sebae not as prolific as it should although color is very fine so I now it can't be the lights and it is not moving at all maybe 5 inches on a lateral move over 3 months but never came up out of the sand just got more focused under the light I think.
<Please, please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/SebAnemDisDiagF.htm and the linked files above....>
I figure maybe not thriving due to chemical warfare or maybe I should back off the feedings.
<You should READ>
Comments? I know I pushed the envelope on the cycling but took it very easy on the bio-load with tons of live rock sand seeding and skimming nothing was stressed. The Sebae and 2 banded corals went in at 30 days after setup and never showed signs of stress
Thanks in advance
Mike Murphy
<Enjoy the reading. Write back w/ specific questions, concerns (should you have them), after. Bob Fenner>
RE: Sebae Health        2/3/16

Sorry meant to say 30+ gallons on water change
<Ah; that makes more sense. B>

confused ... id please ..sabea anemone??      12/18/14
Hi, pls confirm whether this is sebea anemone..??
<It is a dyed yellow Heteractis crispa; indeed; dying>
Also let me know whether
it is dyed..?? Feeling sick to know it may be dyed from some online sources.. Please help..
<Help yourself. READ on WWM re the species; DON'T send us 8 megs of pix....
READ here; my piece on this scam: http://wetwebmedia.com/coloredanemones.htm
Bob Fenner>

Re: confused ... id please ..sebae anemone??       12/19/14
Thanks Mr. Bob for quick reply,
<Welcome Anupa>
my god, didn't know they dye corals.. wonder how to find its natural colour or dye one.. had no clue when looked at it in LFS. Sorry for the pic size. will take care of the pic size next time on..
<Good>
Dying?? :( hope it have some chance of recovery?
<Small; not much>
any advice or care recommendation..
<The reading>
thought new to hobby, but will try my best to take care of these animals.. its a mistake i bought it in first place, have to blame my ignorance and impulse purchase..
Thanks again..
<And the false perceptions of the folks involved in making these animals, offering them thus. BobF>

Sabae anemone, bleached  4/12/14
Your website is very informative! I realize I should check on here before making any future purchases to avoid preventable mistake. From what I've
googled, this is a crispa anemone. Water salinity and ph, nitrates, are all perfect.
<Oh... perfect>

Just got this anemone and it is quite content here....has been here since I purchased it two days ago, my clown love it (close to death). However, it
is not attached by it's foot? The foot is fully inflated, but just hanging (not attached to anything). You can see that it is attached to the rock
though by the underside of its tenacles?
<... not really; no>
I don't see any damage to his foot (and I realize from reading your site that I shouldn't have purchased a white one now). Is this normal for it
not to attach to something with its foot?
<... this specimen is badly bleached... not likely to live.
Bob Fenner>

white sebae anemone not attaching and short tentacles... rdg.  10/22/11
Hi,
I purchased a white sebae anemone
<There is no such thing. This is a badly bleached Heteractis crispa... dying>
2 weeks ago and it is still not attaching I have a small power head and I have a 35 gallon tank.
<... too small>
I know that white sebae anemones are unhealthy, but I found that out after I purchased this anemone. All I have for food supply is a package of frozen krill. it has short tentacles on a quarter of its oral disk and about 3/4" ones the rest of the way around. Please tell me how to fix these problems, and how to replenish its zooxanthalne
thanks
<.... Read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Re: white sebae anemone not attaching and short tentacles... didn't read
  10/23/11
hi again,
My bleached sebae anemone eats krill then spits it out. It has turned white to a yellow ish white color is it getting worse or better? it is beginning to open up more and the tentacles are getting longer and skinnyer. Is this okay? I would like to know how to give this anemone the best chance to live. My water perimeters are perfect. My salinity is 1.026.
Do you think it will make it? noticed a scratch on its foot but it is beginning to repair the scratch. This is good right? Please tell me how i should care for it as of right now.
thanks
<Read where you were referred to:
http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm
B
Bleached sebae anemone into a ball    10/24/11

My anemone recently went into a ball that looks like a balloon. You are unable to see the tentacles. I recently put a plastic cup around the anemone to separate him from the Tomatoe clown what do I do I love this little creature please tell me what to do its been like this for about
10-12 hrs please give me info.
<Info. re what? Keep beer in dark, cool places. See WWM re Heteractis crispa. B>
Thanks,  <No. Thank YOU>
Sebae anemone... Fifth time w/o following directions is the straw...   10/25/11

I recently purchased this anemone 2 weeks ago. This is what it looked like when purchased.(first picture). The second picture is what it looks like now. It has a torn foot. What do I do. Water permiters are good lighting is good. 30 gal tank. Help me please
<Too tired of responding to your whining w/o searching, reading where you've been repeatedly referred to. Go elsewhere.>
This is what it looks like now
<This is what my resp. looks like now: >

Heteractis crispa help... gen.  3/29/11
Dear Crew
I would like some help with a Heteractis crispa. I recently purchased one of these from my local fish shop. To start with I acclimatised it by floating in a bag (with the lights off) and every 30min adding 30mls of water from the tank into the bag.
<I do hope/trust you did NOT place the mixed water (in the bag) into your system>
I continued this for 1hr 45min. I then lowered it into the tank let it rest on a piece of live rock on the sand bed. It soon attached its self (good sign I thought). One of my ocellaris clown fish starting investigating and swims through the tentacles, fantastic. All going well so far, the anemone looks light brown with purple tips so didn't think it was bleached. The tentacles where nearly all inflated and looking healthy. However a day later within minutes of the light going off and then me turning them back on again it looked like someone and put a pin in it. It was all deflated and looked ill then started throwing up long brown hair strands covered in mucus.
<Bad signs>
I was very worried as you can imagine. I was trying to decide if to take it out incase it had died and would pollute the tank. Despite a lot of searches on the internet I couldn't find anything that looked similar. I took the decision to let it be for an hour of two and see what happened.
Over the next 4 hours it made a full recovery and now looks back to an amazingly healthy state (1 day later). If I had been at work I wouldn't of known anything like that had happened. I have been feeding my clowns frozen marine cuisine which has a few things like Mysis shrimp in. The anemone seemed to grab and eat a few bits but otherwise I haven't fed it as I read I should leave it alone for a week.
<... I would feed this animal>
Is the anemone ok? Did reject its food etc?
<Likely is fine>
Ill try to give you as much info about tank etc. The tank has been maturing just over 2months (mistake I know should of waited 6months). Tanks size is 40g with a 12g sump. I have a star polyp and a toastall in with the anemone.
<Not really compatible, esp. in such a small volume>
I have a metal halide 250w lamp with 3week old bulb at 14000k :) and two 18w compact bulbs in the sump.
Temp: 26 degrees
SG: 0.0255
Calcium: 420
Magnesium: 1350
Ph 8.2
Carbonate: 7
Phosphate: 0.03
Nitrate: 0
<Need some NO3... see WWM re>
I was told by my local fish shop it wasn't worth getting a nitrite or an
ammonia test kits.
<Read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Just wanted to say thank you. H. crispa success acct.  5/27/10
<Welcome>
I just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I have spent countless hours reading, researching and searching for answers on your web-sight as it is such a wealth of knowledge. The best part is it's years of archives and invaluable information.
I made a mistake about a year ago by buying several fish and an anemone at the same time. Not only was the tank just cycled but buying the anemone was honestly a mistake. Apparently I forgot to uncheck the box when I was doing my research and found that it was NOT a good idea to get the Sebae Anemone at that time and decided I was going to get an easier to keep Anemone the Bubble Tip Anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor) but at a later time.
Mail order was decent pricing but apparently fallible by a button pushing maroon (me).
<Yikes... and you're a clownfish...>
After getting the anemone I put several ads out their to give it away and had no takers so I figured I better get my act together and quick if it had any chance to live.
I purchased a few different light fixtures but came to realize that even though I had the WPG needed I did not have the intensity needed to keep the Anemone so I bought my 3rd and final fixture now. Due to spending several
hundred on other fixtures and other things to make the water quality as good as possible my budget was rather low but I found a fixture that apparently worked as my Sebae went from a freckled white thing to a beautiful green/brown Anemone.
I am including a link to the photo of the before (just added to tank) and after shots (a few days under a year shot).
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee210/jlroar/Saltwater/difference-1.jpg
God bless you and thank you again,
James Roar
<Ahh, a very nice Sebae change. Thank you for sharing. Bob Fenner>

 

Purple Tipped Sebae Anemone, fdg., reading   2/9/10
I have researched your site which says you need to feed your anemone.
<Yes...>
However I can not find anything specifically relating to the anemone I recently purchased.
<... Read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/sebaefdgfaqs.htm
and the linked files above>
So far it looks very healthy but I am afraid that if I do not feed it and take care of it properly it will die. I tried feeding it some small pieces of shrimp. It acted like it might take them at first, but then just let them fall to the bottom of the tank. I asked the people I bought it from and they say normally it does not need feeding.
<Nonsense>
I just want to confirm if there is anything else I should be doing to take care of it in the mean time. Any other food I should try.
<Read. Bob Fenner>

Newer tank with Sebae... Gen., reading    2/7/10
hello,
great site
I've done a massive amount of reading on saltwater tanks in the last 8 months. I've been keeping a tropical tank for about 2 years, moving from a 5 gallon tank to a 40 gallon tall tank with the eclipse Marineland filer/light combo hood. My tropical tank did and looked great with all my inhabitants thriving and living happy. I decided in November to turn my tropical tank into a salt reef tank.
I used my 40 gallon tall ( not the best tank but it is what it is) for this project and started it out like this. 2" live sand (2 1/2" closer to the live rock) about 60 lbs of live rock Fiji/Florida mix, I added a 60 gallon protein skimmer, two powerheads and then let it set for about 4 weeks with two damsel's that fought constantly. Later I added 3 peppermint shrimp, 6 red legged hermits, 6 blue legged hermits and 12 bumblebee snails. I already had bristle stars from the rock (lived through a freshwater dip).
My reading on my test at first were all over the place but settled down after about 2 weeks. side note I used my bio-filter from my tropical tank to cycle my salt tank then took it out after about 3 weeks to keep my nitrates
down.
About 2 days ago I purchased a Sebae anemone.
<Mmm... anemones are not generally advised for such new systems>
This guy was beautiful in the store. tan in color with purple tips. The guys that sold him to me were very helpful and I ended up buying two mated oc. clowns the same day ( although they are tank raised and may not go to the anemone, found out later) The clowns do not go near the anemone and the anemone is on the move,
<A bad sign, had you read...>
I tried to replicate the same area he was in, in the store I placed sand in a large half shell that was in bedded in a piece of rock, turned my powerheads slightly away from the anemone and placed him high in my tank. I don't have the best lighting for an anemone 2 bulb t-5 Coralife (10,000 k and a blue light.)
<Mmm, insufficient...>
The guys at the store said it would be enough to keep this guy if I can keep him at the top, however he is moving to where he is in the middle and crapped in the crevasses of a piece of rock. his mouth is puckered and is tentacle's are full I fed him myrrh shrimp,
<This too...>
a little everyday. I moved him back
<Not advised>
to the original spot and moved my powerheads even further from his direction, however the next day he was back to the same spot. I don't know really what to do.
<I do. Read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm
and the linked files above; and return this specimen for now to the store that mis-sold it to you>
this guy is really in good health , from what I've read and my water is in good stable condition.
I do 10% water changed every week and feed lightly. my numbers are nit-0, nat-0.5, amon-0, Alk normal, temp constant at 78, ph-84 and sal-1.023
<...>
all my test are stable and haven't varied in the past month (the reason I bought the anemone) I may be just paranoid but I really like this anemone and don't want it to die (I do realize it may only live for a year or so)
<No my friend... can live for decades>
I plan to add a sand sifting cucumber, a 6-line wrasse and a goby to my tank along with varies coral but want my anemone to at least settle before adding coral.
<You'd do well to read re these ahead of acquisition as well>
what are your suggestions on helping my anemone. I know your going to say "lighting"
<Only one of the things I'd say, am saying>
and if that is the only factor I will go out and buy a better light system. Also your going to say I need a sump but that is not possible with my tank at this time neither is a refugium. 1. how can I increase my lighting output with current setup ( have about 96 watts right now 2. how to increase the chances my anemone will thrive.
thanks
Ron
<Thank you. Bob Fenner>

Newbie with a Sebae/Anemones/Systems 9/14/09
Howdy,
<Hello Lauren>
I really like your site, and I appreciate the advice I've been able to gather from reading other FAQs about anemones, but I'm still unsure how to best handle my situation.
<OK>
I'm very new to the marine aquarium world; my tank has been up and running for about 2 months. I didn't know at the time that this was too soon to add an anemone, and acquired a small sebae anemone because I was told it would be adopted by my two False Percula Clownfish. Unfortunately, I've had the anemone for a week now, and it's not looking so great. There are several less-than-optimal conditions of my set up, (that I'm working through subject to budget constraints,) and I'm really only inquiring to see if it's even possible to save my anemone. My biggest fear is that it will die and the ammonia spike will kill my tank. So, here's what I've got- Setup: 29 gallon tank,
<Tank too small for keeping this anemone.>
about 40lbs of live sand, about 30 lbs of live rock with moderate coralline growth, Marine-Glo high output lights, (one the shop said would be high output enough for corals, the other would give it the "blue" color; they said it was standard reef lighting),
<Nonsense, no where near enough light for anemones. What are your "high output" lamps, PC's, T5's?>
Aqueon filter currently using a carbon bag and a polishing pad, Prism protein skimmer for up to 50 gallons. I do a partial twice a week, but this week I've done a small one (about a gallon) every day. I use conditioned tap water, which the local stores (not Petco) agree is as good as distilled but not as good as R/O (I plan on a purification system, but I'm waiting on the cash.) My pH is 8.3, ammonia 0, nitrate 0, nitrite 0 (or at least undetectable.)
Livestock: the Sebae Anemone, two False Percula Clowns, a Yellow Tailed Blue Damsel, a Dottyback, two Watchman Gobies (they seem to be a mated pair,)
<Too many fish for this size tank, a disaster in the making, four small fish at most.>
a Peppermint Shrimp, a Sand-Sifting star, two Nassarius snails, a hermit crab, a margarita snail, an Astrea snail, and a turbo snail. For reference, the turbo snail is about 2.5 inches, and he's the biggest thing in my tank.
I got the sebae from Petco. He was pale, but not white, and more lime green under my lights with purple tips. When he's retracted, he's 1.5 inches all the way around, and when opened he's about 4 inches across. He spends most of his time somewhere in between. When I bought him, and questioned his unhappy look, they told me he just ate (yeah, right.) I put him in an area of less flow in my tank, where he should get great light, but he wouldn't stick. He fell over on his side. So I put him back (like Petco told me to do...) and read online, and tried to feed him (Formula One, mostly, and some mysis shrimp.) He ate and his color improved to a dark tan. For about a day, he was fine. Then he went whitish again, and I've noticed that he colors up when I feed him. However, he falls on his side all the time. I tried different spots in my tank, even moved a flatter rock under the sand for him, but it doesn't matter where I put him; he won't stay. He sticks to me when I position him, and he is sticky, but he won't stay put, and hasn't fully opened since. The false Perculas won't touch him, but they are tank raised and I hear that's normal. His color is back and forth, but mostly he just won't stick.
Is there anything else I can do? I don't know if I should let him roam or if there's something else I can do for him. I feel really bad about acquiring an animal I didn't know enough about. If my set up is impossible for him, I'll try to get a local pet store to take him in.
<Yes, is impossible, and do try and find a home for the anemone and some of your fish before disaster
does strike. These anemones (Heteractis crispa) are difficult to keep for any length of time, even under ideal conditions, and should not be kept with fish other than clownfish, especially in such a small area.>
Thank you so much for any help or advice, and forgive me for being so long-winded.
<Have you also read here?
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm.
An index to our marine articles/FAQ's can be found here for your future and needed use.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/index.htm
James (Salty Dog)>
Lauren

large anemone... H. crispa gen., not reading before writing    6/22/09
I searched for an answer to this question prior to writing. I have an anemone, see photo attached.
<I see this low resolution, poorly lit image>
The maroon clown feeds this anemone often and the anemone has gotten quite large for my 90 gallon tank. Wonder how much large it will get? Have heard that anemones may split into two anemones...???
<Not likely with this species...>
The foot is attached to the bottom of a live rock?
<Likely so>
THANKS..Robin
<... this appears to be a leather anemone, Heteractis crispa. Read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
re: large anemone
Thanks...appreciate the reply to my question.
<Welcome! BobF>

H. crispa... reading 09/20/09
Gentlemen,
my sebae anemone has been slowly but surely shrinking. I have had this anemone for approximately 8 months. After initial acclimation it was opening to a size of about 6 inches, over the last 3 weeks it has been reduced to around 2 to 3" when open. Water parameters are as follows: Ammonia- 0, nitrates <.1ppm, nitrites<.1ppm, phosphates .005,
<... Anemones need both NO3 and HPO4...>
Mg-1250, ca-410, alkalinity- 10dkh, SG-1.025, Temp-80 degrees, ph-8.2. I feed it directly, with a baster,
<Larger food items...>
approximately 2 times a week, (mysis, Cyclop-eeze), (indirectly every day).  I'm not 100% sure but it seems like some division is taking place by the mouth. Would this cause the reduction in size? Any recommendations would be helpful. thanks again for your help, Frank.
<Please read on WWM before writing us... re Heteractis crispa systems, feeding... Bob Fenner>

Sebae anemone, reading  2/14/09 I just purchased a sebae anemone. I put this fella in the on one side of the tank, the next morning it had moved to the other side, i know this is normal but all morning it has been on its side and now turned upside down. <... bad> should I move him to the rocks or just let him be? is he dying? <Yes and likely so. It will right itself if in good-enough health> It is not deflated a beautiful healthy brown color its base is big and the feet are not of any defaults. I am so new to this and yes i should have studied more on this ,and i am feeling pretty stupid on this subject, i have searched your sight <... site> but i cant find anything. oh I had purchased this online, which it was all open when i got it. puffed up beautifully. it traveled from florida to Missouri. <... Carol... your English...> could all this just be stress? my tank is 55 gallon, i have a yellow tang,firefish,percula clown, yellow fin fairy wrasse, mandarin .fire shrimp, cleaner shrimp snails crabs. lighting is coral sun 50/50 15 watt each <Insufficient...> i have 2. power head.i just turned off my powerhead thinking too much current. now it has opened a bit but lifeless turned it upright, the mouth is open a bit. but it has not fully deflated, please help. Carol Ann Salsbury <Please read here re Heteractis crispa: http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Sebae Anemone Questions 8-5-08 Hello WWM Crew, <Mike Maddox here this evening> I have a couple of questions regarding the sebae anemone. Sometimes I am not too great at using the right search terms to get my questions answered. <No problems> I do like to read reef related information. So, when answering my questions, if you would like to just include a link to the related info instead of directly answering, that would be fine with me. Whatever you think is best. Now for my questions: I bought a sebae anemone from an LFS the other day. It is a nice looking white with purple tips. I have read that this is not actually good. The LFS says that they all come this way because of collection and transport stress. <Some do, some don't. Perhaps he or his collectors should handle these animals with more care> Some have said that good feeding and lighting will bring it back to the actual healthy color and fullness. <Correct - be sure to feed small (2-5mm pieces) of meaty seafoods daily until it returns to > I have been using Marine Pellets from Omega One, Brine Shrimp Plus flakes, Formula Two flakes, Formula One frozen, and Phyto Feast for the rest of the tank. I have personally seen my torch coral (on the other side of the tank) take a chunk of the frozen Formula One dropped near it by an Ocellaris. What foods (obtainable at an LFS) are best for the Sebae? <The grocery store will be more useful here - raw shrimp, squid, 'shellfish', and whatever frozen fish foods you have> I have 250W Megachromes (times 2), they are 14.5K. They are about 5 or 6 inches above the water. Top of sand is about 20 inches under the water. The tank is 90g and the sump is a 29g that runs about half full. I placed the sebae on the sand in a well lit area where there is moderate flow. Within seconds, it was moving (on its own or caused by the flow, not sure). It went between the back of the tank and the rock for a little while. I left and came back a couple hours later and it was in a cave type area in the rock work. It was against the side walls of this cave and seemed to be spread out more than when I first placed it. The short tentacles were still waving, but the cave is shielded from direct light. I can see everything in the cave, but the light is not direct. Should I try to move it out to direct light again? Or leave him there for a while? <Never move an anemone after it's seated itself if you can help it - this applies for any photosynthetic animal, especially a newly introduced specimen. Your lighting is somewhat excessive, so the animal should be fine partly shaded> Again, links are fine if you think it would be best to provide answers that way rather than directly answering by e-mail. I don't mind reading articles at all. With all the info on the internet, it can be hard to tell if an article is the best one to read on a subject. <Most of your questions can be answered here (this link was easy to find!): http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm. Don't give up on your sebae even if it looks really bad in the future - I've seen sebaes that I was sure weren't going to make it bounce back after a few weeks/months. Force feeding may be required, and I have saved animals by force feeding them before. Get your hands on some Selcon (omega3/vitamin complex) and soak foods in this before feeding. If your animal eats normally, it should be fine - email me if your animal isn't eating.> Thanks, <Anytime> Gerald <M. Maddox>
Re: sebae anemone questions   8/6/08
Thanks for answering my e-mail. I will try some of the foods you suggest.. Also, I will leave the sebae where it is. <Ah, good> I guess I just got a little concerned that it wouldn't get enough light if it is partly shaded. I will keep you updated on how things go. <This appears to be a healthy specimen... should do fine with the quantity, quality of light provided here... along with adequate nutrition. My chief concern is with the small size of this system, its inherent instability. I wish you and your livestock well. Bob Fenner... who obviously answered not just out of turn, but out of place... Thought this was the young fellow from ayer>

sebae anemone health... a perfect example of how not to use WWM   8/5/08I have had a Sebae anemone for a couple of weeks now, and I was wondering if it is healthy and if it has enough light. I have attached a picture of it. It has a host Clarkii clownfish that is in love with it. I have read on many sites (including yours) that if they are white, they are bleached and unhealthy. <A good general statement> When I bought it, the color was not near as dark as it is now, but the tips have always been a light beige or white color and still are. I feed it a small piece of raw shrimp every few days and have tried Zooplex as well. <... have you read on WWM re Heteractis crispa nutrition...?> It is attached to the smooth black rocks in the picture. Now, the anemone's body is a nice dark pinkish brown color, but the tips of it are still white. I have seen where the tips are usually purple or green. Are the tips on mine supposed to be white? <... reading> Is this enough light for it? I have attached a picture of the clown with the anemone, the anemone by itself, and two pictures of the lighting I have on it. The anemone has doubled in size and darkened in color since I got it. <Good signs, behaviors> It changes shapes but stays attached in one location. Tank Specs: size: 16 gallon <Too small> Inhabitants: 1 live rock, live sand, Clarkii clown, Sebae anemone temperature: 79 F specific gravity: 1.022-1.023 <Too low...> pH: 8.0-8.2 KH: 180 ppm ammonia: 0 ppm nitrite: 0 ppm nitrate: 0 ppm <Need some...> Lighting: 2 compact fluorescent lights (10 watts each - each are equivalent to 50 watts) 1 compact fluorescent lamp that shines in from the side of the tank directly on the anemone (9 watts-equivalent to 40 watts) total lighting: 140 watts equivalent Thanks. <Read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/CnidIndex2.htm scroll down to the species... Bob Fenner>

Clarkii, crispa and geode...

How Big Will My Sebae Anemone Grow? 12/04/07 Hey crew, <Hello Cathy! Brenda here tonight!> We have owned a Sebae Anemone for about 10 months now. It was bleached out and only about 2 inches across when we purchased him....not healthy now, as we know. <Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for anemones to expel zooxanthellae from the stress of collection, handling, and shipping.> But anyway, we had him in a 20 gal tank for about 8 months with a true Percula clown. <A 20 gallon is much too small. More information here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm > The two are inseparable but the anemone just keeps growing and growing and growing. It has also been a healthy brownish color for a very long time now. <Congratulations on saving the anemone!> We have moved it with the clown to a 40 gal breeder tank about a month and a half ago and added a second clown to pair. <A 40 gallon is still a bit small for anemones. Do you also have a sump? Was the 40 gallon an established aquarium before the transfer?> They both host the anemone now since the move. It seems even bigger; maybe 8 inches across...it is huge. <What lighting do you have? If you are lacking on lighting, it may not actually be growing. It may just be stretching itself to reach as much light as possible.> We generally feed it krill twice a week and then the tank get feedings of phytoplankton, brine, Marine Two, and Cyclops alternately every other day. <Brine shrimp has very little nutritional value unless it is newly hatched brine shrimp.> My question is how big do you think it will eventually get? <This anemone can easily grow to 18 inches or more. Some have been known to reproduce asexually by splitting themselves in two. This is not as common as it is with the E. Quadricolor. Some experienced hobbyists have actually cut through the anemone creating a clone. However, I do not recommend this unless you are fully knowledgeable, have witnessed, and know the requirements and care required after the procedure. This is a choice that some have made when the anemone has outgrown its environment. This also saves another anemone from being removed from the ocean.> Cathy <Hope this helps! Brenda>

Sebae question! Reading...   10/23/07 I don't have a pic of when I first bought him, but I just took this pic Monday morning. When I bought him, I could've sworn he didn't have any real color. If you look at just below the purple tips, you can see the golden brown color. <... bleached still> For whatever reason he moved into a weird position between some LR and the back of the tank. <Typical behavior... sigh... had you read...> I got home from work (12 am) and it looks like he's moving again. Hopefully to an area with more light. Should I put a flat piece of LR near, and see if he "thrones" it? <... no> Anyways, when I can see his full body, he is about 6 inches wide. The clowns are 2, and 2.5 inches long. Also, when I fed the clowns this morning, they took it to the anemone, and it looks like he took the food and moved it to his mouth. <Read... Here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner, who urges you, others to follow instructions. Search the site before writing us. Investigate the life you intend to keep before buying...>

Sebae question! Reading!!!   10/21/07 I've had a Sebae now for a week, and when I first put the anemone into the tank, he was always totally open, looked fine. <... define "fine"... A pic?> After the clowns found him (2 days after I put him in), he still hasn't opened up totally yet. <Might be being abused by the Clowns...> He has moved to a spot he likes a lot, and none of his tentacles are shriveled up. Should I remove the clowns for a little while? <... maybe> And also, I'm not entirely sure, but I think that the tentacles that are closest to the light are turning into a golden brownish color. It is almost hardly noticeable, but is that a good sign? Could he be "recovering" so quickly without really taking any food? I try feeding him, but the clowns usually take the food out of his extremely sticky tentacles.. <Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Clown + Sebae... reading  10/16/07 Greetings and salutations once again from the Beer capitol of the world! (Milwaukee, WI) <I salute you> I have a 30g with two wild caught (supposedly) perculas, one neon goby, one skunk cleaner shrimp, and one striped brittle star black and purple striped). All water parameters are fine, with the exception of salinity. It is at 1.023-1.024. <Fixed easily enough... outside the system... through adjusted water changes over time> My lighting is my weakest point. I have a dual PC lighting fixture, 96w x 2. Will be upgrading within the next month to MH.  Any suggestions on manufacturer? <Posted> I have recently added a Sebae anemone, bleached, of course. <...?> It has been in the tank for almost two days now, and when I try to feed it, it will hang onto the food for awhile, but won't move the food towards its mouth. It is quite sticky, and has already VERY securely stuck itself onto a piece of LR. I put him there, because the top of the rock is only about 4 inches from the light, and he seems to like it.  Anyways, could he still be acclimating? How long will it take until he is used to the water? <... likely won't> Also, he might not be eating, but it seems like he sure is going poo quite a bit. Brown, stringy stuff is coming out of his mouth. I hope it is poo.. But so far he seems to be ok. The clowns have taken up residence in him, and the male smaller one) is shaking quite vigorously while he is entangled in the tentacles. And, to speed up the process, the clowns are taking the "poop" and moving it out of the area of the anemone. Normal? <At times> Thank you guys very much in advance. I have learned so much since I started coming to this site. It truly is unbelievable the relationships, and the importance of the critters we have in our aquariums. I have grown such a respect for the ocean, and Lake Michigan for that matter. Heck, I've been thinking about going back to school for marine biology! <No need for that right now. But do read: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

April First (Fools) Day picture re above at right image, modified by Zo Heya Doc... The cool pic of your anemone and the freshwater Betta did indeed sucker quite a few normally sane folks... a few freshwater fish can be slowly acclimated to saltwater conditions, and they assumed that "Dr. Freeman" (biologist?) had done exactly that.  I almost convinced a couple folks that in fact, the anemone had been acclimated to freshwater! (patently absurd) I put the composite together last night in preparation for today's "April 1, Special Edition" Daily Image. In another life (oh, 4 years ago or so) I was an art director for an advertising firm. The Photoshop work took about an hour. I had I.D.'d your anemone in my own photos as Heteractis crispa, though I'd never seen one so purple so I had my doubts (and it could well be a weird M. doreensis "Corkscrew", which is pretty common in that color) but I was later relieved to discover that Bob had also identified it as H. crispa, without he and I discussing it! Macrodactyla doreensis has fewer, curlier tentacles, and a more obvious, broader 'disc', flattish area around the mouth.  But the deep purple is very common in the corkscrew, and RARE in the H. crispa - so Brian may be right there too.  In any case, they are not the same animal! Attached are the source images for the composite. The anemone is my shot, the Betta splendens is from Bob's archives. Cheerio! -Zo

Sebae Anemone   1/30/06 I recently purchased a small sebae...it is bright green with blue tips.  I have a 30 gallon tank and I increased the lighting to 96 watts. <Not enough light for this species.> He stays open and looks pretty but I tried to place him near the top but he wouldn't use his foot <pedal disc> to hold on and the current eventually took him to the bottom of the tank. After 3 or 4 days he was still there at the bottom. He was not attached with his foot, but still looked open and nice.  I tried again to move him towards the top, this time I used some bubble algae to hold him there.  Any ideas on how to make his foot work? <Josh, you picked a difficult anemone to acclimate to aquarium life.  It requires strong lighting for starters and a variety of sandy and rocky locations where it can choose to anchor itself along with pristine water quality.  You cannot make/entice an anemone to anchor.  When they are in a location they like, they will then anchor.  I'd see if I could return this anemone and exchange for a bubble tip, something a little easier to keep.  James (Salty Dog)>

Lighting VHO vs. PC, anemone feeding, color, Clownfish eggs 12/13/05 Hello, I have a 4x65 watt CoralLife power compact fixture on my 75 gallon aquarium. I am keeping some SPS's, including a 6 month old Acropora frag that is brown and fuzzy with purple tips. It is toward the top and doing ok, but obviously due to the lack of light it is growing slowly. I am building a canopy soon and I have the opportunity to upgrade to 440 watts of VHO for pretty cheap. Is this worth it? I hear that they don't put out as much light as pc's, even though there will be a big difference in wattage. <The PC's are brighter watt for watt, have a lower operating cost than other tubes and a much better bulb selection.> Also what if I put my pc bulbs and the VHO bulbs all into my canopy... can this be done...why have I never heard of this? <Because it isn't cost efficient.  Next to MH, PC's is the way to go.> If I did end up going with the VHO's will I be able to keep any corals that I couldn't keep with the PCs? I have always liked the look of the light put off by VHO way better hopefully it will be a better choice for my corals too. <The best lighting for Acropora and most other SPS corals is MH or HQI but if a MH/HQI upgrade is not in your budget I would rather see you add another 4x65 fixture than the 440 watt VHO.> Lastly, I have a sebae anemone that I have had for about 8 months. The base is a very bright fluorescent green, and it has pink tentacles with purple tips. I was curious and looked at as many photos of them as I could find. I found a few that slightly resembled mine, but none that have had color even half as vibrant. Is this a rare find? also what foods can be used to get the best color possible? Right now I use silversides and squid alternating once a week and frozen prime reef cubes about 3 times a week. <The Prime Reef cubes is what I'd stay with and you don't need to feed the anemone three times a week.  Once or twice is plenty. It is also being hosted by a black ocellaris and an orange percula is it possible for them to produce fertile eggs? <I guess it could be possible but unlikely.> Thanks for any help that you could give me. <You're welcome and Happy Holidays to you. In future queries please do a spelling/grammar check.  It sure saves us plenty of time if we don't have to edit these.  James (Salty Dog)>

Shriveled Sebae  9/4/05 We just bought an Anenome yesterday. it is what and has purple tips. <Sebae Anemone, Heteractis crispa. This particular individual has expelled its symbiotic zooxanthellae due to stress resultant from poor water conditions, shipping, too much handling, general bad, health, etc. This is known as being "bleached." A healthy sebae is usually a deep brown/beige color. As a general rule, no zooxanthellate cnidarian should ever possess white polyps (in this case, the anemone itself can be considered a polyp).> I has already started to shrivel up. The pet store told us that it would do this when it expels old water and takes in new water. <Yes, this is a common occurrence with anemones. Sort of a "body column water change." If the shriveling is accompanied by a gaping mouth/expelled internals, however, it is a sign of severe stress.> It has almost been a day and it hasn't blossomed back yet. Is there something wrong with it? <Too soon to tell, really. Give it another 24 hours.> could it be dead already? <Possibly, but I doubt it.> and how long does the process of expelling water take? <usually, the water change can be completed in around ~12 hours, but this is by no means a concrete rule.> Please Help ASAP Please email me back <It's funny you sent me this email at this time. A family member of mine recently purchased a bleached sebae, and it, too, shriveled up beyond recognition, was vomiting entrails, etc. on day 2. I just 5 minutes ago received an email from him with pics of the now-healthy anemone. I advised him to use a syringe (sans needle, you know, the ones you get with test kits) or pipette to force feed the anemone a mixture of Cyclops-eeze, liquid garlic, and Selcon by placing the tip of the syringe/pipette between the anemone's "lips" and squirting gently and slowly. He did this twice daily, and the anemone bounced back and is now a deep shade of brown after only 2 months. The anemone stopped requiring the force feeding after 2 weeks of it, at which point it was rather sticky and could accept whole krill soaked in Selcon twice daily. At any point where all hope seems lost, it's not. Trust me. Never give up, and best of luck! Mike G>

Anemone ID  08/08/2005 Hi There! Hope you're doing fine! <Thanks. So far...> I got this anemone delivered at my place by a LFS. That LFS is far from home so I only talked with them on the phone and didn't see the anemone before it arrived here. It was supposed to be a bubble tip anemone but in my (beginner's) opinion it is not. I have done some research and it seems to me it is a "Heteractis Crispa" but I am not sure at all. <This is likely (other than Condylactis in places) the most common species of anemone sold in the aquarium trade> Didn't see any Heteractis crispa of this exact color on the web. As you see it is green with a frosty pattern on the tentacle and purple tips. Sometimes the tentacles have  There is a pinkish hue on the oral disk. It is about 6" wide. <Does appear to be a H. crispa, "Sebae" anemone to me as well... apparently a very nice, healthy specimen> It extends and open during day and goes back to sleep often closing when the light goes off. <Typical, normal diurnal behavior> There is a small ocellaris in the tank that doesn't want to make it his home but the porcelain crab did (picture 1) after just two days. The anemone is staying under a 250w 10k MH and the tank is 24" deep with a 4-5" DSB. I have it since a month now and there were a few white irregular marks on it that disappeared since then and I am under the impression it's a good sign. <Yes> Seems to do well. So my questions would be... -What species is it? -Is the "sleeping" behavior normal? -Is it a problem that the body column is so extended, to nearly 10"!? (bad picture 3) It is quite thin then. Seems like the anemone wants to stay attached were it is under the shadow of big LR arch and then reach out for the light. <It will move if it wants, no worries> She has other easy access options thought... -If I feed it a shrimp once a week is it better to remove the shrimp's shell? <I would feed it twice a week... a mix of meaty foods... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/sebaefdgfaqs.htm> -Can I freeze fresh mussel and unfreeze it to give to the anemone (and possibly to fishes)? <Yes> At the fish market they say mussel cannot be frozen and unfrozen for human consumption that's why I am asking... Thanks you so much for your always invaluable information and advices!!! <Thank you for writing, sharing. Bob Fenner>

Sebae Anemone 8/3/05 I have tried to find books on the topic of anemones but they are hard to find and I found your article on the web along with a few others but they don't answer all of my questions or really even cover the behaviors of an anemone. <Anemone behavior? You mean, eat, deflate, inflate, grow, wander?> I just bought an anemone on Saturday for the first time and I picked out a Sebae anemone, however I think I made two major mistakes.   <I'd say your first was picking out one of the harder species of anemones.> First, mistake the anemone wasn't attached to anything in the tank, but it was puffed up and looked healthy and beautiful, however I read afterwards that a creamy colored anemone may have started the bleaching process already.   <Indeed. To add to this, Sebaes are often sold bleached.> I can still see a brown pigmentation on the body but the tentacles and foot a more of a creamy color.   <Could very well be bleaching, though it does not sound like a serious "case"> Second mistake, I didn't make the dealer feed the anemone at the store. <I never even considered that to be a part of buying a healthy anemone. I always look for coloration, fullness, a closed-tightly mouth, a full foot, etc.> I acclimated my anemone for about 2 ? hours and placed him in my tank, and he just started to float around so, I didn't want him to get hurt floating around in my tank, so I think I may have held him too long...a couple of minutes.   <Does not sound too great.> Finally he attached in a cave in the rocks where he gets some light but not too much.  He stayed attached for a little over one day, however he didn't eat anything that I tried to feed him.   <Could have simply been acclimating. When you picked him up, did he feel sticky? That is a sign of good health. Conversely, lack of stickiness is a sign of very poor health.> I have tried to feed him silversides, chopped up, and Mysid shrimp.  He started to eat some of the shrimp the first day but then spit it back out.  About a day later he flipped up side down on his mouth <No good at all.> so my husband and I moved a powerhead so it was pointing in the anemone's direction to tip him back over, which worked.   <Unnecessary stress.> Now another day and half later he won't attach to anything <Very bad.> since the previously mentioned, and he leaves his mouth open a lot <Very, very bad.> and he still won't eat. <Quite bad indeed.> I don't think his stinger cells are working either.  One of my baby Chromis has come in contact with his tentacles and is still alive swimming around in the tank, but food does stick to his tentacles when I try to feed him.   <Then, yes, his nematocysts are still in operation.> I did see the anemone expelling some brown stuff the first day and some creamy colored stringy balls from inside his mouth are mixed within his tentacles.   <Normal.> His foot is not damaged and I haven't seen any rips or tears on his body or tentacle.  I have T5 lights, 4 Blue actinic and 2 white <Actinics have considerably less photosynthetically usable light than white bulbs. I would not go so far as to count them toward your wattage.> and get a little over 4 watts per gallon in a 75 gallon tank. I am at a loss due to good information on the Sebae anemone, Heteractis crispa.  Do you have any suggestions?   <Give it a place where it will get good lighting as well as be able to shade itself, decent flow, daily feedings... make sure it eats at least once a day, even if it means sacrificing 100 Mysis to feed one. When feeding, cut the circulation and stick the food nearest to the mouth as you can.> Is my anemone dying?   <It is unwell, but can recover.> When do I know when to give up and get him out of my tank before he becomes harmful to other specimens in my tank?   <When he dies.> I don't want to throw out a live anemone...I would feel really bad but I don't want to lose my other fish and coral that I have put time and money into. <Watch him closely. If he dies, remove him immediately. I recently brought a Ritteri anemone with extremely similar symptoms back to life: it is now a deep shade of brown-green. You can save it, even when death seems unavoidable. Best of luck, Mike G>

Anemone Conundrum, lack of knowledge Hi Gang, <Hello> First, let me describe my setup. I've got a 125G SPS tank with about 9 watts per gallon of 20K MH and actinic PCs. I am collecting the rarest frags I can get, making it somewhat of a collector's tank. <Okay> The reason for the email is that a lady has stolen my heart, and she is a beautiful bright yellow sebae anemone. <Mmm, she's a phony... a dyed animal> They call her the 'flaming sun' sebae. I have heard conflicting reports of anemones stinging SPS corals, and LPS for that matter. On the other hand, I've seen lots of successful reefs with a mixture of SPS, LPS, and an anemone or two. Thoughts on adding a sebae in particular, or is their a better choice? Thanks, Brandon Wilson <Please see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/coloredanemones.htm and the other archived materials on Heteractis crispa/Sebae anemones... And don't perpetuate the practice by endorsing it (buying such doomed animals). Bob Fenner>

HELP!! Yellow <Dyed> Sebae Anemone James, Okay, I understand the feeding issue.  But I was wondering if there IS a such thing as a yellow sebae? <I've heard of them> Like I said his foot is yellow too. <<No... this is a dyed specimen... RMF>>  I put him in a 3 gallon bowl with bubbler, live rock (which he attached to right away) and sand. <He will not be with you very long in a three gallon bowl.  They need much larger quarters and plenty of moving water and intense lighting to survive.> I put him in the sun in my daughters room and when we got home last night he looked a lot happier.  This morning her room was chilly and the water was 76, so we currently have him back in the sun on the patio with a thermometer to watch the temp.  I noticed a clear slime that is coming out of his pursed little mouth (not gaping like yesterday)  I have a gallon of fresh salt water to swap out when he is done "sliming".  What is that? <Please do a google search on the Wet Web, keyword "sebae anemones".  You should know what their requirements are.> Also, in an unrelated question, what else do spotted snake eels eat besides ghost shrimp?  He will eat out of my hand, but does not like Mysis or brine soaked in Zo?  <Read here.   http://search.hp.netscape.com/hp/boomframe.jsp?query=Spotted+Snake+eel&page=1&offset=1&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26requestId%3D3ea67cb9c10fc109%26clickedItemRank%3D9%26userQuery%3DSpotted%2BSnake%2Beel%26clickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.wetwebmedia.com%252Fophichthidae.htm%26invocationType%3D-%26fromPage%3DNSISPTop%26amp%3BampTest%3D1&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wetwebmedia.com%2Fophichthidae.htm > Also, I tripped across a blurb about not having anemones with coral??  <It's not a good idea but people do it.> I have a peppermint and 1 zoo, and 1 Ricordea mushroom (who will NOT attached to anything to save its life!  Dumb Mush!)<Not unusual> Thanks, <You're welcome.  James (Salty Dog)> Carrie :) PS;  Is indirect or direct sunlight better for the sebae?  And for how long? <10-12 hours direct>

Yellow <Dyed> Sebae Anemone Hi Bob,  <James, today> Boy am I mad at myself!!! But I don't have hours to search for answers! Now, for each of my new purchases, I do a crazy amount of reading to ensure my pet's survival. I knew I wanted an anemone and was told the bubble tip was my best first kind. Then many of the shops here in Vegas swear that the Sebae is just as hardy.  SOOOOOO.......After my gravity is 1.023 and parameters are good (78-80 degrees) alk approx 8 to 8.4 and ph 8.1, I purchase a Yellow Sebae (the foot was yellow as well) I put the little darling in my tank after acclimating it in the drip method and it attached right where I put it (I have 55 gallon sand/LR and 260w) I shot some Zoe (Kent) into it and it seemed to love it.  The next day, 2/3 of the tentacles are "shriveled up", so I am buggin' out here! Yesterday morning, oddly enough, it was more like only 1/3 shriveled up. Some of the purple tips came back, but still some tentacles are shriveled and his bottom part slightly curled up near those tentacles. I fed some brine soaked in Zoe (Kent) and it almost seemed to want it and after 30 seconds, let it go.  Then it balled up and opened again to have the body of it full of water but most of the tentacles thin. I am SURE if I wanted to, the LFS I go to would take it back, they are pretty cool and generally informative. In fact they had a fluorescent-ish green sebae I almost got instead (at least the green would be better from what I read) Anyhow, I want this little guy to be happy. I was told to try some "silver backs" frozen fish chunks. What do you think? Is the Bubbletip better? Also, do they dye these as well? What color is better for a bubble tip? I have read a ton of articles on your site about sebae, but my time is short this weekend and I need an answer before he/she dies! Thanks and have a great one!  <I think the biggest problem you encountered was feeding the anemone too soon. Let it get adjusted and tacked down good and bloom out before feeding. I would not feed it anymore, at least for a week. Anemones do produce a lot of their own food providing your lighting is sufficient. James (Salty Dog)><<Not dyed ones... RMF>>

Sebae anemones turned tannish/brown Hi I have a small 12 gallon tank with a small (was creamy white with purple dots on the end of each tentacle) sebae anemone.  <Bleached> I had two small clowns and a small blue tang. <This system is too small...> All my fish got ick, and were transferred to a hospital tank. The two clowns died after a week and half of treatment, but the tang lived. Finally the tang has been put back into the main tank. Well my problem is that when the fish got ick and were removed from the main tank the anemone turned from a creamy white with purple dots on the end of the tentacles to a tannish/light brown color. <A step in the right direction> When the anemone was first put into the tank, we placed it in a hole on one of our live rocks and it stayed and started spreading. Seemed happy, but since the fish were removed it's color changed. It still opens and shuts with the lights and retracts when the crabs touch it. Is it sick or is it ok. <Ok> I am planning on buying two more small clowns to replace the two that died. <I would not... the stress from being crowded... likely was largely at play in your last ich episode. Save up and get a larger system. For what you have, want, at least forty gallons minimum> I think that my first mistake was buying all three fish from three different places. But I want to make sure that the anemone is ok or if it needs treatment or what? Please help. <Please read re Heteractis crispa (Sebae Anemones) on WWM. Bob Fenner>

-Sebae troubles- Ok, I've poured over the site to find an answer to this question and found parts of the answer but I need to put my worrying mind to rest. <Will do my best, you have Justin with you today.> We got a Sebae anemone which was kind of white, more yellow (which I told my boyfriend to buy the more colored one and he got confused and got the whiter one)... <Editor's note: the more brightly colored the Sebae, the stronger the DYE job - DON'T buy these colored anemones, not their natural color! Please see here, http://www.wetwebmedia.com/coloredanemones.htm found via Google bar on site.> ... but he's got purple tips and is sort of a pale pale yellow, a baby- about 3-5 inches across when opened. We have a 100g, 2 metal halide, 2 fluorescent., 2 tank-raised clown, 5 Blue Chromis, 1 cleaner shrimp, 2 peppermint shrimp, Fiji live rock and indo-live rock and various other "dead" rock mostly.  The Sebae was doing great at first, liking the halides and the Zoo.... food we got him, opening with the lights, tips turning dark dark purple, and then going into conserve mode when the hall's are off, he insists on being on the bottom of the tank near the back in the substrate. <I see the problem already. You are feeding a predatory animal food that it does not eat. This animal should be eating meaty foods like silversides or defrosted cube foods containing shrimp and other inverts (marine predator foods) Otherwise the Sebae will eat whatever it can even your fish.> We initially set him on the live rock near the top and he bailed and went to the bottom. We haven't moved him since, but he moves between about 7 inches of the same place up next to a rock or back to the glass. <This is normal, let the Sebae move as it likes and do not force it anywhere.>  So the other morning one of the baby blue Chromis (real little about 15cm) disappeared. None of the water parameters have changed, he's nowhere to be found.. Did the Sebae eat him? <Bet my bottom dollar on it.> That was 2 days ago. and today the Sebae is all scrunched up like a button and took nearly an hour to open up with the halides on, we don't usually turn them on this early in the day but we were worried about him and he really enjoys the light.  <I would not alter the lighting cycle unless you absolutely have to. Use a flashlight or wait as the animals need a day night cycle.> BTW, do the halides need a dimmer? They warm up but when you turn them off, they just go off- no dimmer action. -is that necessary? <The dimmer? No. However, you might leave the room lights on after the halides go off to ease into darkness rather than a sudden drop.> Anyhoo, I'm worried about the Sebae, what else can we do? We currently don't dose anything in the tank except food. Will things like Calcium, or Kalkwasser help? We saving up to buy a dosing pump. We recently added some Phosphate sponge to help the overgrowth of brown algae. Thanks so much, you're the best! Most humbly, Kat <Kat, feed that predator meaty foods. If its big pieces, they need to be minced very finely. Or if its cubed food, use a powerhead and stick the cube to the strainer inlet, and as it thaws it will be blown out. Have this point near the anemone but not directly pointing at it. Also a turkey baster works well for feeding it. If it is a silverside simply use a feeding stick and set the silverside on the tentacles and let it go. The anemone will eat at its own pace. Feed them every 3 days or week or so. The yellowing that you see is the anemones photosynthetic algae spreading some and that is a good thing. Between the algae and the meaty foods, it should be fine.> <Justin (Jager)> 

My new sebae (anemone) I know that there are many lighting questions already posted but I cannot be sure that I am going to do the right thing and I want to take good care of my animals.  Tank details: 55 gallon, 80 pounds live sand, 80 lbs live rock, sand-sifting goby, sand sifting star, peppermint shrimp, coral-banded shrimp, 2 urchins, 8 hermit crabs, 12 snails, 2 domino damsels. The urchins, hermits, snails, and damsels are left over from the set-up stage and may be moved to other tanks soon. There are 2 Maxi-jet 600s and a Rio 600 (on timers), and a Remora C skimmer, run by a Rio 1200; plan to start sump this summer. Lighting is 1-96 watt True Actinic 03 and 1-96 watt 10,000KT Daylight Compact Fluorescent. My question regards lighting but feel free too comment on any other obvious issues. I gather from the FAQs that I need to have at least 220 watts. I am pretty sure the Sebae is going to settle near the bottom of the tank so I am thinking of adding an additional 96 watt power compact. Can you give me any advice about the lighting I should get? <Posted on WWM> I am limited at this point to something that will fit under my hood, although I may be able to switch to MH in about 6 months. <Then I would wait on the additional light and go with this in half a year> The question is, I saw that you suggested this Britelight to someone but I am thinking of adding a 50/50 bulb (half 10K and half actinic). Because of my set-up, my intention is to use Current USA Orbit Compact Fluorescent so I have other bulb choices - 460nm Actinic, 420nm Actinic, 10,000K, 6,700K, etc. So, what will be the best for me to love on my Sebae?  <No need for actinic... go with the higher/est Kelvin "white" lamp> Oh yeah, he is about 2 or 3 inches in diameter and yellow, with purple tips. <... Heteractis crispa are not yellow... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/heteraccrispa.htm  and here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/coloredanemones.htm  Bob Fenner> 

Sebae Anemone won't eat 1/30/05 Morning, I've read here that when fed finely diced ocean meats anemone will sting and gather it into his mouth. My sebae won't. It will wrap around it but let's it go. <no worries... just experiment with different sized meats (finer or more coarse) and different varieties. Also try some Cyclop-eeze. Cnidarians like your anemone are often very picky about exact prey and particle sizes and textures/types> We also made the ignorant mistake of getting a yellow one (I know now). <this is common my friend. I understand> It has regained some brown. <ooh, very good to read!> This morning it was upside down after staying in one place for a week. It is the only anemone in the tank with some polyps and a coral beauty.70 lbs live rock and sand with lots of copepods. <the latter will help this anemones indeed> Nitrates are coming down as I slowly remove bio balls, other parameters are OK. <all good... and no worries about a small amount of nitrates - this will feed the anemone a little bit> It now is about 12 inches from the light which is 335 watts PC.  Is there anyway to help add beneficial zooxanthellae algae? <persistence here mostly. And feeding at the same time every day is quite helpful for getting the creature into a feeding rhythm> Any other care tips? <adding a bit (a teaspoon) of thawed frozen pack juice (or tuna juice) to the water 15-30 minutes before feeding meats may help stimulate a better feeding response> Thank you , this is a great help esp. to us rookies. <it is our purpose for being here my friend. Kudos to you for your efforts to save this anemone. Best of luck! Anthony>

Sebae anemone - Thu, 20 Jan 2005  We have a 75 gallon marine aquarium. It contains eight different fish. all still in their juvenile state. Two feather dusters and a small Sebae anemone. After researching a little bit on the Internet I found that many people say that if the anemone is white it is unhealthy. When we first bought the anemone it was about 4" in diameter and solid white with purple tips.. now it has dwindled down to about an inch in diameter and has turned a yellowish off white color. All of it's tentacles have shriveled up very small. Everything that lives in the tank has done extraordinarily well except this anemone. This is actually our third attempt at having an anemone. Everywhere we go someone tells us something different as far as the care for this animal.... can you please help us? <Yes, I can help you. Here is a link to a site that should interest you and answer your questions. James (Salty Dog)> http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemones.htm 

Appropriate lighting for H. crispa 12/31/04 Hi, I think that the Heteractis crispa hosts the percula clown, I was just wondering what sort of lightening does this anemone need and is it a reasonable easy anemone to keep????  Thanks <If you have not done so already, please do see the info that Bob linked in his previous reply.  I currently keep A. ocellaris with an E. quadricolor (rose) anemone, and although the association is not natural, they will accept each other in captivity and A. percula is know to as well.  Occasionally, clowns that have been kept for a long time without an anemone are slow to accept an unnatural host or may not do so at all, but this is rare (Mine took about a month).  As for H. crispa, the are a natural host for A. percula, but not A. ocellaris.  They are often sold as the "Sebae anemone" and are often bleached white with pink tips.  Occasionally, they are also dyed bright yellow or pink.  Bleached or dyes specimens are almost always doomed to die.  If you find a healthy specimen (should be tan/brown with an occasional pinkish tone), they may be a good second choice to E. quadricolor for hardiness, although they are at least as demanding of light.  175w MH would be a minimum, with 250w recommended.  Best Regards.  AdamC.

Sebae Anemone 'spurting' Bob and Crew: <Ed> Let me first thank you for the invaluable advice and direction that you have provided me over the past couple of years.  I've found your website to be extremely useful in providing the information needed by the modern aquarist.  Due to the excellent organization of your site, I haven't had the opportunity (or need) to contact you directly.  However, tonight something happened in my tank that has me baffled.  I've not seen anything posted regarding what I saw tonight. I'll begin with a sincere 'thank you' regarding the advice provided by prior posts regarding our Sebae anemone.  My wife and I purchased it about 18 months ago.  It was small (about 3 to 4 inches across) and beautifully white.  I soon learned that it shouldn't be white.  With your advice, I slowly nurtured it back to excellent health by gingerly feeding it every two days and adding Combisan to the tank weekly.  The Sebae now measures about 14" across when fully spread out and is a dark, rich brown. <Outstanding> Yesterday, my wife called me at work and said that the aquarium was really cloudy.  I was baffled and nervous because I've never seen it cloudy except when I used AZNO3 about 9 months ago to eliminate my nitrates (which worked ).  When I got home from work, I was greeted with 'pea soup'.  I couldn't even see the back of the tank.  I figured it was some sort of bacterial bloom and added some carbon.  All the while, hoping for the best. Tonight, the tank was looking fairly clear, but still a bit hazy.  Just before the lights go off (at midnight), I looked at the tank and noticed that the Sebae anemone was a bit more 'scrunched up' than normal.  As I watched, it suddenly began to discharge small round 'balls'...  somewhat like eggs.  The spurting continued for several minutes, until there were perhaps thousands of small, greenish "balls" suspended in the water column.  I'm attaching a photograph of the sebae's mouth during part of evolution.  (I can send a much higher resolution picture if it would be helpful)  I'm completely baffled now...  Sebaes reproduce by splitting, not 'eggs' right??  The tank immediately clouded up again. <Mmm, actually can/do reproduce in a few ways... including sexually, but these are not eggs> Is the clouding, or the "spurting" anything to worry about?  My wife and I love this tank, and we would like to avoid a crash if at all possible. <They do worry me... am wondering... where they came from... likely something that was eaten. Do you, did you have Caulerpa in this system? Is this a Caulerpacean reproductive event?> Ooops...  almost forgot:  My tank parameters are as follows: Salinity:  35 ppt (refractometer...  about 1.025-6 SG) Temp:  79 Deg. F. pH:  8.2 Ammonia:  0 Nitrite:  0 Nitrate: 0 Phosphate:  0 (or so...  if you believe the test) Alk:  10-11 dKH I also measure Silicate, Iodide/Iodine and are ok Equipment:   75 g AllGlass Rena Filstar Canister, 350 GPM AquaC Remora Pro with Magdrive and skimmer box Two other powerheads, 175 gph each 15 W UV (TMC Vecton) - which was running during the cloudiness Stocking:  (fairly light) Sebae Anemone - 14" Yellow Tang - about 5-6" Cinnamon Clown - 4-5" Yellow tailed Blue Damsel - 2.5"  (for sale...  cheap ) 9 Astrea snails 10 Blue Legged, small hermit crabs About 15 Lb. of Live rock Thanks in advance for your help, and please let it be known that your work is truly appreciated! Regards, Ed <Something is missing here Ed... what sort of object could have caused the cloudiness? What algae do you have? Bob Fenner>
Re: Sebae Anemone 'spurting'
Bob, <Ed> Thank you for your prompt response.  I don't have any macroalgae in the system whatsoever.  I have a bit of film and hair algae, but it's fairly light.  I also have some really dark brown algae that grows on the substrate that persistently exists, but it is a relatively small amount.  It is somewhat filamentous and is difficult to siphon out because it merely 'clumps' when it enters the siphon.  Other than that, there's no algae other than coralline. <Strange. Am at a loss to explain the green color, the balls...> I currently feed the Sebae a homemade seafood mix about once a week.  I keep it frozen and whittle off a bit into a bit of tank water, then feed with a turkey baster.  It doesn't seem that I'm missing any livestock, and the Sebae doesn't eat anything that would seem to produce the small balls that I've described.  I feed the fish a varying combination of flake food and the homemade seafood mix on occasion.  Once in awhile, I enrich the food with either Selcon or VitaChem. <Oh, does the homemade food have a vegetable/algal component?> Two days have passed since the event, and the tank is now fairly clear.  It's not as clear as it was before the event, but close.  I cleaned the filters last night and they were almost entirely plugged with a slimy substance that was difficult to wash off.  I had just cleaned the filters about 1.5 weeks before the event, so the plugging was very unusual.  The skimmer has been acting strange, too.  It's been removing about 1/2 of it's normal amount, and what it removes right now is a nearly opaque, milky tan liquid instead of the medium tea to coffee colored liquid it normally removes. The livestock, including the anemone seem unfazed by the event, which it probably a really good sign. <Yes> Another thought:  Could the clownfish have laid eggs directly into the anemone?  The clownfish is A. Melanopus and has been hosting in the anemone since shortly after introduction of the anemone.  I know it's a long shot, but I'm running out of ideas. <Mmm, no... very often (in the wild) Clownfishes will lay their eggs on to the hard substrate under (by pecking at it) the foot of their host anemone... but not on.> Thanks once again for your help! Ed <Lastly (the paranoid question)... is it possible someone placed/dumped something in your tank? Other than this, some sort of reproductive event (by ?) is about all the general possibilities that come to mind for the cloudiness, slime. Bob Fenner>
Re: Sebae Anemone 'spurting'
Thanks once again, Bob. <Welcome Ed> I don't currently use any algae/vegetable component in my seafood mix, so I guess that's likely ruled out.  Our clownfish has always dug holes around the anemone, all the way to the bottom glass; however I've never seen it attempt to nip at the anemone's foot in any way (or lay eggs for that matter).  I guess the possibility of the clownfish laying eggs is ruled out as well.  Also, no one has had the opportunity to dump anything into the tank, so I guess that's also ruled out. <Yes> I guess it shall remain a mystery.  The mysterious behaviors of marine life are exactly what attracted us to the hobby in the first place!  Imagine my surprise when late the other night I watched the anemone spurting out a constant stream of the small, greenish balls!  At least I captured several images of the event with my camera, otherwise I don't think anyone would believe me. <... yes, strange> The tank is now crystal clear once again, so I think that everything is getting back to normal. I'll continue learning and growing in this fun and interesting hobby, and I truly appreciate the service that you and your crew provide. Regards,
Ed
<Thank you, Bob Fenner>

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