Anemone ID #2

[bradleym]

I recently asked for an ID here on an anemone that I had gotten from a friend. Well it wasn't very healthy and had moved around a bit so the ID was kinda tough, and there were some different opinions about what it was. It's now been in the same spot for 10 days and is eating well and opening fully, and it looks like it's bigger and it's tentacles are getting longer again.

After talking with another reefer they suggested I try again, because it seems to have characteristics of more than one kind of anemone. So if you've seen this guy before I'm sorry but I was curious if anyone could tell me what kind of anemone this is? Thanks again, everyone.

 

[2Addicted]

Heteractis magnifica (Ritteri)

 

[garygb]

In that picture, it looks like H. magnifica to me too.

 

[bradleym]

Ok, thanks. That's what most people said last time around too. But here's the twist. As I understand it, H. Magnificas like to sit on a flat rock because they have that big wide column and foot. So I was watching for him to climb up on a rock any day now. Then I looked around back and saw this:

This is the back side of the same anemone, but it looks like he is seriously trying to bury his foot. Anyone ever heard of a Ritteri digging into a sand bed before?

 

[garygb]

My mags haven't ever dug into the sand at all like that. Curious to hear if any other mag owners have had a mag dig in.

 

[anemoneguy]

i have a bta that looks just like that

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

I have never heard of a ritteri doing that,btw
nice looking anemone

 

[bradleym]

Snakemanvet - Thanks! I'm really trying and it's going well I just don't know what to call it lol

Garygb & snakemanvet - thanks for the feedback. Does this mean it's something else? Or did I just get a loopy one? Its been through a lot so maybe it lost its mind? Haha

Anemoneguy - I never woulda guessed bta. Its got bumps under the edge of the mantle, I didn't think btas had those. And I've never heard of those digging into the sand either. Plus the white tips... But I have no idea to be honest I guess it could be.

 

[garygb]

If you have a pic that shows the column, could you post it? Bumps on the column and digging into the sand rule out BTA and point to sebae, though the tentacles look like a mag.

 

[elegance coral]

That's not magnifica. If I had to guess based on the pic's, I'd say M. doreensis. That's a wild guess without seeing the upper column though.

This is a M. doreensis I had back in the day. Wasn't at its healthiest in the pic though.

 

[bradleym]

Garygb & elegance coral - I have a hard time getting to this little bugger, as he's anti social.

He's on the bottom left, and I'm left handed, so holding the edge gently up and snapping photos is really a challenge.

I got this though, if it helps:

Elegance coral - That's crazy! Do you have a later, healthy picture for a "before and after" that you could post? I've never seen a LTA look like that before.

 

[NCSUsalt]

looks like a sebae to me

 

[garygb]

Just looked in Fautin and Allen book, according to them, M. doreensis has "non-adhesive, prominent white round to ovoid verrucae in longitudinal rows." For H. crispa, they say "verrucae adhere to sediment particles if the animal lives in sediment." It appears that the verrucae are adhesive in the pic, as I see attachment to rubble, therefore, I would say H. crispa based on the description in the book.

 

[elegance coral]

That's M. doreensis. Crispa has a large column with thick leathery tissue. Daphne Fautin is my hero, but it's not uncommon for pebbles to stick to doreensis verrucae.

Here's a pic of the same LTA I posted earlier. This was taken before the power outage that almost killed it. You can see the verrucae on the left.

 

[garygb]

Certainly a good mystery id. In the first pics, the blunt tentacles with the light tips definitely looks like a mag, but the digging in blows that id. Then it comes down to H. crispa or M. doreensis. The lower number count for tentacles aren't what you would expect from crispa, but the verrucae look like crispa. Usually M. doreensis also has a reddish color to the base, but not always. I don't see that, but Elegance I'll trust your word on it. In time, I expect the anemone will begin to look more characteristic of the species.

 

[bradleym]

Elegance coral & garygb - Yea the blunt tips is what really gets me. Neither of those types have that normally. But that bleached LTA sure has them, so there are no guarantees on that either for now. I guess I'll just need to wait a couple months and see what it turns into.

To make it worse, when I first got him he was on a rock at the top. When I tried to get him to move by rolling the rock over, he crawled back to the top. When I peeled him off I set him where he is now and now he seems happier in the sand and hasn't moved for almost 2 weeks. WTH? Yea, I'll probably re-up this thread in december to put it to bed, if anything is definitive by then.

 

[garygb]

Looking forward to seeing pics after a few weeks. Always a good sign when they're staying put, regardless of species.

 

[garygb]

BTW Brad, is there a reddish color to the base of the column down close to the "foot?"

 

[bradleym]

Update

Update

Sorry Garygb, I never got an email about your question. To answer you (finally) there is no red on the column or foot, it's all tan.

Here is the final verdict pic:

It has gotten huge!!! And it now is developing a reddish purple color. Based on the shape and tentacles I'm pretty sold on H. Crispa at this point. Anyway, I just took some update pics and figured I should put this one to bed. Thanks all for the suggestions and advice.

 

[ocellaris123]

Doesn't appear doreensis to me, at first thought I was also thinking magnifica, but as the others said, the fact that it lives in the sand probably says its another species.