Feeding rock flower anemone - neat behaviour

[ACBlinky]

I bought a pretty little rock flower nem a couple months ago, and have become quite attached to this amazing creature. She's a dull khaki green overall, with several cream tentacles and spots of red/pink on her disc, and she's got fluorescent pink raised spots (verrucae?) on her underside. 'Flora' was about 3" across at purchase, now she's about 4" across. I don't target feed, but she catches pieces of homemade blender mush when I feed the fish and it seems to make her very happy! Today I watched her feed on a large chunk of food and it was absolutely fascinating. I can't believe how fast the feeding response is -- literally seconds after the food landed on the tip of a tentacle her mouth started to grow/open, and her tentacles closed in towards her mouth like a hand curling into a fist. Within 30 seconds she had taken the food into her mouth, re-extended her tentacles, and was trying to catch more bits of food. In all she caught and swallowed three separate chunks of food, it was just astonishing to watch her! Are other anemones this much fun to feed?

 

[elegance coral]

They all eat in pretty much the same way, but most aren't as aggressive with it. The scientific name is Epicystis crucifer. You know it's a bad critter when the scientific community gives it a name like CRUCIFER (the cross bearer). Do you have any pic's?

 

[ACBlinky]

LOL er... yah, that's a bit of a harsh name for such a pretty animal! She's certainly a pig - after her huge meal yesterday I expected her to rest today, but she caught another big piece of shrimp and ate it with the same gusto. Quite an appetite!

Here are two pics of Flora for you Sorry they're dark; the lights are off and I had to use the flash. You can see the dots on her underside, they're the most amazing fluorescent pink.

 

[littleshark]

Wow, really nice anemone.

 

[ACBlinky]

Thanks! She's much prettier under halides. These nems come in some neat colours; I chose this one because she seemed very healthy, and she was more interestingly coloured than some of her brownish tankmates. I understand they also come in metallic greens, peaches and other colours, and they tolerate other rock flower nems well. These guys are lots of fun, so if I ever see a really wild colour come in at the LFS I think Flora will be getting a roommate

 

[hondadude87]

I just picked up two ultra rock flower anemones yesterday. Both are about 1 1/2 inches right now (pretty small), but one has a deep purple-ish center with a light lavender skirt, and the other is a bright red-ish pink center with a purple skirt. I havent noticed them eating like you described yet, but will be feeding again in about an hour and will be watching them closely. It sounds like a fun event.

 

[Postal]

Nothing quite like reviving an 8 year old thread