H. crispa splitting???

john f

Active member
Been noticing what looks to be fision of my longtime resident H.crispa.
From what I understand these do not split to reproduce.
Nonetheless.....what do you guys think???


920smallDSCN0285.JPG
 
Is there any way you can get a shot of the underside of the oral disc? Initial looks and experience tell me that you actually have Macrodactyla doreensis. Splitting isn't common in either species, but it is not unheard of, especially with M. doreensis. Budding or sexual spawning are the only methods of reproduction I am familiar with in H. crispa.
 
Yeah, looks like a macrodactyla doreensis to me as well. While not all that common they do split if fed regularly (3-5 times a week), proper light and good water parameters. In fact, I just acquired a clone.
 
It's H. Crispa...

Trust me on this one.

I got it 8 or 9 years ago as a bleached white "sebae" with purple tips.


John
 
Can't get you a good picture of the underside.
I will try later.
Under the oral disk is basically grayish with white bumps..

John
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7590827#post7590827 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by john f
It's H. Crispa...
Trust me on this one.
I got it 8 or 9 years ago as a bleached white "sebae" with purple tips.

John

I would like to trust you John, but it looks like M. doorensis to me as well. :)
Congrats on the split.:beer:
 
So you guys have seen Doreensis that are white with purple tips???

This anemone has been in my personal care for over 8 years, and I have seen it change morphology somewhat over the years.

I have also owned a long tentacle anemone which looked very different to this one.

How exactly would a positive ID be made??

Again, I have NEVER seen a bleached white long tentacle with purple tips and short tentacles............which is how I received this one......

I also am not sure it IS splitting. It has been looking like it may for a few weeks now, but today it really does.
I think it may take a few more weeks until I know??

Thanks,

John
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7592652#post7592652 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by john f
So you guys have seen Doreensis that are white with purple tips???

This anemone has been in my personal care for over 8 years, and I have seen it change morphology somewhat over the years........

How exactly would a positive ID be made??.....

I think it may take a few more weeks until I know??

Thanks,

John

I have seen M. doreensis in almost every color imaginable, including purple tips. I saw several that were sky blue yesterday.

Congrats on keeping it for 8 years. At this point it doesn't really matter what species it is because you have been successful. The concentration of tentacles on the edge and lack of tentacles in the middle is a doreensis trait, as are the lines radiating from the anemone's mouth. The clincher would be if it had a red foot, but you probably haven't seen the anemone's foot for 8 years and I don't suggest digging it up just for an ID at this point. :D
If it was bleached when you bought it, the red foot might not have been obvious.

Splitting in some anemones may take months, but you should have a good idea in a week or so. I've had some anemones pinch their oral disk like that for a couple days and then go back to normal.
 
Never had a red foot.

You may still be correct on the ID,
But the foot is the same color as the anemone body.....gray/green.

Funny thing is I agree the morphology is not the usual H. crispa look, but I'm not so sure that means it is not H. crispa.
Also, the lines you speak of are present, but were not always there, and look very different in person to the lines on a long tentacle.

The only thing that makes me think it could be Doreensis is the relative lack of tentacles on the oral disk.
When it was small it sure had them.

I actually was given this anemone by a friend you was worried it was doing poorly in his tank.
He told be it was a sebae, and it sure looked like all of the other bleached "sebea" I have seen over the years.

Now I am actually more interested in making a positive ID than the split, assuming it is a split.

I wonder what would be definitive?? The white bumps on the column being adhesive???


John
 
Another thing is that the inner tentacles in H. crispa are much shorter than the outer ones--yours looks to be the opposite, another identifying trait. This isn't always reliable, though. You are right about the bumps (called verrucae) being adhesive. But to an extent, M. doreensis is as well. However, H. crispa's verrucae are STRONGLY adhesive and there are more of them than M. doreensis.

Here is a pic of the underside of mine for reference:

98995Aquarium_048_copy.jpg


For a few years, I did not even know mine was H. crispa. As she grew bigger and manifested more of the identifying characteristics, I was finally able to positively ID her.
 
Back
Top