How do I ID H.Malu or H. Crisp vs Seba
- Thread starter ezhoops
- Start date
phender
Active member
Sebae is just the common name for both H. malu and H crispa.
Here is my best attempt at answering your question.
H. malu - often (but not always) have faint rings around their tentacles. The column tends to tannish rather than white and may have a little yellow mixed in.
H. crispa - supposed to have tentacles over 1.5 long, but captivity makes the tentacles shorter and makes that worthless for ID purposes.
Doesn't have rings around the tentacles ever. Column and underside tend to be white and tough looking rather than tan and delicate.
Hope that helps. It is not always easy to make the distinction, especially with small individuals.
Here is my best attempt at answering your question.
H. malu - often (but not always) have faint rings around their tentacles. The column tends to tannish rather than white and may have a little yellow mixed in.
H. crispa - supposed to have tentacles over 1.5 long, but captivity makes the tentacles shorter and makes that worthless for ID purposes.
Doesn't have rings around the tentacles ever. Column and underside tend to be white and tough looking rather than tan and delicate.
Hope that helps. It is not always easy to make the distinction, especially with small individuals.
Maybe people who have these types of nems could post pictures of the things you're pointing out to help the poster visualize it better. I'm pretty confident that I have a crispa, but I'd love to see a malu for comparison.
My pessimistic side thinks it would be a long shot to find a crisp at a LFS in any color but bright white
but maybe that's just the case here in the midwest...
My pessimistic side thinks it would be a long shot to find a crisp at a LFS in any color but bright white
but maybe that's just the case here in the midwest...
ezhoops
New member
Phender, OK so I went to the LFS cause they had a purple sebae and wanted to actually see if it was a sebae and I'm 99% sure it was, here is why I think so.
Sebae's typically have short tentacles and have that small dot on the tips of the tentacles. Am I right on this ID? I wasn't able to view either base of these sebae's
Where on the tentacle might the ring be for the Malu (if they have em)?
Pictures would be very helpful, I know Jordan (Ron Popelli) has a H. Malu that is exactly what I'm looking for.
Sebae's typically have short tentacles and have that small dot on the tips of the tentacles. Am I right on this ID? I wasn't able to view either base of these sebae's
Where on the tentacle might the ring be for the Malu (if they have em)?
Pictures would be very helpful, I know Jordan (Ron Popelli) has a H. Malu that is exactly what I'm looking for.
I think in this tank he has 2-400W Radiums with 4-T-5 supplements. You know now that I think about it the anemone in the pics might be his Crispa and the Malu is the one hiding behind the rocks in his 140gal cube. I'll have to ask him when he calls tomorrow. Bow season opens this weekend so he will be out chasing Elk & bear in the mountains. Then next weekend he starts his Daniel Boone impression with his Black Powder muzzle loader type rifle. Personally, I can think of better ways to vent that testosterone.
phender
Active member
And here is the problem. In many areas of the world/country the word Malu is the common name for both species instead of sebae. In fact in recent history both have carried the species name malu but had different genus names. Daphne Fautin wants them seperate. Since she has the most popular book, and most other publications simply borrow her classifications, lets go with her definitions.
H. malu - Often has purple tips on tentacles. Column delicate often pale cream or yellow color, may have splotches of yellow or orange. Tentacles rarely up to 40mm (1.5") long. Maximum diameter of oral disk is 200 mm (~8")
H. crispa - Often has purple tips on tentacles. Column grey with leathery texture, rarely mottled with yellow. Tentacles up to 100mm (4") in length. Oral disk commonly 200 mm but may exceed 500 mm (19")
(Back to my words now) However, we all know that captive indivduals of both species often exibit shortened tentacles due to stress and starvation.
So..... according to Fautin's definition (who as far as I can tell is the only scientist that has one) any "sebae type" anemone that, when healthy, has tentacles that are over 1.5" long and/or is much bigger than 8" across, must be H. crispa. This would make SueShe's husband's anemone and Jordan's (Ron Popeil) anemone H. crispa. (If my assumption as to their size is correct based on the pics I have seen of their two anemones.)
Because of the way anemones react to captivity, the only way I can tell small specimens of the two species apart is if they happen to have bands on the short pudgy tentacles, then I can be reasonably sure that it is H. malu instead of H. crispa.
In my opinion, based on Fautin's definition, most of the "sebae" we see at the LFS are H. crispa that have reabsorbed most of their tentacles.
Amphiprion
Premium Member
I agree with phender. One of the best indicators (only really reliable in healthy H. crispa anemones) is the tough column. It lives up to its name in that it is very leathery. Also, as phender said, tentacle length in many specimens that you will see means nothing. Working at an LFS, I can tell you that it is quite unreliable, in that 99% of the H. crispa anemones that come in would fit the description of H. malu.
/agree
ezhoops
New member
OK so I guess I really need to be able to see the base in order to make an educated guess. if its leathery I'm going to say its a crispa if not I'll say its a malu or sebae.
thanks for the info, more pics would be great.
BTW I have 250 W HQI MH and 110 W of Actinic PC in a 24" deep tank, is that going to be enough light. Flow is not an issue I have tons of controllable flow.
thanks for the info, more pics would be great.
BTW I have 250 W HQI MH and 110 W of Actinic PC in a 24" deep tank, is that going to be enough light. Flow is not an issue I have tons of controllable flow.
Those are beautiful pics of a gorgeous anemone! My crispa's just beige, with purple tips. Nothing spectacular like this. I'm happy just the same though, it was nearly dead when we got it and it's doing beautifully now. Never thought I would think this beige color was so pretty 
I found this website last night and the page I'm linking has a couple pics. One of them (the third one down) is labeled as malu. I think the striping that has been mentioned is visible on the tentacles near the base of the tentacles. Is this a pretty accurate picture that one could use for comparison?
http://www.netpets.com/fish/reference/reefref/heter4.html
I found this website last night and the page I'm linking has a couple pics. One of them (the third one down) is labeled as malu. I think the striping that has been mentioned is visible on the tentacles near the base of the tentacles. Is this a pretty accurate picture that one could use for comparison?
http://www.netpets.com/fish/reference/reefref/heter4.html
phender
Active member
OK, I'm going to have to hurt you.
If you are going to use the terms crispa and malu, you can't use the word sebae. Sebae is a general common name for both H. crispa and H. malu. It is not a third type of anemone. Both crispa and malu fall under the general common name of sebae.
What you said, "I'm going to say its a crispa if not I'll say its a malu or sebae." Is like saying, I'm going to say its an ocellaris if not I'll say its a percula or a clownfish.
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