My new flower anemone from PetCo. Surprise, surprise!

[sonofgaladriel]

This little guy was sold as a 'flower anemone' for $9.00! I could barely contain myself while they were bagging it up.
Its a beautiful tiny 3", slightly bleached, green gigantea. Grasped onto my rock instantly, nice tight little mouth, very sticky and already eating pea size chunks of mussel! I know I won't keep it long (doesn't fit in with my sebae city reef), but it was too good to pass up. I got a nice little h. malu for $9 also. It was also mislabeled a 'flower anemone'.
My iPhone washes out the color quite a bit. Its actually a nice light green, not the yellow as in these pics.

 

[deanearp]

That is awesome, good find!!

 

[sedgro]

Looks more like a bleached Stichodactyla helianthus (aka Carribean Carpet Anemone) to me.
http://reefguide.org/pix/sunanemone3.jpg


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[sonofgaladriel]

Looks more like a bleached Stichodactyla helianthus (aka Carribean Carpet Anemone) to me.
http://reefguide.org/pix/sunanemone3.jpg


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Hmm....You may be right. Thank you. I guess I'll know for sure in time if it grows or not.

 

[bradleym]

If it is a S. Helianthus, which I agree it looks to be, don't keep it too long. They are a non-hosting species that isn't afraid to eat clowns.

 

[sonofgaladriel]

If it is a S. Helianthus, which I agree it looks to be, don't keep it too long. They are a non-hosting species that isn't afraid to eat clowns.

Thanks for the information. Curious, my baby clowns have already gone to it and begun hosting? They move back and forth from my sebae to this little guy. I'm hoping this is a sign that it is indeed a small gigantea.

 

[bugs713]

I was in a Petco yesterday and they had some kind of BTA rotting and dying on the glass with a poor little clown trying to host it.... also had at least 4 dead SW fish displayed in their tanks with the rest of their doomed live stock.
Livestock is not bought there, rather it is rescued! My fault, should never of go there - its the same every time!!
PETCO makes me sick!!!!!
Best of luck with your rescue!

 

[phender]

I agree with the S. Helianthu diagnosis. The brownish/orange spots on the column are a dead give a way.

 

[Creetin]

Nice find. All the local petco's near me don't carry anymore livestock for SW.

 

[bradleym]

Thanks for the information. Curious, my baby clowns have already gone to it and begun hosting? They move back and forth from my sebae to this little guy. I'm hoping this is a sign that it is indeed a small gigantea.

Unfortunately, no. It is the anemone that hosts, not the clowns, and what I mean is that the anemone is a bad host, and will usually end up eating the clowns that go into it. Even after hosting them for a long time it can happen.

 

[sonofgaladriel]

Well then, I guess the laugh is actually on me and no Petco
I'll start looking for a new home for it straight away. Don't want it eating my baby clowns.

 

[BonsaiNut]

Well then, I guess the laugh is actually on me and no Petco
I'll start looking for a new home for it straight away. Don't want it eating my baby clowns.

They reproduce asexually and form colonies in shallow water. I've actually encountered them as far north as sand shoals (over hard base) in Florida. You rarely find them alone; most often in large groups (probably due to asexual reproduction).

 

[traveller7]

I always liked Helianthus for Carib invert/large fish set ups. Relatively hardy in anemone terms, quite sticky, but some unwary fish, snails, etc., become lunch.

 

[BonsaiNut]

I always liked Helianthus for Carib invert/large fish set ups. Relatively hardy in anemone terms, quite sticky, but some unwary fish, snails, etc., become lunch.

In Florida they often have little commensal shrimp that come right up with them when you collect them. But yeah they are STICKY and almost impossible to get off rock once they grab on.

 

[kduen]

I can attest to the almost impossible to remove. Live aquaria accidently sent me a S. Helianthus and when I went to remove it from the display after a day it took me just about an hour to convince the nem to let me get my fingernail under it. Once I got my finger under it it was another 20-30 minutes before I got it detached from the rock.

 

[elegance coral]

I keep haddoni and elegance corals, which have a bad reputation for having strong stings, and killing things. They are nothing compared to helianthus. Not even in the same league. IMHO, helianthus should be left in the ocean. The vast majority of people that buy them have no idea how destructive this beast is. Until it starts killing animals in the tank.

 

[elegance coral]

Well then, I guess the laugh is actually on me and no Petco
I'll start looking for a new home for it straight away. Don't want it eating my baby clowns.

If you find a new home for it, please make sure they know what they're getting. I would not suggest taking this thing to a LFS. It would most likely just end up in another unsuspecting hobbyists tank. I normally don't support killing aquarium critters, but I believe its better to euthanize this species, than to have it passed around from tank to tank as it kills other animals.

 

[traveller7]

Take it to a LFS with a clue. They are fine in the right environment, just like S. haddoni, pesudocorynactis, Hell's Fire, etc.

 

[Seagars]

time to start shopping at Petco regularly.