What is this nem? Aiptasia, hybrid, or H. Aurora???

bradleym

Premium Member
So I got this nem for free at my LFS. They said it was a pest anemone, and I said I'll take a chance on it. It's about 1.5 inches across at it's absolute widest so far.

In the store:
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Acclimating to my tank. In these pics you can see that it is not only brown, but has hints of green, yellow, and purple. I think some of these colors will show up better as it grows and gets better lighting and care.

IMG-20110830-00202.jpg

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When it first settled in I think it tried to dig into the sand, but there isn't enough to even cover the little base on this guy. Also, I think the lights were too bright, because it rolled over a couple times and finally hid under a rock ledge. I was worried it wouldn't pull through, but here it today (2 weeks later), making a nice recovery.

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So, what do you guys think? It doesn't have the standard red base for H. Aurora, and when I found it it had it's foot in a crack in a rock. But the LFS tank had no sand and my tank only has about 1/4 inch of sand or less, so it hasn't been given a chance at a deep sand bed yet, and IDK what a baby H. Aurora looks like. Maybe the red foot develops later?? Maybe it will dig into the first sandbed it gets a shot at?

P.S. this is a 12g QT, not the final home. I couldn't risk losing it in the 200g it will end up in until I knew what I was tossing in there. Thus the shallow sand bed. :)
 
Yeah, looks like a little Rock Flower/Phymanthidae of some sort, probably a hitch hiker on Florida/Caribbean live rock. Nothing special, but they're not hard to take care of. They do like mysis and don't cause any issues for anything that doesn't get snagged in them. Mine just bury in the sand and eat whatever falls on them. Came as hitch hikers originally too.

Jeff
 
Looks like an anemone with the common name of frilly anemone, in the Phymanthus genus. They originate from the Indo-Pacific. Not to be confused with the flower anemone, Epicystis crucifer, from the Atlantic/Caribbean.
 
Just digging up an old thread for a relevant update.

With Flash
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Without Flash
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This has got to be the best $0 I've ever spent. :)
 
Thanks I think so! It really blows my mind to think it was one sale away from getting a mouthful of Aiptasia X. :uhoh2:
 
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