Help ID Anemone, thanks

[nickng]

Hi got this anemone from local Petco. Has been in my tank for ~2+ weeks.
It doesn’t have a red foot. The foot looks wide and very short and is whitish in color.
Tentacles are about 1 to 1.5 inches max, slightly translucent/florescent lime with blue tips.
Need help identifying it. My local Petco sometimes mis-labels their stock so they just put it under anemone label/price tag.
Does anyone recognize the actual type?

 

[nickng]

Also is it one of the types that like the sand bed or rock? And does it require a lot of light? Will it eat small fishes like giant carpet anemones?

 

[bradleym]

It is most likely a Heteractis Crispa based on what can be seen. There’s a very small chance it could be a Heteractis Malu but I highly doubt it.

 

[nickng]

Found some info on this website https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/clown-fish-host-anemones.162217/

Is it really what’s described there?

 

[OrionN]

If it go to the sand then it likely a Malu. It it live on the rock it probably a Crispa.

 

[nickng]

If it go to the sand then it likely a Malu. It it live on the rock it probably a Crispa.

Thanks OrionN for the tip, didn’t know that is the difference in behavior. It’s wedge itself in a wide opening between two rocks with the foot sitting on sand or possibly grabbing onto the bottom glass of my tank. The reason I think it’s not grabbing the rock is because twice when I saw it closed up at night it was sitting right on the sand in the middle away from the rocks on the left and right side. My female clownfish was sleeping/wriggling on top of it but the anemone didn’t move or shifted position and was fixed on the sand bed.

In the Petco tank, it was again wedge in a bottom corner of the tank with the foot sticking strongly on the glass of the tank under the sand.

If it’s a Malu do I feed it small pieces of krill?prawn? Or mysis/brine is better? And how about Crispa?

Thanks very much for your insight.

 

[OrionN]

Malu is a lot smaller than Crispa. Max size of Malu is about 8-9 inches while Crispa can grow to 16-18 inches. Crispa reside on rock while Malu stays on sand. They look very similar when small. Hard to tell them apart. There are column color differences, I think, but I have not seen enough to come to any conclusion about this.

 

[nickng]

Malu is a lot smaller than Crispa. Max size of Malu is about 8-9 inches while Malu can grow to 16-18 inches. Crispa reside on rock while Malu stays on sand. They look very similar when small. Hard to tell them apart. There are column color differences, I think, but I have not seen enough to come to any conclusion about this.

one more question, when you said crispa reside on rock, do you mean the anemone will prefer to climb up and stick on a rock surface away from the sand?
I will monitor if mine stays on sand or eventually move onto rock. Thanks again.

 

[BryanM]

A crispa at petco, who knew.

 

[OrionN]

one more question, when you said crispa reside on rock, do you mean the anemone will prefer to climb up and stick on a rock surface away from the sand?
I will monitor if mine stays on sand or eventually move onto rock. Thanks again.

Yes

 

[nickng]

Hi all, it’s been awhile. I’ve some new photos of the anemone. It’s settled in the tank now. Any opinions now what sort of anemone it is? The foot seems to be in the sand?
Pictures are taken with an orange filter. Last pic is without any filter.

 

[OrionN]

I think it is likely to be a H. crispa. It should slowly grow with feeding. Looking good. Malu will often dig into the sand and attach to the bottom glass of the tank.

 

[nickng]

I think it is likely to be a H. crispa. It should slowly grow with feeding. Looking good. Malu will often dig into the sand and attach to the bottom glass of the tank.

Thanks for the insight