Anemone – Beaded

Beaded Anemone Care Tips:

Minimum Tank Size: 30 Gallons

Care Level: Intermediate

Diet: Light, Shrimp, Detritus

Temperament: Aggressive – (Will sting and hurt some corals and fish/invertebrates)

Lighting: Moderate to High

Water flow: Low to Moderate

Colours: Green/Pink-Purple

Scientific Name: Heteractis Aurora

Coral Safe: Yes

Invertebrate Safe: Yes

Beaded anemones are sessile invertebrates. Their scientific name is Heteractis Aurora. They are photo-synthetic and therefore require a strong light to be “touching” them during day light hours for optimal health. They do not require but will benefit from direct feedings. Direct feeding can be done with tongs (or your fingers) and any type of meaty food, and should be done one to twice a week minimum. The size of the anemone should determine the size of food and how often it is fed. One side effect from direct feeding beaded anemones is that they have been known to split themselves down the middle, becoming two smaller anemones. If you can see the anemone is shrinking in size it is most often hungry and needs to be directly fed. Anemones indicate they are hungry by protruding their mouth outwards, and becoming noticeably stickier as they try to latch on and trap any food that passes by their tentacles.

Feedings can be done with mysis shrimp, or any type of meaty foods, similar to size of their mouth. If the piece of food is too large it will not be digested and the anemone will spit it up back into the tank.

The minimum tank size for this anemone is 5 gallons but it is recommended to have the tank running at least 6 months in order to develop the proper bacteria colonies needed for anemones to survive. This is what makes the anemone considered to be an intermediate animal, once the tank is established it is easy to keep these animals alive and healthy. These animals prefer to be placed on the rocks in the tank so their foot can attach to a rough texture. Although most fish and invertebrates are smart and capable enough to stay away from anemones, they are still considered aggressive because of their ability to sting other animals if they touch them with their tentacles. They should also be placed in an isolated area away from coral. Beaded anemones are reef safe. Anemones will sometimes move if they are not happy with their placement but in ideal flow and light conditions, they will stay stationary. The only time its recommended to intervene with the anemone’s placement is if it has gone underneath a rock and can not be seen for more than 24 hours, or if it is about to go into the pump/overflow (pump covers can help with this).

Anemones should be given a moderate to high lighting schedule and a low to moderate water flow. The beaded anemone has a fluorescent green center with purple tentacles that has green highlights and a purple body with white lines.