Continued from Page 1....Examples of Heteractis anemones include:
- Heteractis magnifica, an Indo-Pacific anemone variety, having a very strong color on the body (usually Purple for the Sri Lankan types) with quite long tentacles. This is the most striking specimen of the whole Heteractis family. This anemone is often referred to as the "ritteri" anemone, or Radianthus ritteri, and sometimes sold by the common name of "Sebae Anemone", although as we shall see later, this may be a misnomer in terms of common name.
Indeed, although this is what many hobbyists accept as the Sebae anemone, not all of them are in agreement with this statement and some view Heteractis crispa as the Sebae anemone. This is yet another reason for sticking to scientific names and not common names. It avoids confusion and errors.
- Heteractis malu, with shorter tentacles and a sturdier body (previously called Discosoma malu). Heteractis malu is perhaps the least spectacular of all the Heteractis varieties. It is very often imported and can be found in large numbers in pet stores. It can be kept in invertebrate aquariums but it is recommended that, when doing so, no other anemones are placed in the same tank. Nettling or the exudation of toxins may affect this anemone. For instance, adding a Carpet anemone in addition to H. malu would mean the end of the latter in a short manner of time. H. malu has another drawback: not many clowns will form symbiotic associations with it.
- Heteractis crispa, (previously known as Radianthus kuekenthali) with numerous long tentacles and a wide to very wide oral disc. This anemone can at times be confused by stores with Entacmaea quadricolor. The resemblance can be sufficient to justify this mistake (see later). H. crispa is a beautiful specimen for any aquarium. Again, kept alone, it can be added to an invertebrate aquarium (see remarks above). The number of tentacles can be so great that they are all entangled.
- Heteractis aurora, (previously known as Actinia aurora) with tentacles of varying length, shorter nearer to the mouth opening, but generally short anyway. The anemone has a stocky type body stem that usually does not extend to any great length. It is, in my opinion, not a very attractive specimen, as the photos illustrate.
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