Anemones & Mushrooms
Blue Mushroom Anemones & Blue Eggs
These Blue Mushroom Anemones (Phylum Cnidaria, Class Anthozoa, Order Corallimorpharia) were added January 19th, 1998 and have multiplied slowly. When disturbed, they eject hundreds of tiny blue spheres believed to be eggs, smaller than 1/32nd of an inch.
Brown Button Polyps - Zoanthus pulchellus
This Brown Button Polyp colony is excellent for beginners, adapting well to all light types and being closely related to anemones as colonial organisms connected by coenenchyma or stolon extension and polyp budding.
Corkscrew Long Tentacle Anemone - Macrodactyla doreensis
This Corkscrew Long Tentacle Anemone (Macrodactyla doreensis) was purchased April 27, 1997 and has grown to near 17 inches tall and 15 inches wide. It has hosted mated pairs of Percula Clownfish that spawn twice monthly, releasing thousands of eggs that the clownfish and other fish feed on.
Glass Anemones - Aiptasia sp.
These anemones can grow up to 4 inches tall with long tapered tentacles and reproduce through pedal laceration, where damaged base tissue can regenerate into entire new anemones.
Green Bubbletip Anemone - Entacmaea quadricolor
This green bubbletip anemone was added to the tank in 2006, initially hiding under rock work before showing itself in the upper third of the display. By April 2007, at least five anemone clones could be identified in the rock work and were being given away to fellow hobbyists as they could be removed.
Green Frilly Mushrooms - Rhodactis cf. indosinenis
These mushrooms were purchased on January 1st, 1998. With regular full spectrum lighting they have a faint green tint, but under actinic lighting they display a brilliant bright metallic green color that's almost blinding. They reproduce slowly, with the original colony of 3 growing to 6 in a little over a year.
Heteractis crispa - Sebae Anemone
This anemone's identification is uncertain - it resembles a white Sebae (Heteractis crispa) but wasn't bleached like those typically sold. The store was also unsure of its identification. Unfortunately, it wandered to the back of the tank and under the rock work, disappearing after three months.
Mushroom's Attack!
Mushroom Attack.
Orange Mushroom Anemones - Actinodiscus spp.
These orange mushrooms were hitchhikers on a rock purchased for blue mushrooms. They have thrived and can be seen growing alongside the original blue mushroom in the top left of the photo. Easy to care for, they prefer low water currents and intense lighting.
Red Mushroom Anemones - Discosoma spp.
This colony started with less than 20 mushrooms covering 40% of the rock in 1997. They have since multiplied to uncountable numbers with 100% coverage and spread to nearby rocks throughout the tank. Easy to care for, they prefer low water currents and intense lighting.
Unidentified Polyps
These unidentified yellowish zoanthid polyps started as hitchhikers on live rock. They proved to be rapid growers forming thick mats. While they look nice flowing in strong currents, they eventually spread to cover several square feet of rock and began overgrowing corals, becoming more of a pest.
Zoanthid sp. - Orange Center Zoanthids
Zoanthid sp. These are very tiny polyps. The entire rock pictured here is under an inch long.
