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What kind of anemone is this?

H. Magnifica vs. BTA

3K views 25 replies 5 participants last post by  Elegance Coral 
#1 ·
I just got this anemone from my LFS (only one in the entire country!), labeled as H. Magnifica, but after some reading, I'm no longer sure if it really is H. Magnifica or BTA.

Can you help me identify it? My female Clarkii is already hosting it.

Thanks in advance.
 

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#2 ·
It's really hard to tell for sure based on the pic. I would tend to agree with your assumption though. Looks like quadracolor. AKA bubble tip.
 
#5 ·
I asked because quadracolor will typically place its pedal disk in a hole, crevice, or under a ledge. Sometimes out in the open. Magnifica does not try to conceal its pedal disk. It always attaches to the surface of the substrate right out in the open. It typically moves to the highest point it can reach. It rarely moves down. The fact that the anemone moved down into the crevice, strengthens my suspicions that it's a quadracolor. Not magnifica.
 
#6 ·
Interesting...

The LFS also said it was locally caught. We are in Panama, Central America. It may be from Caribbean or Pacific since we have both close to each other. Is BTA found in this area?

How can we positively identify it? What should I look for? What should I try to catch in another picture?

Thanks a lot!
 
#8 ·
Leave it the heck alone. It has to find it's own spot on it's own. You keep touching and moving it and you'll stress and kill it. It looks like a regular ol green BTA to me. Hope you didn't pay crazy $ for some guy saying it's the only one in the country. I saw 3 at my lfs today.
 
#9 ·
We usually pay high prices here because of the monopoly, having only one saltwater LFS in the country. Most of the fish, they bring from the USA so there is an extra cost for air shipping and customs declaration. So... Let's say that a small Yellow Tang costs $30 in the US, I end up paying up to $70 here!

In the case of this BTA (or H. Magnifica?), they had it identified as a local anemone, I paid $15, which I think is OK. To me it looked like a healthy and beautiful anemone. We will see how it goes with it.

I also have a small Condy in my tank which seems to be doing OK. I know it is not a natural host for clownfish, but they are already paired and happy.

Back to the BTA: I will wait and see how it goes tomorrow when the lights are back on. Hopefully it will settle somewhere it can be seen. Also, I hope being able to positively identifying it. What is the best way to do it? Picture of the oral disk?
 
#10 ·
Thanks for the second pic. I think someone made a mistake. Are you sure it was labeled as "magnifica" and not "gigantea"? I think it's a Condylactis species. Maybe Condylactis gigantea. Quadracolor and H. magnifica do not live in your area. Condylactis does. It looks like a Condylactis too.
 
#11 ·
That makes sense. Im sure they said many times it was H. Magnifica. The stuff they get from the US already comes identified, but the local stuff, they use a book to identify it. Problem is that some or most of the staff dont read english, and the books are in english, and basically just try to find a similar picture.

If it is a Condy, now I have two of them. Any problem with that? Also, what are the real risks that they will kill or harm the Clarkiis? Both anemones are currently small, about 3-4" full diameter.
 
#15 ·
I certainly would like to hear that, but it seems like it really is a local anemone from Panama (they said so, had about 5 of them and the price was $15 which matches a local specimen).

Question #1 is if Green BTA can be found in Panama (keep in mind we have both Pacific and Atlantic/Caribbean shores equally/easily accessible)?

Question #2 is how can we positively confirm it is either Green BTA or Condy?

I really want to identify it.

Thank you very much!
 
#17 ·
Anybody can point me to a website that contains information about the geographical distribution of the different types of anemones? I would like to know what can be found in the pacific and atlantic coasts of Panama. I called the store today and they insist it is H. Magnifica! So I'm still confused about what I got.
 
#20 ·
It seems to have settled very well in the little cave. It set its foot inside the cave and its tentacles are spilling out very nicely. An updated pic attached. Notice that LFS had many of them and insists they were catch locally in Panama and according to the references above, BTA is not a local specimen. So I still have my doubts, it may be a condylactis. I would love it to be a BTA!

My tank is a 50gal bowfront
Sump/Refugium is 20gal
Skimmer is Aquamaxx HOB-1
Lights are Current USA Nova Extreme T5HO (6 x 39W = 234W)
 

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#21 ·
I'm a little worried that the anemone seems to be growing very fast. I have read that it could be a sign of not enough light. Do you think that 234W (T5HO) on 50 gal. tank is enough? The Clarkii is feeding it small bits of seafood (frozen mix of table shrimp, squid and clams) that I'm feeding daily.

It is also shrinking (hiding almost completely inside the hole) at night and expanding as shown in the attached pics during the day.

Maybe the new pics help to positively ID the nem. Please let me know what you think about the light, growth and behavior.

Thank you.
 

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#22 ·
Looks like Condylactis to me.

It doesn't show any symptoms of low light in the photos you posted. It seems to have a good, healthy, population of zooxanthellae. When Condylactis is in low light environments, it often stretches as high as possible, giving them a long thin column. From what I can see, your anemone seems to be doing well.
 
#26 ·
It appears relatively healthy to me. Are you feeding it? I'd feed it a small piece of fish or shrimp at least twice a week. Preferably more often. It should grow quickly.
 
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