Malu Anemone

Care at a glance

Overview

Needs strong reef lighting and moderate flow; some keepers find it a little more forgiving of slightly less intense light than a magnificent or sebae anemone, but that is relative within a genuinely demanding group of anemones, not an invitation to run it under soft coral lighting. Feed it small pieces of fish, shrimp, or clam about once a week. It can relocate across the sand like any true anemone and carries a real sting, so give it distance from corals and keep any nearby pump intakes guarded. Clark's clownfish is the only anemonefish regularly recorded hosting in this species, and even then, mature wild clownfish often pass it over for a different anemone when one is available, so treat any hosting pair as a bonus rather than a guarantee. Once established in a mature tank it is considered one of the hardier members of its genus; acclimate it slowly to get there.

In the wild

Scattered across the Indo-Pacific from Japan to Australia and east to Hawaii and Sumatra, where it stays buried in sand or rubble up to the edge of its oral disc in areas with good light and flow. In the tank it wants a sandy patch on the lower rockwork where its foot can dig in, with strong light reaching all the way down to the substrate. It occasionally hosts clark's clownfish.

Good to know

Currently accepted by the World Register of Marine Species as Radianthus malu, though Heteractis malu is still the name most commonly used in the trade. Its stout, sparse tentacles rarely exceed 4 cm long, usually with magenta tips, and the oral disc tops out around 20 cm across in brown or purplish tones, occasionally with white radial lines. It draws most of its energy from symbiotic zooxanthellae, supplemented by whatever small prey its tentacles catch.

Did you know

Malu anemones are so often sold and shipped as a small, pale colored sebae anemone that many hobbyists do not realize they are a separate species until they compare notes on which clownfish will actually host in one.

Related species

• 

  Aurora Anemone

  Heteractis aurora

  11.8 in (30 cm)50 gal (190 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Sebae Anemone

  Heteractis crispa

  15.7 in (40 cm)40 gal (150 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Magnificent Anemone

  Heteractis magnifica

  19.7 in (50 cm)53 gal (200 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemone

  Stichodactyla tapetum

  3.1 in (8 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Gigantea Carpet Anemone

  Stichodactyla gigantea

  19.7 in (50 cm)53 gal (200 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Haddon's Carpet Anemone

  Stichodactyla haddoni

  33.5 in (85 cm)53 gal (200 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)