TankBud

Sebae anemone

Heteractis crispa

Also known as Leathery Sea Anemone, Purple Base Anemone

SaltwaterAnemone

Sebae anemone (Heteractis crispa)
Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–81°F
24–27°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
15.7 in
40 cm
Minimum tank
40 gal
150 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Solitary
Swim level
Bottom
Difficulty
Difficult
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe with caution
Family
Stichodactylidae
Origin
Indo-Pacific reefs (East Africa and the Red Sea to Polynesia)

Overview

The Sebae anemone is a clownfish host anemone for a fully mature reef tank. It is a difficult anemone, best left to experienced keepers.

Did you know

Sebae anemones ship so poorly that hobbyists half joke you should expect to buy one bleached white. A specimen that browns or greens back up and opens normally within a few weeks counts as a genuine success story. It needs steady feeding and good light to get there.

Caring for the Sebae anemone

Give the Sebae anemone strong, stable reef lighting and moderate flow. Offer it a spot on the lower rockwork where it can wedge its foot into a hole. It can also climb onto the base of a branching coral if given the chance, so plan its placement with that in mind.

It holds up poorly in shipping, and a large share of imports arrive already bleached white from the stress. Buy a local, already colored-up specimen rather than gambling on a stressed import, even at extra cost. Acclimate it slowly into a fully mature tank of at least 40 gal (150 L). Keep the water at 75 to 81°F (24 to 27°C) with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4.

Once it is settled, target-feed it chopped fish or shrimp every week or two. It moves on its pedal disc like any true anemone. Keep it clear of powerheads, and give corals room in case it relocates and stings something on the way. Clark's clownfish, pink skunk clownfish and several other Amphiprion species will host in it readily.

Good to know

The Sebae anemone's accepted name in the World Register of Marine Species is Radianthus crispa, though most hobbyists and retailers still use Heteractis crispa. Its tentacles have a rounded end, often tipped in purple or blue. It is one of the most generalist host anemones, recorded hosting around 15 anemonefish species. The wide band anemonefish, Amphiprion latezonatus, uses this species almost exclusively.

In the wild

The Sebae anemone ranges across the Indo-Pacific, from East Africa and the Red Sea to Polynesia and south to Australia. It usually anchors in a crevice on hard substrate with a light dusting of sand, from the shallows to about 40 m.

Symbiotic relationships

Clownfish and their host anemones

A clownfish lives inside an anemone that stings and eats other fish its size. Its mucus coat keeps the anemone's stinging cells from firing, and a new fish builds that protection up over hours of brief touches. The fish gets a refuge no predator will follow it into and a nest site at the anemone's base. The anemone gets a guard that drives off the butterflyfish that would graze its tentacles, a steady supply of nitrogen from the fish's waste, and water movement at night, when the fish fans its fins among the tentacles and the anemone takes up more oxygen. Only ten anemone species host clownfish in the wild, and each clownfish species uses its own short list of them.

Captive-bred clownfish have never seen an anemone and do not need one; they settle for a coral, a powerhead or a corner of the tank. If you want the pairing, the anemone is the harder animal by far and goes in first, into a mature tank with strong light and stable water, at the tank size its own profile lists. The bubble tip anemone is the hardy host, and the one most clownfish accept in captivity even when it is not a natural host, so a clownfish profile lists it as the usual tank host where that is the case. The sebae, magnificent and carpet anemones are marked difficult, and the carpets eat fish. Expect a paired clownfish to defend its anemone against everything else in the tank.

Every symbiotic relationship in the catalog

Common questions

What size tank does a Sebae anemone need?

A Sebae anemone needs at least 40 gal (150 L).

What temperature and pH does a Sebae anemone need?

A Sebae anemone is comfortable at 75–81°F (24–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does a Sebae anemone eat?

A Sebae anemone takes target feedings of chopped fish or shrimp every week or two, once it has settled.

How big does a Sebae anemone get?

An adult Sebae anemone reaches about 15.7 in (40 cm).

Related species