Sea anemones are found in the order Actiniaria, while tube anemones (also known as tube dwelling anemones) belong to the order Ceriantharia. Both anemone types belong to the subclass Anthozoa are are thus comparatively closely related to stony corals.
A Tube anemone is equipped with a tube into which it can withdraw, and it creates this tube by secreting mucus and organelle threads. Tube anemones spend their lives buried down in soft sediment, where they catch food using their outer tentacles. Once the food is caught, the anemone uses its smaller inner tentacles to devour it. Two examples of fairly well-known tube anemones are the Burrowing Anemone (Ceriantheopsis austroafricanus) and the Lesser Cyliner Anemone (Cerianthus lloydii).
A majority of sea anemones have an adhesive foot and live attached to a surface, but some species are pelagic and drift around in the ocean. The pelagic sea anemones have a gas chamber that cause them to float upside down in the water.
Sea anemones often have large polyps and this feature makes them very beautiful and sought after by aquarists. Most species are 2-3 centimeters in size, but there are sea anemones that never grow bigger than 4 millimeters. Some of the largest known sea anemones are truly striking, reaching a size of nearly 2 meters. Of course, keeping such huge anemones in captivity is beyond the scope of most hobby aquarists.
You do not need a sea anemone to successfully keep clown fish in captivity. In an environment without predators, the clown fish does not depend on the anemone for protection. Keeping an anemone alive is much more intricate than keeping a clown fish, so please refrain from getting a live anemone unless you have the required know-how and are willing to adjust your aquarium to suit the needs of a sea anemone. Your clown fish will do just as well without an anemone or with an artificial anemone. Clown fish will even reproduce without an anemone in captivity.
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