What Are the Main Groups of Sea Anemones?

Although they look like colorful flowering plants, sea anemones are actually animals. Named after the anemone flower, they are a relative of coral and jellyfish. They feed by reaching out venomous tentacles and patiently waiting until fish pass close enough to be trapped. More than 1,000 species of anemone exist in the earth's oceans, many in tropical waters. Ten types are hosts to clownfish, and others have symbiotic relationships with green algae.

  1. Actiniidae Family

    • Several different species belong to the Actinia genus. The two best-known are the Australian Red Waratah sea anemone and the Beadlet anemone, which is most often available for purchase. It is a tropical anemone seen often in captive environments, while the Red Waratah needs cooler water. Condy or Condylactis anemones, which are named according to where they are found, are also commonly available; their habitat ranges from Brazil to Bermuda. The Dahlia anemone is considered very attractive but is only found along the coasts of the British Isles. It can live in very deep water and has been found at 656 ft. deep. One of the most visually stunning is the Giant Green anemone, which has a symbiotic relationship with algae living in its tissue. The Pink-Tipped anemone, most often found in aquariums due to its beautiful color and inexpensive price, can get very large and is best suited for spacious aquariums.

    Host Anemones

    • Bubble-Tip anemones are among the most popular of the clownfish-hosting anemones because it is very easy to maintain. In the wild, it hosts 13 species of clownfish; only the Sebae anemone hosts as many. This anemone is usually brown, but its tentacles can be orange, red, brown, green or cream depending on its symbiotic algae. The Giant Carpet anemone, which has a folded oral disc, can be brown, green, purple, pink, blue and green. It has short, stubby tentacles that taper and is named after its vast number of tentacles that gives it the appearance of shaggy carpet. Unlike other members of its genus, the Delicate Sea anemone hosts very few adult clownfish. The Adhesive Sea anemone is easy to identify as it often looks like pizza. It has a wide oral disc and two types of tentacles that differ in coloring. Short, sticky, multi-branched tentacles form its center, and its outer rim comprises round, bulbous tentacles.

    Stinging Sea Anemones

    • The Actinodendronidae family has two species of dangerous stinging anemones. Though all anemones have stinging cells in their tentacles, these anemones have a much more dangerous sting that is powerful and very painful. The Bali Fire anemone looks like coral and is found in the Indo-Pacific waters. The Hell's Fire anemone has long, branched tentacles that are leaf-shaped, with a feathery appearance; it looks more like a colony of soft coral than an anemone. This anemone buries its foot and body in the sand, leaving only its oral disc and tentacles visible. If disturbed, they are able to pull their entire body into the sand, making them virtually invisible.

    Burrowing Sea Anemones

    • All of the burrowing anemones have long, cylindrical shapes and a pointed foot that they use to burrow into sand or mud, where they create a hard protective tube in which to live. The banded tube anemone is nocturnal, extending tentacles to feed only at night, while the burrowing tube anemone differs in that inches of its tube can often be seen above the surface. The North American Tube Anemone has distinctive, colorful tentacles; the center of the disc is surrounded by short tentacles, with two rings of thin, wispy tentacles on the outside. To catch prey, it reaches its long tentacles over the sand, and it uses its shorter tentacles bring food into its mouth. They can be cream-colored, brown and shades of red.