Long Tentacle Anemone, Macrodactyla doreensis

Great for Beginners and experts alike 

The long tentacle anemone is wondrous creature to have in an aquarium.  Its sheer size volume is awe inspiring.  Clownfish love these anemones and the two are a perfect pair.  If you take good care of your anemone, it can outlive your grandkids.    

Feeding:  Anemones eat little bits of meaty foods from fish, shellfish or other seafood.  Try to keep the pieces small, even the anemone is large. 

Lighting:  Anemones get much of their diet the way that corals do, from the sun.  This means you will need to provide your anemone with bright reef capable lighting. 

Water Flow:  Moderate water flow will bring the anemone food.  So will clownfish. 

Placement:  Long tentacle anemones have large bodies and they like to hide all but their tentacles.  They do this by digging in the sand or rubble or by wedging themselves in a rock.

 Place them on the substrate in your tank in an area where it is at least 4 inches deep.  Larger animals will want deeper substrate or a rock crevice to wedge themselves into. 

Propagation: Anemones are slow at reproducing but they can split. 

Aggression: Anemones are generally peaceful, however they can sting.  Also their large size can cause them to be a problem while they are looking for a hiding spot.  They will drive their orange juice carton size body over your tank floor and everything on it until they find a good hiding spot.  Then they will sit there as long as they are happy. 

Cover photo: The cover photo is a picture of an entire anemone body.  It is not a representation of what you will see in your aquarium once it is hiding.  This anemone is about to go for a drive and look for a hiding spot.

Other information: Because of their size, It is recommended that you only place long tentacle anemones in an aquarium 55 gallons or larger.  

Above:  This is the same anemone from the cover photo.  I built a rock wall to prevent it from driving over the corals on the other side of the tank while I slept.  When I woke, this is what I found.  It drove into the wall and buried itself under it.  If you look at the left side of the photo, under the rock, you can see its body sticking out.  It’s happy with this spot.  

Above: Another anemone is a slightly different color

Above: At night, this one glows green under LED moonlights.