Beadlet Anemone – Had Babies!

[sandfire]

My new Beadlet Anemone arrived a few days ago; I bought it of a seller on eBay.
It's so pretty olive green with slight stripes and bright blue acrorhagi. It moved around for about 12 hours and then found a site in the shade of a rock away from main water flow, so I guess its adjusting to my lighting and flow rate.

Last night just before lights out, it gave birth and spat out 12 babies! Perfect miniatures of the adult, with varying numbers of tentacles all about the size of a 5p. They were 'born' beige but are already starting to turn green. 11 are anchored to the live rock near the sand and they did not want to be near each other and spaced themselves apart. One decided it wanted a faster life style and has anchored itself to the back of a turbo snail.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute!

 

[Lynden]

I find that very unusual... I figured they just split. Interesting.

 

[sandfire]

I find that very unusual... I figured they just split. Interesting.

Since watching it literally spit out the babies from its mouth I have been reading up on the internet. Seems typical for Beadlets. Most of my babies (my partner calls mini-mones) have around 20 plus tentacles but 2 have over 50, but these two are larger than the others.

This is a common quote I found:
"Reproduction is asexual and there is dispute on how this occurs. The adult Beadlet Anemones brood young within their body cavity which are ejected as miniature anemones with 12 or more tentacles. These may arise by parthogenesis or by budding off internally."

http/www.glaucus.org.uk/Beadlet.htm

http/homepages.ed.ac.uk/evah01/anemone.htm

http/www.wildinbritain.co.uk/LifeontheEdge/SeaAnemones.htm

My water parameters last night:
ammonia: 0ppm
nitrite: 0pmm
nitrate: 0 pmm (use a Nitrate reducer)
Phos: 0ppm (use a phosphate reducer every other week)
Ph: 8.5
sal: 1.24
lighting: 2 x 55 watt T5, 2 x 18 watt T8
Live stock: No fish, 1 x emerald crab, 2 x red leg hermit, 20 x mini turbo snails, 2 x soft corals 20kg live rock, and of course beadlet and babies.

 

[SkiFletch]

I find that very unusual... I figured they just split. Interesting.

Yeah, so did I. There are other nems which are prone to reproduction this way. Most well-known is Aiptasia... Saw tghis on a barebottom tank at my LFS

 

[sandfire]

My 'adult' beadlet anemone seems to have pulled in its tentacles and shrunken into a blob, it's also moved to a very shady spot under a rock and will not open, been there a few days now.

The babies are all thriving, I have not lost one and they are eating flake food, they grab it and shove it in their mouths like greedy little piglets when it floats within range, they have doubled in size and at least doubled the amount of tentacles they have. They have settled into there new territories, apart from the one I call 'Sonic' who still resides on the back of a turbo snail (which travels up and down the tank glass), but Sonic is gonna get to big soon!

But the 'mother' seems very unhappy I don’t know what's up with it. Just looks like it is sulking. Perhaps the babies have adapted better because they were 'born' in the tank and she is still stressed as she not been in there long, does anyone know how much light the like etc?

Water conditions are still as above.

 

[adam.crouch]

My 'adult' beadlet anemone seems to have pulled in its tentacles and shrunken into a blob, it's also moved to a very shady spot under a rock and will not open, been there a few days now.

The babies are all thriving, I have not lost one and they are eating flake food, they grab it and shove it in their mouths like greedy little piglets when it floats within range, they have doubled in size and at least doubled the amount of tentacles they have. They have settled into there new territories, apart from the one I call 'Sonic' who still resides on the back of a turbo snail (which travels up and down the tank glass), but Sonic is gonna get to big soon!

But the 'mother' seems very unhappy I don’t know what's up with it. Just looks like it is sulking. Perhaps the babies have adapted better because they were 'born' in the tank and she is still stressed as she not been in there long, does anyone know how much light the like etc?

Water conditions are still as above.

Beadlets are temperate anemones and dont thrive in tropical conditions, I found my beadlets died after about a week but the babies lasted quite a while....

 

[dilbert]

I never had any but isn't it been said that for example those offered on ebay.co.uk would live from the Arctic to the Mediterranean and in a temperature range from 2°C to 28°C. Not arguing just asking.

 

[Lynden]

Beadlets do live in the Mediterranean but they will perish if they are kept at their upper limit. Temperate animals are adapted to warm and cool waters; they can't stay warm for long. They will most likely die if kept in tropical waters. Do not push temperature limits just because eBay says you can.

 

[sandfire]

Beadlets do live in the Mediterranean but they will perish if they are kept at their upper limit. Temperate animals are adapted to warm and cool waters; they can't stay warm for long. They will most likely die if kept in tropical waters. Do not push temperature limits just because eBay says you can.

Thanks guys, might be the temp then.

 

[@ombomb]

pics would ne nice

 

[Lynden]

The reason I did not mention that before, is that I found it irrelevant to the situation, and that while unlikely, it is not unheard of for beadlets to live in tropical tanks.