My Fish Tanks

Scientific Name : Condylactis gigantea

Common Names : Haitian anemone, Pink tipped anemone

Care Level : Difficult

Size : 6 – 10 inches (15 – 25 cm)

Life span : Anemones are thought to live perpetually, or in other words, they can live for an extremely long time in the wild.

pH : 8.1 – 8.4

Temperature : 75°F – 82°F (25°C – 28°C)

Specific Gravity : 1.023 – 1.025

Carbonate Hardness (dKH) : 8 – 12°

Tank Light : Minimum recommended lighting levels would be 50/50 (actinic/10,000k daylight bulbs) power compacts in tanks with standard depth (24 inches) and HO, VHO or Metal Halides in deeper tanks.

Origin / Habitat : Caribbean, Western Atlantic

Temperament / Behavior : They can move around the tank to find a suitable location. Corals, fish and other anemones can be harmed by the sting of the condy anemone.

Breeding / Mating / Reproduction : Asexual breeders.

Tank Size : 30 gallon (114 liters) minimum

Compatible Tank Mates : Not a good choice for reef tanks because they can sting other sessile animals in the tank. They can also sting and harm smaller fish.

Fish Disease : Can be difficult to diagnose symptoms and corresponding diseases in anemones. Anemones that are dying are believed to release toxins into the water that can harm or even kill tank inhabitants.

Diet / Fish Food : Fresh seafood from the local grocery store in the form of shrimp and clams cut up into very small, fine pieces can be given to your anemone every other day. They are also photosynthetic, which means that they get some of the energy they need from the tank lights. Please don’t try to keep these anemones with sub-standard lighting systems.

Tank Region : Slow moving and may affix themselves to a location for weeks at a time only to move to a new spot when they feel like it.

Gallery Photos : Condy Anemone Photos

Many marine hobbyists long to keep an anemone in their saltwater tanks. The Condylactis Anemone is often recommended to beginners because Condy Anemones are usually less demanding than many of the other anemones and because they are inexpensive ($5 – $10). Don’t let the cheap price tag fool you into thinking that they don’t have special requirements because they certainly do. The Condy Anemone needs a well established tank that has been set up for several months (preferably longer) and an aquarium that is showing stable and good water parameter readings.

This animal is photosynthetic and it also needs to eat frozen or fresh fish food preparations. At a minimum, we would recommend at least power compacts with 50/50 bulbs (full spectrum/actinic) along with supplemental feedings every other day, or twice a week. Fresh seafood from the local market such as shrimp and clams work well. Cut the fresh, uncooked seafood into very small pieces and use tank tongs or a turkey baster to deliver the food to the anemone’s mouth.

You should be warned that they can move around the tank, albeit slowly. This means that you will need to use foam filters over any power head intakes. Many hobbyists have lost anemones because of an unprotected power filter intake! You will probably not want to keep them in a reef tank with corals because they have a sting that can harm corals, fish and other anemones.

The anemone is not a “natural” host for the clown fishes. However, some hobbyists have reported success with keeping clown fishes with their Condylactis Anemone, whereas others have reported the demise of either the clownfish or the anemone after the introduction.

This can be an interesting anemone to keep and it can be a good one to start with provided that you can meet some of this animal’s demands detailed above. Remember that they can live extremely long lives in the ocean and we need to do our utmost to provide the best possible care for them. Some folks think that the key to success for this animal is performing frequent partial water changes (10 – 20% every 2 weeks), supplementing with iodine, having the right light intensity over the tank (at minimum – Power compacts in short tanks and HO, VHO or Metal Halides in tanks deeper than the standard 24 inches) and supplemental feedings with a variety of fresh marine foods.