Anemone had two babies ?

[tray262]

Ok, Well I'm not too sure what's going on, but I've only got one Long tentacle Anemone in my tank, last week our anemone balled up and sat at the bottom of the tank for a couple days, he's done it before so I wasn't too worried.

Well then the other night, my girlfriend noticed that he started opening back up, about 15 minutes later she said "Come here; what is this ?" I went over and looked and said I've got no clue. It was a little purple pea sized ball.

So last night I went to see if it was still there. It was as well as a second one, and to my surpize it was opened up and it has tentacles and it's the small color as my big one. Is it a baby of my anemone ?

I'll try and get some pictures up this weekend. If it is what I think it is, is this common ? I know that spliting is a fairly common think but thought budding was common at all.

Please advise.

Thanks,
tray262
sorry I havn't been around lifes been busy.

[Ninong]

That's interesting. It would be nice if you could post pics.

I assume that when you say "long tentacle anemone," you're talking about Macrodactyla doreensis and not Heteractis crispa or any of the other host anemones that have relatively long tentacles, right? I'm just trying to make sure we're all talking about the same animal. Common names can be confusing because people use "long tentacle anemone" for more than one species.

After we determine for certain that we're talking about M. doreensis, the next thing we need to make clear is whether this is the only specimen in your tank? In other words, we're trying to rule out any possibility of sexual reproduction. (P.S. -- I reread your post -- it's the only one.) How long have you had it?

Entacmaea quadricolor is the species that is most likely to reproduce asexually in hobby reef tanks and it does this by bilateral fission, the most common form of asexual reproduction in anemones.

What you are describing might be asexual reproduction by budding. If so, it would be really, really nice if you could document it with pictures. The other possibility, I suppose, might be asexual reproduction by pedal laceration. I don't know if we would be able to tell the difference from the photos but you never know. Maybe if the photos were extremely good, macro shots someone might be able to figure that out. (P.S. -- Pedal laceration happens only if the animal actually moved and tiny pieces of tissue remained behind stuck to the substrate the animal was attached to. This is one of the two ways that Ricordea spp. reproduce asexually. R. florida is more likely to reproduce by fission and R. yuma is more likely to reproduce by pedal laceration.)

I checked Dr. Fautin's online eBook but she doesn't mention this possibility. However, with some really good photos, we could send her an email asking for her opinion.

All host anemones are capable of sexual reproduction (obviously) but it is apparently extremely rare in nature that the settled out babies survive, or at least that's Dr. Fautin's conclusion from in situ observations. It's quite likely that asexual reproduction is the most successful form of reproduction.

I believe I remember reading at least one or two reports on the boards over the past eight years of M. doreensis asexual reproduction by bilateral fission (sometimes called longitudinal fission) but I don't recall ever reading about asexual reproduction by budding or pedal laceration. That's why it would really be great if you could get some good photos.

Thanks!

[tray262]

Hey Ninong, I spent about 20 mins looking for the little ones last night, then I finally spotted one of the two that's I've seen. I can not get a good picture of it because it was tucked underneth of a rock. It seems to be moving a good bit, I'm waiting for it to hit the front of the tank again. As so as I see it again, I will definitly get a picture. I'm still in aww over it. I think it's so neat. But anyways. I'll let ya know asap.

Thanks,
Tray.

[Ninong]

In other words, it looks like a miniature of the parent? Same coloration? About how big is it when fully extended? Are we talking about the size of a dime or the size of a pea?

P.S. -- The main reason that it would be really neat if you could get some decent photos of this event is that I'm not sure how common it is. It may be very rare.

[tray262]

Ninong, When we first spotted it, it was a about the size of a pea all balled up, fully open maybe the size of a quarter. It is the same color as the parent. Like I said this is what I beleive these two are. I just can't see or think of anything else they could be. They are too much like the anemone not to be one. As soon as I can get them to the front of the tank I will definitly be taking and sharing some pictures. I'm really excited about this myself. So I hope it all stays well. On a side note the parent was fully open last night looking pretty good. A little light in color as it always is after being closed for a few days. But it will quickly recolor.

I'm really wish I would have taken pics the other day.

Tray.

[Ninong]

Any updates?

[tray262]

Actually Yes, I hadn't been able to see them at all for a few days, and I asked my gf if she had seen them, and she said they've bured there selves in the sand, so we went over and she showed me where they were, all I can really see one little arm out of the sand. I was going to kinda dig it up and move it so I could take some pictures, but I'm not sure that's the best idea to mess with it ?

Any advise ? Should I move it ? or just wait till it comes out on it's own ?

[zhenya]

Tray,

You can carefully scoop it out of the tank and into a small petri dish for picture taking. Leave enough water to cover the animal completely, take your shots and then put it back into the tank. Shouldn't take longer than 10-15 minutes or less.

Good luck!

[tray262]

Thanks Gene !

[Starfish]

Lastly I want to briefly discuss reproduction within this group, but any such discussion is hampered by the fact that there has been precious little research done on this subject. The species that have been studied are protandric hermaphrodites, meaning that small or young individuals are males, and the animal switches to being a female at some point in their lives (possibly triggered by some size or age threshold). Sexual reproduction apparently occurs by the release of gametes into the water column. There are several reports of a tiny tube anemone being found within the body cavity of an adult, but it is unclear whether this is evidence for internal brooding or an aberrant developmental pathway. Likewise, there is some evidence that these animals are capable of reproducing asexually, but to date there is no evidence that this has occurred in an aquarium. Regardless of the exact method of reproduction, the chances that your tube anemone will reproduce in captivity are very slim, indeed.

[Ninong]

Hi Starfish,




The information you posted pertains to tube anemones (Order Ceriantharia). We're talking about true anemones (Order Actinaria): the long tentacle anemone (Macrodactyla doreensis), one of the ten clownfish-hosting sea anemones. All of these are believed to be dioecious.

[Ninong]

Tray,

How long have you had this anemone? This is really important.

Thanks!



P.S. -- I'm trying to figure out if your anemone is a female and that she actually brooded fertilized eggs inside her body until they were developed into tiny little anemones and released. That certainly seems to be what you have described. Since there is no other Macrodactyla doreensis anemone in your tank, that means that your anemone was "pregnant" when you acquired her, which is why I would like to know how long you have had her to see if this theory makes sense. And I would like for you to confirm that it is indeed a M. doreensis anemone and not some other species going by the same common name, Long Tentacle Anemone.

All ten of the clownfish-hosting sea anemones release gametes into the water column where fertilization takes place; however, it is thought that some female anemones sometmes are fertilized (via sperm in the water flowing through them) and the fertilized eggs develop within the female anemone until they are released as tiny anemones.