Carpet Anemone Closed Up

The anemone wandered around on the rock i placed him on then stopped and set up shop in full view.

Carpet anemone closed up.

The anemone in the pic is larger then it shows being folded up like it is. If a specimen s mouth is opened up for no apparent reason and especially if any of the guts are protruding from the mouth you should not purchase it. Let us add something to the archive then we have a 90 gallon reef with mostly soft corals a midas blenny assorted. Blindly guessing here though without a clear and close up picture.

The anemones will start to drink up and the open rate will vary among blooms but after 6 8 hours in water you should start to see the petals open up. Another important thing to look for is a closed mouth. It s like the anemone know s it was a live fish and not just some food. A carpet anemone s mouth is usually easy enough to spot being right in the middle of its disc.

It should not be gaping open. For instance it may be harder for birds or other predators to get to an anemone s interal parts if it s closed and staying closed may prevent excess water loss. If the anemone lives in an intertidal zone where it is exposed to air during low tide the anemone keeps its tentacles shut perhaps as a protective measure. Last night he extended his tentacles a tiny bit and began blowing them up but nothing near full extension and nothing near what he looked like in the lfs.

The moment the fish touched the carpet the anemone completely engulfed the fish and closed up like a clam. I was quite pleased. Anthony carpet anemone hi how goes it thanks for any help you can give me on this as i read through your site and could find nothing that pertains.