CondyAnemones

/Diversity of Aquatic Life Series

Condylactis Anemones

Bob Fenner

Tableau de Condy!

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Anemone Success
Doing what it takes to keep Anemones healthy long-term

by Robert (Bob) Fenner

Condylactis gigantea, the Giant Anemone. Largest species in the range (6-12 inches in diameter when extended). White body and tentacles. The latter bear enlarged tips typically of a contrasting color, though they may be white. Right: In an aquarium Below: Bahamas pix including one of this species handful of symbionts (a Diamond Blenny, Malacoctenus bohlkei bottom right), others include Pederson's, the Squat Anemone Shrimp (below middle) and the Spotted Cleaner Shrimp, and Banded Clinging Crab.

Captive specimens tend to lose the "bulbiness" of their tentacles ends. At right and below Condylactis gigantea in an aquarium and in Cozumel... Wish we were drifting northward on Santa Rosa Reef right now!

Verticals (Full/Cover Page Sizes Available)

Bigger PIX:
The images in this table are linked to large (desktop size) copies. Click on "framed" images to go to the larger size.

And here's a C. gigantea with its commensal crab, the Banded Clinging Crab, Mitharaculus (nee Mithrax) cinctimanus in residence. Cozumel pix.

The Spotted Cleaner Shrimp, Periclimenes yucantanicus in its host anemone, Condylactis gigantea off of Cozumel. 3/4-1 in. overall. Also found in association with other tropical West Atlantic anemones.

Condylactis gigantea (nee passiflora), the (Florida) Pink-Tipped Anemone. The most commonly (and inexpensively) offered anemone species in the trade by far (in the West). For good reasons... many colors, hardy. Captive and Belize photos.

Taxonomic info 12/11/12
Hi WWM crew,
I came across this page, http://65.36.157.188/condyanemones.htm, and thought to send a few taxonomic corrections to you:
Condylactis passiflora is an unaccepted name; the accepted name is Condylactis gigantea
(http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=458658).
Mithrax cinctimanus was moved into the genus, Mithraculus by H. P. Wagner, 1990, Zool. Verh. (Leiden) 264:48-53. Accepted name: Mithraculus cinctimanus.
Although not on that web page, the Pederson's cleaner shrimp, also a symbiont found with C. gigantea and Bartholomea annulata (ringed or corkscrew anemone) has moved from the genus Periclimenes to the genus Ancylomenes by Okuno and Bruce (2010) Designation of Ancylomenes gen. nov., for 'Periclimenes aesopius species group' (Crustacea: Decapoda: Palaemonidae), with the description of a new species and a checklist of congeneric species. Zootaxa 2372: 85-105. Accepted name: Ancylomenes pedersoni.
Sincerely,
Nancy Sheridan
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
100 8th Ave SE
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
http://myfwc.com/research/
<Thank you for these updates. As principally a hobbyist site, we do tend to "lag" (e.g. not recognizing the addition, movement of genera, species in Veron's recent Scleractinia works), be more of lumpers than splitters taxonomically... but it is important to provide current systematics. Will post your input here re these species. Bob Fenner>
Re: Taxonomic info, Condylactis conservation 12/11/12
Thanks for the reply and you're welcome for the info. Also, in case you haven't heard, a three-year prohibition on the recreational and commercial harvest of Condys in Florida state and federal waters went into effect Nov. 1, 2012. For more info, please see - http://myfwc.com/news/news-releases/2012/october/24/marine-life/.
Nancy
<Ah, I thank you for this note as well. Have a long-standing disregard for the use of Actinarians in the ornamental trade... not worth their extraction in my view. Cheers, Bob Fenner>

Indo-Pacific Condylactis species; poss. C. elatensis. Though most of these come to use from the tropical West Atlantic as inexpensive "Condys", there are Indo-Pacific species. This one in Fiji.

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