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Sebae Anemone

(Heteractis malu)

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 Quick Care Facts

• Care Level: Difficult   • Temperament: Aggressive   • Maximum Size: 24"
• Diet: Carnivore   • Aquarium Level: Substrate   • Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons
 • Reef Compatible: Yes, with caution   • Water Conditions: 72-79° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4, sg 1.023-1.025
• Supplements: Calcium, Magnesium, Strontium, Iodine, Trace Elements   • Coloration: Green, Blue, Pink, Red, Tan
• Origin: Fiji, Indonesia, Indo-Pacific • Family: Stichodactylidae   • Species: Anemones

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Native Habitat and Species Information

Sebae Anemone native habitat, distribution, behavior & aquarium compatibility.

The Sebae Anemone (Heteractis malu) is a less common species of Sebae Anemone that is known for its brilliant coloration and short plump tentacles. Healthy specimens will vary in color from tan, green and blue to pink and red coloration. Healthy specimens will readily accept chopped marine based meaty foods, will have mouths that are closed, will be very sticky to the touch and will generally located themselves in the aquarium where they receive strong lighting and moderate water flow.

Signs that the Sebae Anemone is unhappy or unhealthy include a white or bleached out appearance, avoidance of light, a gaping open mouth, lack of stickiness or a consistent shriveled or closed up appearance. Despite rather strict water quality and lighting requirements, Sebae Anemones can thrive in established aquariums with proper lighting and water flow conditions. Overall this species is best suited for advanced hobbyists or intermediate hobbyists with well established aquarium systems.

Aquarium Care

How to successfully keep Sebae Anemone in the home aquarium.

Sebae Anemones (Heteractis malu) are fairly demanding both in aquarium conditions and in suitable fish and coral tank mates. They require intense aquarium lighting in order for their hosted zooxanthellae to produce food for the anemone, and they require plenty of indirect water flow in order to remove waste products from the anemone.

A healthy Heteractis Sebae Anemone will have a pink, blue or tan coloration; as well as, sticky, plump tentacles. They will turn white in color or exhibit a bleached out appearance when they are lacking proper nutrition or lighting. While they can recover via proper feedings and adequate lighting, their somewhat delicate nature makes this difficult.

Sebae Anemones do best when housed in established aquariums with stable water conditions and quality intense lighting, and should generally only be kept by advanced or expert hobbyists. Once acclimated in an established aquarium with intense lighting and plenty of laminar water flow, Sebae Anemones can be very hardy and long lived.

The aggressive nature and large size of adult Malue Anemones can make them difficult to keep in aquarium that are not large enough to provide adequate space between the Sebae Anemone and other anemones or corals. At an adult size of approximately 2 feet in diameter and requiring about 12 inches of space between itself and other anemones or corals, a larger aquarium is often required to properly housing them depending on their tank mates.

However, if not housed with other anemones or corals, Sebae Anemones can be kept in aquariums as small as 24 to 30 gallons. Sebae Anemones will host a variety of clownfish species including: Sebae Clowns, Tomato Clownfish, Maroon Clownfish, Percula Clownfish, Ocellaris Clownfish and other species as well. Healthy Sebae Anemones have very sticky tentacles that pack a potent sting, which they use to kill small fish and invertebrate species and to defend themselves against neighboring anemones and corals.

Care should be taken when keeping this anemone species in small aquariums with fish other than Clownfish and other anemones. In large reef aquariums they can coexist with other fish and coral species if they have room to establish themselves away from other anemones and corals.

Feeding & Nutrition

How to feed and provide proper nutrition for Sebae Anemone.

The Sebae Anemone receives nutrition from both the zooxanthellae that it hosts and from meaty foods that it captures with its tentacles. Hobbyists will need to house Sebae Anemones under intense lighting consisting of either metal halide lighting or high-end compact fluorescent or LED lighting systems.

In addition to the food the hosted zooxanthellae produce for the Anemone, they will also need to be fed pieces of meaty marine foods like chopped fish, shrimp, clams, mussel or other similar marine based meaty foods.

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