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Christmas AnemonePainted Anemone, Northern Red Anemone, Painted Urticina Urticina crassicornisPhoto Wiki-Commons: Courtesy Jack McGeeBe the first to add a comment! The Christmas Anemone is an easily identified Urticina Anemone, with its smooth column and opaque, often colorful tentacles!Christmas Anemone Contents The Christmas Anemone is a colorful and common cold water anemone from the North Pacific. If you keep a coldwater system, the Christmas Anemone is another anemone variety to add to your display. They are a moderate sized anemone with the column being about 3" (7.6 cm) in diameter, with across the crown reaching about 10" (25 cm). As long as their requirements are met, they are easy to care for. But it is a good idea to Invest in a chiller before you obtain one of these guys. Of the Urticina anemones, a couple species have very festive colors and at first glance they look very similar to one another. The Christmas Anemone Urticina crassicornis is one of these. Its similar looking relatives include the Painted Anemone Urticina grebelnyi and the Dahlia Anemone Urticina felina. Common names you'll see for these fancy anemones include the Mottled Anemone, Painted Urticina, Northern Red Anemone, Painted Tealia, Red and Green Anemone, Northern Red Anemone, Dahlia anemone, and Thick-petaled rose anemone. Although these common names are often used interchangeably, there is basically one generally accepted common name for each species. And though these Urticina anemones can look quite similar to each other, each one has its own unique characteristic to identify it by. The unique characteristic of the Christmas Anemone is that it always has a smooth column. It ranges from pale orange to reddish-brown often contrasted with stripes or irregular patches. The oral disc is a pale white or yellow, usually sharing the same solid color in the tentacles. The mouth is reddish and there are red radial bands outlining the base of each tentacle. When caring for the Christmas Anemone, using similar husbandry for other cold water anemones is suggested. Like all anemones, these Painted Anemones use their venomous cells or nematocyst found in their tentacles to sting and deflect any possible threats or attacks. But they mostly utilize them for stunning and capturing prey. Some predators of this anemone can be certain nudibranchs, sea stars, and snails. For more Information on the Nettle Sea Anemones see: |
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Family: Actiniidae
Species: Urticina crassicornis
Sea Anemone Facts: The Christmas Anemone or Christmas Sea Anemone Urticina crassicornis was described by O. F. Mueller in 1776. Some other common names they are known by are Painted Anemone, Northern Red Anemone, and Painted Urticina.
Where are Sea Anemones Found: The U. crassicornis is widely distributed and common in the North Pacific and other northern seas. .
Sea Anemone Habitat: Christmas Anemones are found in intertidal colder waters down to about 98 feet (30 m) They inhabit vertical rock walls that are shaded, or sand and rock covered shore lines as well as tide pools. They are found solitary or in small groupings. Similar to other cold water tidal anemones, they retract their tentacles and close up if the water is sparse during low tides.
They eat prey similar to what other Urticina anemones eat such as sea urchins, small fish, crabs, mussels, gastropods, chitons, barnacles, and they may feed on stranded jellyfish. They use their venomous cells or nematocyst found in their tentacles to sting and deflect any possible threats or attacks but mostly utilize them for stunning and capturing prey. Some predators, can be certain nudibranchs, sea stars and snails. The Candy Stripe Shrimp Lebbeus grandimanus is immune to its sting and lives in a commensal relationship with it.
The Urticina crassicornis is not on the IUCN Red List for endangered species
Appearance of a Sea Anemone: The Christmas Anemone has a very smooth column that is not sticky like other Urticina. This is one characteristic which sets them apart from other species. The color of the column ranges from pale orange to reddish-brown and can have contrasting colors of stripes or irregular patches.
It does have a foot at the bottom of the pedal column that they use to adhere to various surfaces. They also use this "foot" to move around if conditions are not ideal. They can also move by inflating themselves, detaching from the surface, and then rolling along with any current. They will move to avoid predators like starfish, but in the aquarium it is primarily if they are unhappy with the water conditions or the food.
The tentacles are well spaced and are in 5 or more rows. The top row surrounds a mouth that is reddish in color. The oral disk is more pale than the column. It is white or pale yellow with red radial bands that outline the base of each tentacle. The tentacles are usually the same color as the oral disk, and are solid with no markings. The mouth should be closed and tight, and will open when hungry, having an oval look, yet a gaping mouth is a warning signal. The U. crassicornis take food in and expel waste through this same opening.
Sea Anemones Life Cycles: Christmas Anemones can grow up to 3" (7.6 cm) in diameter and can reach as tall as 5" (12.7 cm) or more. They can live from 60 to 80 years.
Sea Anemone Care: The Christmas Anemone is easy to care for if you have appropriate lighting and cold water. As with most anemones, the tank should be at least 1 year old and stable before adding your new Christmas Sea Anemone.
When selecting a U. crassicornis, make sure the color is good, their mouth is not gaping open, and their foot and tentacles are sticky to the touch. Also, they should be attached to something and make sure there is no damage to the foot area, often a result of pulling the anemone off its surface.
To take a Christmas Anemone from another aquarium, use a thin blunt item like a credit card, gently wiggle it under the foot, slowly nudging it away from the glass. If its attached to a rock, ideally you can simply purchase the rock as well. On a rock, it would be very wise to purchase the rock, because these guys can stick hard and would probably be damaged if removed. if you cannot purchase the rock then directing water at it or wiggling the rock gently upside down under water while tickling the foot can work.
What Do Sea Anemones Eat: The Christmas Anemone is a carnivore. Feed your U. crassicornis chopped silversides, shrimp, krill, and mussels, fresh chopped fish (from your grocery store), as well as frozen carnivore preparations. Feed once a week or twice a month, since cold water anemones have much slower metabolisms.
Water changes of 10% bi-monthly or 20% a month are typical. Monitor your water quality for your particular situation and adjust your water changes accordingly. An average sized Christmas Anemone is equal to about one fish as far as waste production is concerned. Purigen and Poly-fiber are great products to help in maintaining water quality. Purigen is a synthetic polymer that removes soluble and insoluble impurities from water at an exceptionally high rate and capacity, helping to control ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Additions of Iodine and and trace elements are suggested.
The typical reef environment is what is needed for your Christmas Anemone, but it must be a cold water reef. It is a good idea to Invest in a chiller before you obtain one of these guys. They need live rock or some other solid material they can attach to. Provide some rock crevices as well as rocky overhangs. Be sure to have all of your pumps covered. Most good quality pumps have guards on them and are worth the investment.
- Minimum Tank Size / Length: 10 gallons (38 L)
- Marine Lighting - How much light for anemones: Moderate.
- Temperature: 50° - 68° F (10° - 20° C)
- Salinity / Specific Gravity: 1.023 to 1.025
- Water Movement: Moderate
- Water Region: Bottom of the aquarium
Compatibility and Social Behaviors
All anemones are semi-aggressive because they can be mobile, although most of the cold water anemones stay still if their needs are met. It has often been suggested to not put anemones in a reef environment since corals cannot move away from the stinging tentacles. Once you get your anemone situated and it has not moved for several months, it might be safe to add other corals. Just keep in mind these anemones will sting everything they can reach, like corals and other invertebrates. Anemones will move if your lighting is not good, or the water quality is not to their liking.
After splitting, anemones will tolerate their own "clones" and sometimes their own species. All anemones in the tank need to have their own space, otherwise there can be a "chemical" warfare between species. This will usually cause one to not eat, shrink and eventually die. Having excellent filtration and a large tank will usually allow 2 anemones at opposite ends to thrive. You can also build a natural blockade to help prevent them from wandering into each others "space".
No sexual difference in appearance is known.
The Christmas Anemone will divide in captivity, but there is no information on propagation of cold water anemones. It may be just like other anemones. Similar to other cold water anemones, they reproduce by fission or external fertilization of egg and sperm. When they spawn, they produce larvae that will float away, and eventually finding a spot to land. They then attach and develop a pedal disk that grows into a new anemone.
Problems for the Christmas Anemone are pretty minimal unless your lighting, water movement, feeding and water quality are low. Then your anemone will detach to look for "better conditions." In general, if your anemone moves, it is not happy. Make sure your lighting and water quality is good, and that the food you are offering is to their liking. Some predators include certain nudibranchs, sea stars, and snails.
Buy Sea Anemone: The Christmas Anemone is generally unavailable to aquarists through retailers.
- Animal-World References: Marine and Reef
- K. & N. Sanamyan, D. Schories and H. Krumbeck, Urticina crassicornis (O.F. Mueller, 1776), Actiniaria.com, Copyright 2004 - 2008
- Urticina crassicornis, The Northern Red Anemone or The Painted Urticina, Intertidal Marine Invertebrates of the South Puget Sound
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