Stichodactyla haddoni

(Saville-Kent, 1893)

Haddon’s Sea Anemone, Carpet Anemone

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Red Sea to the Fiji Islands.

Size: 30 inches (76 cm)

Natural Environment: Lives singly on slopes and sandy bottom areas with foot attached to buried rock or other hardpan at depths between 10 to 100 feet (3 - 30 m)

General Husbandry: Does best in deep sandy substrates > 4 inches (10 cm) where it will bury its foot and become attached to the aquarium bottom or some deeply buried rock. Will bury completely if sensing danger. Requires swift water movement and high intensity lighting.

Has very short tentacles, with its oral disc, usually convoluted, green, light brown, or yellow, and its tentacle tips green, grey, yellow or rarely pink. If very healthy, tentacles are very sticky.

Requires several feedings per week of chopped shrimp, fish, squid, and/or silversides.

May extend itself at night in the hope of finding plankton-like foods in the evening hours.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Cnidaria

Class: Anthozoa

Order: Actiniaria

Family: Stichodactylidae

Genus: Stichodactyla

FYI: Much easier to keep than S. mertensii and S. gigantean.

May eat small fishes in the aquarium!

Should be the first animal in the aquarium and allowed to roam/find its preferred place before adding other fixed location corals, as it will sting anything it comes in contact with.

Reported to host several different Anemonefishes in the wild - A. clarki, A. akindynos, A. chrysopterus, A. polymnus, A. sebae, and A. chrysogaster. And possibly in captivity, also A. allardi, A. ocellaris, and A. percula.

Experience Level: Intermediate

Diet: Photosynthetic/Carnivore

Temperament: Semi-aggressive

Aquarium Environment: Reef or fish-only aquarium

Coral Safe: No

Fish Safe: With caution

Invertebrate Safe: With caution

Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+

Aquarium Hardiness: Moderately difficult

Calcium (Ca): 380 - 430 mg/l

Alkalinity: 2.5 - 3.0 meq/l

Phosphate (PO4): <0.05 mg/l

Magnesium (Mg): approx. 1350 mg/l (relate to specific gravity)

Temperature Range: 72 - 79°F (22 - 26°C)

Minimum Tank Size: 100 gallons

Lighting: PAR 300 - 500

Water Movement: WM 2 - 3

Specific Gravity: 1.023 - 1.025

pH: 8.0 - 8.4

Iodine/Trace Elements Monitor/as necessary to maintain quality seawater.