neverendingninja

Today, I went to the Weeks Bay Estuary just to walk around, and while walking along the shore, noticed a very odd looking...thing. Needless to say, it sparked my interest. I got closer, and realized it was a sea anemone attached to an oak leaf. I picked it up, found a contain and placed it in some of the water it was found in.

I brought it home, because I was just too excited about it. I know this may not have been the right thing, but at the same time, I have NEVER heard of a sea anemone living in brackish water. I did some research, and found a few things but nothing that looks similar to what I found. I will get some pictures later, but for right now I will describe it.

It has a...mushroom kind of looking base, about 1.5" in diameter when it is closed up. When opened, it can spread its tentacles something in the order of 2.5"-3". They are a very pale, sandy orange, but when I disturbed it moving it from the water bottle I brought it home in to a tupperware container of, again, its natural water, it let out this EXTREMELY bright, neon orange goo. The exterior is a very drab brown, the color of mud almost.

Anyhow, I have a pond in my backyard which has an over abundance of mosquito fish in it, and out of curiosity, I snagged one with a pair of tweezers and set it in the middle of the anemone, and sure enough it swallowed it right down. I offered it two more very small fish, and it consumed both of them quite readily also.

So, my question is, are there any anemones of this sort that inhabit brackish waters? Did I come across a hitchhiker that rode in from the Gulf of Mexico on a boat? Or did I find the remnants of a dumped out SW setup?

Anyhow, once the batteries for my camera charge, I'll post some pictures. I plan on taking it down to my LFS tomorrow to trade it for a plant or two.

sirdarksol

Anenomes can be found in estuaries (though normally areas that have higher salt content). It could be that the place you found it in had a higher level of salt than normal, and it had moved in relatively quickly to find a place where there was little competition for food.
Or some misguided person let it go, thinking it would survive.
For that matter, it might have gotten knocked loose from the rock it was on and pulled in by a stray current.

Here is one possibility that I have found.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=604
Two things caught my attention. One is that it can extend its tentacles to become sweeper tentacles, and the other is that they have extremely varying appearances.

If it is that, my bets are strongly for misguided aquarium owner who couldn't keep his/her aquarium anymore, since these are Asiatic.

neverendingninja

I think the hypothesis of someone letting it go is the best bet. Fortunately, this makes me feel better about the situations for two reasons. One, it eliminates it from competition with native inverts, and two, it can hopefully be kept alive.

The reason I would worry about it competing, is because the Gulf of Mexico is not far from where I found it, but I think it would be a bit odd to find a fully matured anemone that happened to float in on the current, all the way past the jettis and into the estuary...doesn't seem plausible.

Anyhow, I don't think its a bubble tip...I would hope it is, as then my LFS would definitely take it off my hands and give me a few decent plants for it.

Well, here's some pictures, one has a $5 for size reference

sirdarksol

I think you're right about it not being bubbletip, now that I have a pic to look at.
I wouldn't discount nature carrying stuff in strange ways. While it's not likely, it is possible. The saltwater has to get there somehow, so there are tiny little back currents. If there weren't, the force of the river exiting would keep the water entirely fresh. (Yes, this is a simplification of what actually happens, but it'll do for an explanation) There is a possibility, though ultra unlikely, that something that small got picked up and carried in. It's happened before.
However, I still think that release is the most likely scenario.

So how about
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...fm?pCatId=1704
It lives in the Atlantic/Carribean, so is closer to home.
Whatever it is, you might want to think about bringing it to your LFS. Anenomes can be pretty fragile, so this little guy may not have terribly long to live (unless you have a good SW setup to acclimate it to). I'm sure you'll get something, as most anenomes aren't cheap.

Good luck.

neverendingninja

Well, my apistogrammas were on my doorstep when I came down, and I'm in the process of acclimating them and feeding my son, then we're off to the LFS to at least give the anemone a good home.

neverendingninja

Took it to the LFS, and the lady said it was a native rock anemone. She said they're pretty common in the gulf, not so much in the estuaries, but it would probably be happiest if I took it back. She offered to keep it if I wanted, or help me get set up so I could keep it, but I'm going to let it go, for 2 reasons; one, it has its purpose in the fragile ecosystem around here..with all the pollution and development going on, I'm surprised they're still around...and two, I just want it to be happy! ;:a1

She also said there are some very interesting ones if I were to go about 45min southeast and go snorkeling 15 feet off shore.

sirdarksol

YAY! I got something right!

Also learned something new. I didn't realize that anenomes were adaptable enough to survive an estuary. Since it's a local and can actually survive where you found it, I agree with your reason to take it back.
Also, kudos to the LFS lady who suggested taking it back rather than looking at it as potentially cheap/free stock to sell.

neverendingninja

Right on, they're awesome folks down at Fat Fish

mrspclayton

Hello Everyone,

Can anenomes and live rocks live in Brackish water? I am going to get a bigger tank for my little green puffer... Icky T. Fish, but I was wondering if I could put live rocks and some type of anenome in the tank also.

Please advise!
Penny

sirdarksol

Welcome to Fishlore.

Generally, no, anenomes and live rock will not do well in brackish water. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule, but you don't want to count on them. As stuff dies off, it can mess with water chemistry a lot.