Condy Anemone - Condylactis gigantea
Updated August 6, 2019
Author: Mike - FishLore Admin
Social Media: 
Many marine hobbyists long to keep an anemone in their saltwater tanks. The Condylactis Anemone is often recommended to beginners because Condy Anemones are usually less demanding than many of the other anemones and because they are inexpensive ($5 - $10). Don't let the cheap price tag fool you into thinking that they don't have special requirements because they certainly do.
It needs a well established tank that has been set up for several months (preferably longer) and an aquarium that is showing stable and good water parameter readings.
The Condy Anemone is photosynthetic and it also needs to eat frozen or fresh fish food preparations. At a minimum, we would recommend at least LED's, T5's or power compacts with 50/50 bulbs (full spectrum/actinic) along with supplemental feedings every other day, or twice a week. Fresh seafood from the local market such as shrimp and clams work well. Cut the fresh, uncooked seafood into very small pieces and use tank tongs or a turkey baster to deliver the food to the anemone's mouth.
You should be warned that Condy Anemones can move around the tank, albeit slowly. This means that you will need to use foam filters over any power head intakes. Many hobbyists have lost anemones because of an unprotected power filter intake! You will probably not want to keep them in a reef tank with corals because they have a sting that can harm corals, fish and other anemones.
This anemone is not a "natural" host for the clown fishes. However, some hobbyists have reported success with keeping clown fishes with their Condylactis Anemone, whereas others have reported the demise of either the clownfish or the anemone after the introduction.
They can be an interesting anemone to keep and it can be a good one to start with provided that you can meet some of this animal's demands detailed above. Remember that they can live extremely long lives in the ocean and we need to do our utmost to provide the best possible care for them. Some folks think that the key to success for this animal is performing frequent partial water changes (10 - 20% every 2 weeks), supplementing with iodine, having the right light intensity over the tank (at minimum - LED's, T5's or Power compacts in short tanks and HO, VHO or Metal Halides in tanks deeper than the standard 24 inches) and supplemental feedings with a variety of fresh marine foods.
Share your thoughts below and help others keep this fascinating anemone.
Condy Anemone Care
Scientific Name : Condylactis gigantea
Common Names : Haitian anemone, Pink tipped anemone
Care Level : Difficult
Size : 6 - 10 inches (15 - 25 cm)
Life span : Anemones are thought to live perpetually, or in other words, they can live for an extremely long time in the wild.
pH : 8.1 - 8.4
Temperature : 75°F - 82°F (25°C - 28°C)
Specific Gravity : 1.023 - 1.025
Carbonate Hardness (dKH) : 8 - 12°
Tank Light : Minimum recommended lighting levels would be 50/50 (actinic/10,000k daylight bulbs) power compacts in tanks with standard depth (24 inches) and HO, VHO or Metal Halides in deeper tanks.
Origin / Habitat : Caribbean, Western Atlantic
Temperament / Behavior : They can move around the tank to find a suitable location. Corals, fish and other anemones can be harmed by the sting of the condy anemone.
Breeding : Asexual breeders.
Aquarium Size : 30 gallon (114 liters) minimum
Compatible Tank Mates : Not a good choice for reef tanks because they can sting other sessile animals in the tank. They can also sting and harm smaller fish.
Fish Disease : Can be difficult to diagnose symptoms and corresponding diseases in anemones. Anemones that are dying are believed to release toxins into the water that can harm or even kill tank inhabitants.
Diet / Foods : Fresh seafood from the local grocery store in the form of shrimp and clams cut up into very small, fine pieces can be given to your anemone every other day. They are also photosynthetic, which means that they get some of the energy they need from the tank lights. Please don't try to keep these anemones with sub-standard lighting systems.
Tank Region : Slow moving and may affix themselves to a location for weeks at a time only to move to a new spot when they feel like it.
Site References :
thecephalopodpage.org
Wikipedia
Condy Anemone Comments
| From: Jeff I've had one for over a year now and it still moves all over my 75 gallon tank. I've had to rescue it several times from the power head intakes at the top of the tank, even though there are protective strainers at the bottom of the power heads it still manages to get stuck from time to time. It has some really nice blue tips at the end of it's tentacles and it seems to have grown slightly in the time that I've had it. I use a home made feeding stick (chopsticks) and feed mine an uncooked, very small piece of shrimp (quarter inch size) 2 times a week. I place the shrimp at the end of the chopsticks and gently touch some of the anemone's tentacles. It will greedily wrap them around the shrimp and I slide the chopsticks away, leaving the piece of shrimp in the anemone's tentacles. It eats quite fast and it only takes about a minute for the shrimp to make it from the tentacles to the mouth. It occasionally will compact itself and expel some sort of brown strainy hairlike substance. I'm assuming this is part of the digestive process... |
| From: Ometta Martin I brought a pink tip anemone and it just started moving around my tank. I am afraid that it will sting my other inhabitants. A small blue tang, a scooter blennie, and four snails. This mornig I saw my blue tang on her side, gills moving, but close to the anemone. What are some things I can do to protect my other fish. |
| If you're talking about this blue tang, they frequently lay on their sides, especially when frightened. I don't think you need to worry about your anemone catching a healthy fish. They may be able to grab a sick or dying fish. |
| From: Tanya I bought a condy two days ago and after acclimation I placed him in the tank, gently with a net, placed his foot (pretty pinkish red color) into a crevice of equal size to his foot on a rock, held him there for approx 10-15 seconds, and he firmly attached and has been there since. He doesnt look to be stressed or struggling, he eats whenever given the opportunity, and my two maroon clowns seem to be scoping him out. Wish me luck! |
| Condys are not a natural host for the maroon clownfish... But you never know in aquariums. Good luck. |