If you want to look for something new and uncommon, the endemic Hawaiian Mann’s Anemone (Cladactella manni) is a worthy target. The anemone itself looks very different from what you might probably see in your local LFS. From outside appearance, Cladactella manni look similar to the cold water anemone of the genus Actinia with more weird bubble-like tissue popping out all over the base, and about the size of a tea cup. The tentacles of Mann’s Anemone are dressed in dark red/purple and held upright like an urchin spines.
Before getting a Hawaiian Mann’s anemone, make sure that you know their basic care requirements. First, Cladactella is not a host of all clownfish and it may eat them. And second, Cladactella comes from a surge zone. It should be warn that this anemone will not fit in your nicely decorated reef tank because it prefer highly oxygenated water with a lot of current to keep it alive.
Hawaiian Mann’s anemone is a challenging species to keep in an aquarium but it will have best chances when provided with lots of water movement. So anyone who want to blaze a trail, please prepare yourself with an idea of how to keep it alive in captivity. If you succeed with this, maybe an Hawaiian Surge zone biotope tank exhibition in your place is worth a visit.
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