How much light and flow does Bubble tip anemone need?

Anemone, high light at roughly 160–250 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ PAR, with medium flow. Light and flow must match: high light with weak flow burns tips, strong flow with weak light thins the tissue.

Will Bubble tip anemone attack neighbouring corals?

It has sweeper tentacles: at night it extends tentacles several times its own width and burns whatever they reach. Leave at least one adult diameter between it and its neighbours.

Does Bubble tip anemone need feeding?

Optional. It survives without feeding, but regular small doses improve growth and colour.

What water parameters does Bubble tip anemone need?

24–26 °C, specific gravity 1.024–1.026, 7–9 dKH, 400–450 mg/L calcium, 1250–1350 mg/L magnesium. That is only 2 dKH wide, so stability matters more than hitting a particular number.

Is Bubble tip anemone a good beginner coral?

Difficulty: beginner. Growth: medium. Place it in the midground / specimen. Spacing: never anchor it in the middle of a coral cluster; it moves on its own and burns every stationary coral in its path.

G-03 / 23Marine

Bubble tip anemone奶嘴海葵

Entacmaea quadricolor · Actiniidae

Bubble tip anemone: tentacle tips swell into bulbs and it hosts clownfish naturally, but it walks — and it kills corals it walks over.

Illustration to come

G-03 / 23 · Bubble tip anemone Entacmaea quadricolor

SpecificationsCoral atlas

Name: 奶嘴海葵
Scientific name: Entacmaea quadricolor
Family: Actiniidae
Origin: Reefs of the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to the Great Barrier Reef and Fiji
Type: Anemone
Light: High light
PAR: 160–250
Flow: Medium flow
Aggression: Sweeper tentacles
Feeding: Optional feeding
Alkalinity: 7–9 dKH
Calcium: 400–450 mg/L
Magnesium: 1250–1350 mg/L
Salinity: 1.024–1.026 SG
Growth: Medium
Placement: Midground / Specimen
Level: Beginner

Water requirementsMarine

Temp.24–26 °C

pH8.1–8.4

Salinity1.024–1.026 SG

Alkalinity7–9 dKH

Units: temperature in °C, hardness in German degrees (dGH / dKH), marine salinity as specific gravity at 25 °C, volume in litres. These are the values recorded for the species and do not follow the site unit switcher.

Keeping notes

1Spacing: never anchor it in the middle of a coral cluster; it moves on its own and burns every stationary coral in its path.
2Flow: medium — without enough flow the tentacles stop bulging, and every intake and wavemaker must be covered with a guard.
3Feeding: optional; one shrimp a week speeds growth, but overfeeding makes it grow fast and split.
4Water tolerance: fairly high, but above 28 °C or after a salinity crash it shrinks into a ball and expels its zooxanthellae.
5Growth form: reproduces by longitudinal division; the halves each pick a spot, so the tank slowly gains anemones.

Frequently asked questions

How much light and flow does Bubble tip anemone need?: Anemone, high light at roughly 160–250 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ PAR, with medium flow. Light and flow must match: high light with weak flow burns tips, strong flow with weak light thins the tissue.
Will Bubble tip anemone attack neighbouring corals?: It has sweeper tentacles: at night it extends tentacles several times its own width and burns whatever they reach. Leave at least one adult diameter between it and its neighbours.
Does Bubble tip anemone need feeding?: Optional. It survives without feeding, but regular small doses improve growth and colour.
What water parameters does Bubble tip anemone need?: 24–26 °C, specific gravity 1.024–1.026, 7–9 dKH, 400–450 mg/L calcium, 1250–1350 mg/L magnesium. That is only 2 dKH wide, so stability matters more than hitting a particular number.
Is Bubble tip anemone a good beginner coral?: Difficulty: beginner. Growth: medium. Place it in the midground / specimen. Spacing: never anchor it in the middle of a coral cluster; it moves on its own and burns every stationary coral in its path.