Anemone Morph Question

[BantyRooster97]

For a few years I have had a RBTA in my tank & last year I added a Quad color speckled nem. They split quite often but recently I found some really small nems in the tank that look different.

How possible / probable is it that my nems "bred" and created a morph? Some of the really small nems in the tank look like my RBTA but have speckles in their centers.

My speckled nems are very different colors from my RBTA and have the speckles all the way to their tips. These are not the same.

(will try to post pics tomorrow)

S

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Majanos?

 

[BantyRooster97]

Anemone, when I say small I mean like 1" - 2" across. I know the difference between mojano and nems.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Majanos are a pest anemone that resemble small BTAs.

 

[BantyRooster97]

I get it, but this is not a mojano. The tips are different and it has a colored & speckled middle.

This tank is not new & has not had anything introduced besides acro frags in over a year. Mojano wouldn't just appear.

 

[AcroNem]

Majanos are a pest anemone that resemble small BTAs.

I think they meant they can tell the difference between the anemomes Anemonia manjano and Entacmaea quadricolor.

But to answer your question, although E. quadricolor can reproduce sexually it isn't likely in most of our systems. They can morph and coloration can change during a split though. It happens frequently where clones don't actually end up looking like clones.

 

[AcroNem]

But please post pictures when you can

 

[BantyRooster97]

My quads are a much lighter orange/pink color compared to my RBTA. The quads (from coral collection) are speckled all the way to their tips & have a teal center. My RBTA have a deep blue/purple center but have tips that are lot deeper red.

These little ones (one if about 2" across) seem to have red tips, the blue/purple center but the center ha specs.

That's why I was wondering if a morph was possible.

I will try to get pics tomorrow (tank is in my office).
thx

 

[AcroNem]

My quads are a much lighter orange/pink color compared to my RBTA. The quads (from coral collection) are speckled all the way to their tips & have a teal center. My RBTA have a deep blue/purple center but have tips that are lot deeper red.

These little ones (one if about 2" across) seem to have red tips, the blue/purple center but the center ha specs.

That's why I was wondering if a morph was possible.

I will try to get pics tomorrow (tank is in my office).
thx

Yep, morphs are indeed possible. But it's still puzzling how group of small ones got in your system to begin with. Are you missing one? Did one get split into many pieces somehow?

 

[BantyRooster97]

I've had several split over the past year, but these kind of appeared from back of my tank. I was removing all the nems from my main tank as I acquired more acros (they keep killing them) to get them out. I sold off numerous of both types but I kept these that were different. I started a nem only tank and kept 1 of each of my original nems & these 2 different ones.

The ones that have split are always larger than these 2. My quads tend to split when they get really large (8" - 9" across) & the RBTA when they are about (6'-7").

 

[AcroNem]

Hmm. I'll wait for pics because I'm curious what they look like as well. Something else could have always come in on rocks or other coral. And just for the sake of accuracy, RBTA are E. quadricolor as well. I hope these new ones aren't a pest, but we'll see.

 

[JaimeAdams]

Yeah, lets see some pictures, but yes it is certainly possible that they morphed, but it is possible, just unlikely that they reproduced sexually.

 

[Rispa]

Maybe the question here is what type of filter you use. That might explain how they weren't filtered out as babies

 

[BantyRooster97]

filter = rear center drain w/herbie set up, to sump that has a skimmer section, cheato / macro section then back to a return. no socks or other filters. CaRx (w/masterflex pump) pulls out of skimmer section.

 

[LbulletM]

And just for the sake of accuracy, RBTA are E. quadricolor as well.

Thank you. The repeated "distinction" between RBTA and Quadricolors was killing me reading through after you pointed out the scientific names of Majanos and Bubble Tips.

 

[AcroNem]

Any pics?

 

[davocean]

We could guess forever w/out seeing pics, but highly doubt any kind of cross or morph

 

[AcroNem]

E. quadricolor morphs are fairly common, it's the sudden appearance of these small anemones without any splits that I'm very skeptical of.

 

[davocean]

Well, they do also spawn, and bud, not just split, but I would expect same color, and I'm not sure how a morph of the 2 he has could come about, but again it's anyones guess w/out good pics

 

[AcroNem]

Well, they do also spawn, and bud, not just split, but I would expect same color, and I'm not sure how a morph of the 2 he has could come about, but again it's anyones guess w/out good pics

It is completely possible for a clone to look different from the parent polyp. But with what we've been told I'm thinking they're a different anemone. It's highly unlikely they've had a spawning event with many that settled out. I really just want to see pics so this can be settled. It doesn't make much sense.