AquaticCare difficulty: AdvancedLegal complexity: Low

Beaded sea anemone

Heteractis aurora · also called Aurora anemone, Beaded anemone

Rows of bead-like swellings on the tentacles give this Indo-Pacific anemone its name. The column stays out of sight in the sediment, and a disturbed animal can disappear into the sand completely. Plan on strong lighting and deep sand over something firm for the foot, and feed it regular meaty food as well. It stings and its tentacles can feel sticky, so keep corals and small fish out of its reach.

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Quick facts

Size	Disc up to about 25 cm across, with tentacles to about 5 cm, each carrying up to about 20 bead-like swellings.
Lifespan	—
Social needs	solo
Native region	Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to Eniwetok Atoll and south to Mauritius
Origin	Old World
Climate	Tropical
Water type	Marine
Family	Heteractidae
Genus	Heteractis

Part of the Sea Anemones

Stinging, sessile cnidarians ranging from clownfish-hosting giants to nano-sized carpet species. Many are demanding, mobile, and can sting corals or be drawn into pumps — careful placement and rock-stable water are essential.

Bubble tip anemone Carpet anemone Christmas anemone Condy anemone Haddon's carpet anemone Hell's fire anemone Hemprich's sea anemone Long tentacle anemone Magnificent anemone Mertens' carpet anemone Mini Maxi Anemone Pizza anemone Rock flower anemone Sebae Anemone +2 more →

Color & pattern variants

Natural variants occur in the wild; selectively bred (man-made) variants were developed in captivity.

Natural

Candy Cane Mint Beaded Anemone →

A hobby colour name. No fuller description is on record.

Sky Blue and White Beaded Anemone →

Named for its sky blue and white colouring.

Habitat & enclosure

Provide strong light and more than about 10 cm (4 in) of sand with a hard surface beneath it. In the wild the flat disc lies on soft sediment or in rocky crevices, from the Red Sea to Eniwetok Atoll and south to Mauritius. One care reference asks for at least 75 gal (280 L).

Keep stable reef water: SG about 1.025, 24-27 °C (75-81 °F), pH 8.1-8.4.

Substrate

Use more than about 10 cm (4 in) of sand over a hard surface, such as a buried rock, so the foot can grip while the column stays buried.

Equipment & setup

Use strong reef lighting and moderate flow that does not scour the sand. Guard pump intakes and use long tongs for target feeding.

Diet

Relies on light and on food. It is one of the host anemones recorded bleaching in the wild, so it holds zooxanthellae and needs strong lighting. Feed chopped fish or shrimp about once a week, placed on the tentacles.

Behavior & temperament

Relatively few tentacles leave the flat disc in view, and the rows of swellings look like beads on a string. A startled animal can sink its entire body into the sand if the foot is well anchored, so an empty patch of sand is not always a lost animal. It hosts seven anemonefish species, though mature fish are rarely found on it, which marks it as a nursery host.

Health

It stings and its tentacles can feel sticky, so keep corals and small fish out of its reach. Watch how neighbours respond. A shallow bed gives it nowhere to retreat and nothing firm for the foot, and this is the first thing to fix if it will not settle. Loss of colour or a slack body calls for a check on light and water.

Tips, DIY & hacks

Check for the beaded tentacles when identifying it. The hobby sometimes uses the name sand anemone here, but that label also covers unrelated burrowers with different needs, so do not rely on it. Build the deep sand bed first. It stings and its tentacles can feel sticky, so keep corals and small fish out of its reach.