Carpet Anemone

Looks how to spot one

Flat, carpet-like oral disc covered in short tentacles

Very large, flattened anemones whose wide disc is packed with short, sticky tentacles, so the animal looks like a soft carpet lying on the sand or reef. Haddon's carpet has alternating short and long tentacles around the edge.42

Personality what they are like

A powerful, semi-aggressive anemone with very sticky tentacles; it is best kept as a focal animal with plenty of room, away from corals and slow, small fish it could catch.425

Daily activity how busy a day looks

Largely stays in one place once settled, anchored in sand or rock.25

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Best suited to experienced reef keepers: it needs a large, mature tank with very stable, clean water and intense lighting, plus regular meaty feedings.45

Home where they are happiest

A large mature reef tank, at least about 285 L (75 US gal) for S. haddoni, with a sand bed and rockwork to anchor in. Retail guidance: 24-27 C, pH 8.0-8.4, specific gravity 1.023-1.025, low to moderate flow and high-intensity light.45

Food basics what goes in the bowl

Feeds through its symbiotic zooxanthellae and also catches small invertebrates and fish with its tentacles. In aquariums it is given mysis, brine shrimp and other meaty frozen foods.25

Company who they like around

A natural host for clownfish such as Clark's, saddleback, false percula and two-band anemonefish, and also shelters juvenile three-spot dascyllus and small shrimps and crabs.423

The story where it all began

Johann Friedrich von Brandt named the genus in 1835, though some species were described much earlier, such as S. helianthus in 1768. Carpet anemones are among the most important clownfish hosts in the wild and are kept by advanced reef hobbyists for their size and colour.14

Recognised by the official bits

Taxonomy (via Wikipedia)

Genus Stichodactyla Brandt, 1835, with five species: S. gigantea, S. haddoni, S. helianthus, S. mertensii and S. tapetum.1