Sebae Anemone (Heteractis crispa) Breeding Guide

Heteractis crispa reproduces both sexually, by releasing gametes into the water, and asexually by scissiparity. Its leathery column hosts many clownfish, but its pelagic larvae mean sexual reproduction is not achievable in home aquaria.

Overview

Heteractis crispa, the sebae or leathery anemone, occurs in tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific waters from the eastern coasts of Africa and the Red Sea to Polynesia, and from southern Japan to Australia and New Caledonia. Its flared oral disc reaches 20-50 cm across, with long tentacles 10-15 cm long, rounded and often tipped with a purple or blue spot, set on a grey column dotted with sticky whitish warts. It feeds via zooxanthellae photosynthesis and prey capture and hosts more than 15 anemonefish species, including Amphiprion clarkii, A. percula and A. polymnus.

Reproductive Mode

Reproduction occurs by two routes: sexually, by simultaneous transmission of male and female gametes into the water; and asexually by scissiparity, in which the anemone divides into two separate individuals from the foot or the mouth.

Asexual Propagation by Fission

Asexual scissiparity yields genetically identical clones from a single founder when the animal divides at the foot or mouth. This is the only reproductive pathway plausibly observed within a closed system, though H. crispa is less inclined to split readily than the bubble-tip anemone.

Sexual Reproduction

Sexual reproduction broadcasts gametes into the water, where fertilization produces dispersing planula larvae. As with other host anemones, this pelagic larval phase cannot be completed in a home aquarium, so sexual reproduction is effectively confined to the wild or specialised culture.