I wonder if H. magnifica is a cloner?

[BonsaiNut]

Picture says it all...

[Ron Popeil]

while diving off the coast of phi phi don in thailand, thats exactly what it looked like. on the brochure i looked at before my dive it showed a photograph of a lone heteractis magnifica on a spot titled: "anemone reef". i asked our dive master, is there going to be that anemone out there? he said yes. but i didnt want to be disappointed, so i asked if he was sure this exact type of anemone was out there....
as soon as we got in the water, on a pillar of rock about 50 or so feet tall, an entire carpet of heteractis magnifica. a solid mass almost like the rock was covered in a lawn of these anemones. it was spectacular. i saw thousands of them out in this region and only one other anemone species: e. quadricolor.

[BonsaiNut]

I am envious. Sounds AWESOME.

[Ron Popeil]

granted at the time i was using a disposable camera in a little plastic case to take these photographs...not to mention trying to hold still while a very strong current wishes you elsewhere.....i apologize for the quality, but the general idea is visible.



amongst the thick green tenticled magnificas, ever so often a brown with bright white tip tenticled magnifica would pop up. the most frequently seen color morph was the purple base green tenticled form, but white base with brown tenticle and lots of dark base with white tipped tenticles were also common. amphiprion akallopsis was everywhere, i saw one pair of either ocellaris or percula and a pair of a. ephippium in the bubble tip anemone i saw. if youre interested in a few more pictures...check out this thread: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...97#post4892397

[BonsaiNut]

Incredible. In Tahiti the only magnificas I saw were the blood red base with brown tentacles with white tips. Didn't see them in huge fields like in your photos, but there would be several on a single coral "bonnie" within the fringe reef (inside the lagoon). You could often find them just by looking for the clowns first, since the clowns would be swimming higher in the water column and there was never a clown without an anemone. I'll check out your site when I'm not at work!

[slimreb]

I really need to learn to scuba. I would love to see the scenes you guys have posted pictures of in person one day. That would just be great to see all those H. Magnificas and their clowns. I am envious of both you too for seeing those in person.

[showjet98]

Ron, you saw ocellaris in bta's? if so, that should be scientifically documented because they are not thought to host in those naturally. They werent true percs because there range does not extend that far north west.

[ousnakebyte]

Do they (H. magnifica) clone by division of the oral disk or "poppin' one off the side..."?

[Ron Popeil]

showjet, the only pair of ocellaris i saw were in the magnificas, the a. ephippium were in the only bubble tip i saw.

in regards to splitting, from what i understand the anemones divide via the oral disk, similar to a bubble tip anemone.

[Gary Majchrzak]

Thanks for sharing the pics, guys.