A Summertime Favorite, Watermelon (bubbles nems)

Bulb / Bubble Anemones are pretty much the ideal choice for the aquarist who would like to observe one of aquaria's most fascinating symbiotic relationships. This Anemone in particular is widely known for its propensity for easily hosting a wide variety of clownfish (and some damsels). Its ability to host many different species of anemonefishes offers the aquarist a huge variety of choices in establishing this interesting symbiotic partnership. There is no shortage of compatibility charts online, but in our experience, nearly any readily available anemonefish that wants a host is likely to take up refuge in a Bubbletip.

Bubble Anemones come in a huge variety of color morphs and sizes from brown and green and one inch across, to brilliant flame yellow, orange and iridescent pink and more that a foot across. This is what makes the “Watermelon” variant of this species so unique, in that their coloration is generally green with extraordinary rose tips, and some will have even wilder orange and yellow tips. Rose bulbs in generally come from a variety of different tropical locations ranging from the west central Pacific to the Red Sea, though we've found this color form has a more localized distribution. From its initial classification in 1828, it has been recombined with synonymous species more than 60 times

There is a reason we call this species “Ideal.” It is almost certainly the most hardy and adaptable of all the commonly available host anemones. While there are a few anemones that may be more aquarium hardy, these species are usually not hosts, and some even fall into the category of pests (think aiptasia)! Bubble nems do extremely well in captivity, as everything that makes them happy is well within the ability of the vast majority of most aquarists. The primary keys to keeping them successfully are gentle random flow, regular meals and good, consistent water quality. Water quality demands are inline with all the other tropical reef animals that are commonly kept. Temperature should be around 78 and not fluctuate too much, specific gravity from 1.023 to 1.028, with a low nutrient loads.

In regards to food, anemones will tell you how much to feed them. Watch them carefully, if they are kicking out undigested food, slow down meal frequency or sizes. Small anemones obviously need less food than large ones. Food should be meaty, marine based and sized to be easily consumed by the nem in question. Silversides (chopped), krill and chopped shrimp are common (and good) choices. As far as frequency, offer small meals by hand, once or twice a week. Bubbles can take quite a bit of light if acclimated to it gently, though mostly they will migrate slowly to places they prefer, and unless those places are wildly out of place, they should be allowed to stay where they go. While all anemones need to be fed meaty meals, feeding them less is possible if they are getting long days of intense light. Lastly, many quadricolors (this anemone species) readily split themselves into new anemones when they are healthy and “happy”.

If you're looking for a hardy, gorgeous anemone that will host a huge variety of anemonefishes, look no further than the Watermelon Bubble Tips. Have your LFS give us a call, we have an excellent variety of this summertime favorite in stock right now!