Long Tentacle Anemone Care Guide: Placement, Feeding, Host Fish
The long tentacle anemone is the sand-dwelling cousin to bubble tips, and for clownfish keepers looking for something different it offers a sprawling, graceful alternative. This long tentacle anemone care guide from Gensou Aquascaping at 5 Everton Park covers the husbandry specifics for Macrodactyla doreensis, the species most commonly sold under the LTA label in Singapore. They are not beginner anemones but with the right tank they settle reliably and host several clownfish species, adding a textural element few other cnidarians match.
Quick Facts
- LTAs are sand-dwelling; they anchor their foot in substrate, not on rock
- Minimum tank 150-200L for one specimen, with deep sand bed 8-10cm minimum
- Lighting demand is moderate; 100-200 PAR at anemone level is sufficient
- Host pink skunk, saddleback, and occasionally clarkii clownfish
- Requires direct feeding once weekly to maintain body mass
- Not reef safe in the strictest sense — will sting and kill nearby corals
- Singapore pricing ranges $60-150 SGD depending on size and colour
Identifying a Real LTA
Long tentacle anemones are frequently mislabelled. True M. doreensis has a burrowing foot with a purple or pink underside, long tapered tentacles usually beige or pale pink, and a distinctive dimpled oral disc. Sebae anemones (Heteractis crispa) are sometimes sold as LTAs and have different care needs — thicker tentacles, attached foot on rock, higher light demand. Ask to see the foot before buying, and verify the animal is burrowing rather than sitting on rock.
Tank Requirements
LTAs are sand-bed animals. Their foot anchors several centimetres into substrate, so a deep sand bed of 8-10cm is essential. A bare-bottom tank or a tank with only a thin sand layer cannot house an LTA properly — the animal will wander endlessly, get stung on rock, and eventually die.
Provide at least 30cm of open sand area away from any stinging corals. Allow for movement; even settled LTAs relocate occasionally, and the surrounding area becomes a no-build zone for your aquascape plans.
Placement and Settling
Place the anemone gently on the sand surface near rockwork but with clear space around it. Do not bury the foot forcibly. Within 24-72 hours, the animal begins extending its pedal disc into the sand and finds its preferred spot. Once anchored, it usually stays in that spot for months.
If the LTA is mobile for more than a week, the tank has something wrong — usually flow is too strong in its chosen spot, or light is too intense. Adjust flow pumps to reduce sand-level current and observe.
Water Parameters
Standard reef parameters suit LTAs: salinity 1.025-1.026, temperature 24-26°C, pH 8.1-8.4, alkalinity 8-9 dKH, calcium 420-440, magnesium 1300-1400. Nitrate 2-10 ppm is fine; extreme ULNS below 1 ppm can cause bleaching. In Singapore’s ambient climate, a chiller is essential for sustained health.
Lighting
Moderate intensity, mid-spectrum LED suits LTAs. Around 100-200 PAR at the animal’s height is plenty; excessive blue-heavy lighting bleaches tentacle colour over months. If you are running SPS-focused lighting at 400+ PAR near the bottom, an LTA in that zone will bleach — place it in a shaded lower corner or turn down intensity in that segment of the display.
Feeding
LTAs capture passing food via their sticky tentacles and contract visibly when prey contacts them. Target-feed once a week with a small silverside, chopped prawn, or a generous pinch of mysis shrimp. Thaw and rinse food before feeding; never push food into the mouth forcibly. The anemone’s tentacles will fold inward and carry food to the mouth over 20-30 minutes.
Regular feeding makes the difference between a shrinking anemone and one that grows and produces splits over years. Skip the feeding for months and the animal will gradually waste even with strong lighting.
Clownfish Hosting
Pink skunk clownfish (Amphiprion perideraion) are the most reliable natural host pairing. Saddleback clownfish (A. polymnus) also host readily. Common ocellaris and percula sometimes adopt an LTA but often ignore it in favour of a bubble tip or the flow pump outlet.
Introduce clownfish after the anemone has settled for two to three weeks. A resident clownfish changes the anemone’s posture and feeding patterns positively, and the pairing is visually unique because of the sand-bed setting.
Reef Compatibility
Treat LTAs as non-reef-safe in practical terms. Their sting kills soft corals, LPS, and SPS within reach. Leave at least 20cm of no-coral buffer around the anchored LTA, and more if it shows any tendency to drift. In a mixed reef, LTAs are best in a dedicated corner away from your main coral garden.
Common Problems
A deflated, shrunken LTA usually indicates either poor lighting, starvation, or a swing in salinity from poor ATO calibration. Check lighting first, calibrate salinity with a refractometer, and offer food directly. Recovery takes weeks; a shrunken LTA rarely bounces back overnight.
A wandering LTA that refuses to settle is either flow-stressed or light-stressed. Rotate flow pumps and reduce blue intensity for a fortnight.
Sourcing in Singapore
Iwarna Aquafarm, Reef Depot, and Seaview Aquarium carry LTAs regularly at $60-150 SGD depending on size and colour. Dyed LTAs (bright pink, unnatural purple) appear periodically; avoid them as the dye process stresses the animal and colour fades within weeks anyway. Natural beige or pale pink specimens are the durable choice.
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