Rock Flower Anemone (Phymanthus crucifer)

The Rock Flower Anemone (Phymanthus crucifer) is one of the hardiest and most colorful anemones you can add to a reef tank. Each one is a little different, with a crown of stubby, jewel-toned tentacles in greens, pinks, oranges, and neon accents. This is an "Ultra" grade specimen, hand-picked for premium coloration. Unlike wandering anemones, rock flowers settle into one spot and stay put, making them a beginner-friendly centerpiece.

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Care Guide

Rock Flower Anemones are forgiving by anemone standards, but they still want a stable, established reef tank.

• Mature tank. Add anemones only to an established, stable reef (ideally three or more months old) with consistent salinity, alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium. A 20 gallon or larger tank is recommended.
• Lighting. Moderate to high reef lighting works best, roughly 80 to 150 PAR under LED or T5. Good light keeps the colors vivid since the anemone gets much of its energy from its symbiotic algae.
• Flow. Provide gentle, indirect flow. Too much current makes it detach and tumble, while too little lets debris settle on the oral disc.
• Placement. Tuck the foot into a rock crevice or set it on a sandy bed. It may shuffle a little until it finds a spot it likes, then it generally stays put.
• Feeding. Photosynthetic, but it benefits from target feeding small meaty foods such as mysis or finely chopped seafood once or twice a week. Do not overfeed, as leftover food fouls the water.
• Water. Keep temperature at 75 to 80°F and salinity at 1.024 to 1.026, with stable reef parameters.

Specifications

Compatibility

• Reef-safe and relatively peaceful. Rock flowers tolerate one another, so several can be kept together in an "anemone garden" with a little spacing between them.
• It generally does not host clownfish the way a bubble tip anemone does, though an individual clown will occasionally take to one.
• Avoid known anemone-eaters such as certain butterflyfish, large angelfish, and some large wrasses.
• Give it room from neighboring corals, since it can sting anything it touches.

Recommended Foods & Supplies

• SFBB Freeze Dried Mysis Shrimp, rehydrate to target feed
• Reef Nutrition Tigger Feast live copepods for filter feeding
• Vitalis LPS Coral Soft Pellets for an easy meaty feed
• Quantum Pure Phyto to support the whole reef
• Pair it with our other corals and anemones

Frequently Asked Questions

Will it host my clownfish?
Usually not. Rock flower anemones rarely host clownfish. If hosting is your goal, a bubble tip anemone is a better choice.

Will it move around the tank?
It may shuffle a little until it finds a spot it likes, then it generally stays put. Stable flow and lighting help it settle in faster.

How often should I feed it?
It gets most of its energy from light, but target feeding small meaty foods once or twice a week improves color and growth.

Is it reef safe?
Yes. It stays put far better than wandering anemones, but give it space because it can sting corals it comes into contact with.