Identification: the column is smooth, without verrucae, which sets it apart from the other host anemones. Colours vary widely: rose, orange, red or green forms, green and rose being the most common in aquariums. The bubbles are not permanent: a healthy anemone may have long, thin tentacles, and their cause is still debated. In a small study, extra light did not make bubbles appear, but a short spell of darkness made them deflate.
In the wild it lives from 0 to 200 m and anchors its foot deep in a hole or crevice, with only its tentacles showing. Small individuals cluster in shallow water, large ones live alone deeper down. In the Red Sea, shallow anemones stay in the shade, while deeper ones live in the open and hold four times more microalgae.
Reproduction: it mainly spawns by releasing gametes into the water (January to April in eastern Australia); larvae live up to 59 days before settling. It can also split in two by longitudinal fission, producing clones; in the wild this is rare. In culture, nearly 90% of anemones cut in half survived.
Symbiosis and trade: besides clownfish, it shelters the shrimp Periclimenes brevicarpalis and juvenile Dascyllus trimaculatus. Host anemones are in high demand: in the Philippines a fisher can be paid up to 13 times more for an anemone than for a clownfish, and harvesting them also takes the fish's shelter away. The species has not been evaluated by the IUCN and is not CITES-listed.
