Phymanthus crucifer

Identification: flat disc edged with about 200 short tentacles, either beaded with swollen cross-bars loaded with nematocysts or smooth, sometimes side by side. The disc bears light and dark radial stripes and bumps, bright green in the centre, then brown, lavender, yellow or white outwards; colours vary widely, from sandy to dull green or red. Cream column streaked with red, with bright red suckers that hold debris for camouflage; extended it can measure 15 to 20 cm. It resembles Heteractis aurora.

In the wild its column is buried and anchored to a rock below the sand, so it can pull back when disturbed; it also lives on reefs and rocky ledges and retreats into holes and crevices. LiveAquaria describes it alone or in groups, on shaded vertical walls or in the substrate.

Reproduction: separate sexes and large eggs; the larvae develop inside the mother. Its reproductive cycle is long, more than a year. Status: not evaluated by the IUCN, not CITES-listed; common in the aquarium trade.