Beaded sea anemone

Heteractis aurora

Guardian: Isabella Gourde

This anemone is known as a 'nursery' anemone because it is often only a temporary home for young clownfish on their journey to find a more suitable host anemone.

It hosts 7 different types of clownfish.

If you were captured by this anemone you would first be entangled by Its long spiralling sticky tentacles (spirocysts). As you were moved closer to its mouth shorter tentacles with hooks would begin to poison and subdue you (Basitrichs) and then, while being swallowed, you would feel the most pain as the killing tentacles in its throat hook into you (microbasic p-mastigophores ).