Ricordea florida

Ricordea florida

Ricordea florida, also known as Florida Scheibenanemone, is a flower animal of the order of the disc anemones ( Corallimorpharia ). The sessile animals live in shallow water regions of the Caribbean, in the Bahamas and the Florida coast in depths up to 50 meters. Their extreme pigmentation Ricordea florida has become very popular with saltwater aquarists.

Way of life

Ricordea florida living sessile, mostly in large incurred by budding mat-like colonies on rocks or dead skeletons of stony corals. In deeper water, live specimens are usually solitary. Like many other shallow marine regions inhabiting disc anemones are animals with zooxanthellae, single-celled algae that live in the skin of the polyps, in a symbiotic relationship. The zooxanthellae carry out photosynthesis while consuming carbon dioxide, which is reacted with oxygen to form carbohydrates ( sugar). The nutrients thus formed also benefit the nutrition of the disc anemones. In addition, zooplankton is taken. On the body slice of Ricordea florida live commensal shrimps of the genus Periclimenes, and two Ruderfußkrebsarten: antillanus Asteropontios longipalus and Paramolgus.

Features

Ricordea florida has a flat body plate that can reach four to six inches in diameter and is covered with numerous short, non-retractable tentacles with rounded tips. The tentacles on the body edge are often slimmer and longer. In colonies living specimen usually remain small, their basal disc is often elongated, while solitary animals up to eight inches can be wide and the basal disc has a round shape. Ricordea florida is usually brownish, green, beige or yellow color. But there are also red, pink, orange, purple and blue tints. Often the disk edge is colored differently (often light blue) than the central part and the mouth opening. The color of the Ricordea florida disc anemones is dependent on various factors, including of the depth at which they live on the water temperature, time of year and other influences of their environment. Most specimens have one or two mouth openings. In elongated specimens but can be up to seven mouths.

Aquarium maintenance

Ricordea florida are very easily adapted to halt disc anemones and also for beginners salt-water aquariums. You need an average illuminance, particularly colorful copies a high, and not too strong current.