Heteractis crispa was most often found on the seaward reefs and some lagoon pinnacles in the Marshalls, and they were nearly always occupied by Amphiprion chrysopterus. Ususally tan to brown in color, often with pink or purple tips to the tentacles, they sometimes become bluish to purplish overall. These anemones are strongly affected by bleaching, when warmer than usual water temperature causes them to lose their symbiotic zooxanthellae and become mostly white, sometimes with pink tentacle tips. (See the bleaching discussion under Heteractis magnifica.) Once one of the most common clownfish hosting anemones in Kwajalein Atoll, these were all but wiped out by the series of bleaching events in 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2016. Even before that last bleaching, we had seen only two specimens of this once common anemone during the previous two years, and all the familiar individuals we had visited many times at favorite dive sites were gone.
Some Heteractis crispa bleaching or fully bleached are shown below.
Below appear to be juveniles.
Created 27 July 2018
Updated 23 May 2023