Species of Anemones Found in Tide Pools

Giant Green Anemones

• The giant green anemone is one of the most common tide pool anemones, ranging across the Pacific Coast from Panama to Alaska. If settled in the sun, the giant green anemone takes on a bright green color, but individuals in dark habitats are a paler green. The giant green anemone reaches widths of 9.8 inches and is very territorial. They eat algae, mussels, fish and hermit crabs, though some potential prey will coat themselves in the anemone's mucus so they can traverse the oral plate and tentacles undetected.

Aggregating Anemones

• The aggregating anemone is small, growing only 2 inches across. They are light green with another color, such as blue or purple, on the tip of their tentacles. They are named aggregating anemones because they are often found in an area with other aggregating anemones. These colonies will defend their territory from encroaching anemones, but the aggregating anemones do not sting and force out their own clones.

Strawberry Sea Anemones

• The strawberry sea anemone is named for its bright red oral plate. The tentacles are clear with a white tip. The strawberry sea anemone is a small creature with an oral disc spanning up to 1 inch in diameter, so they prey on smaller fish and crustaceans. The strawberry sea anemone tends to form colonies of closely settled anemones on rocky surfaces, and they are not particularly territorial. They are more closely related to coral than other anemones.

Solitary Anemones

• The solitary anemone is also known as the starburst anemone or the sunburst anemone. Though similar in color to the aggregating anemones, these anemones can reach widths of up to 9.8 inches, making them among the largest species of anemones in tide pools but still relatively small compared to oceanic anemones. The solitary anemones, like most anemones, do not accept other anemones within their range, so they will use their stinging tentacles to harm each other until one of them moves.