QUICK STATS

Care Level: Easy to Moderate
Invert Type: Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemone
Scientific Name: Stichodactyla tapetum
Temperament: Semi-Aggressive / Sticky and Predatory
Photosynthetic: Yes
Placement: Lower to Middle / Rockwork, Rubble, or Sandy-Rubble Area
Lighting: Moderate to High
Water Flow: Moderate, Indirect
Approximate Purchase Size: Varies by Specimen
Approximate Max Size: Usually Around 4-6"

GREEN MAXI-MINI CARPET ANEMONE

The Green Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemone is a colorful reef anemone known for its compact size, sticky tentacles, and bright green coloration. Depending on the specimen and lighting, it may show neon green, lime green, emerald green, yellow-green, teal-green, or mixed fluorescent patterning across the oral disc and tentacles.

This anemone is commonly identified as Stichodactyla tapetum, also called a Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemone or Mini-Maxi Carpet Anemone. Unlike larger carpet anemones that can become massive fish-eating floor rugs with opinions, Maxi-Minis usually stay much smaller, often reaching around 4-6 inches when mature.

Green Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemones are popular because they offer the look and texture of a carpet anemone without taking over the aquarium like a biological throw blanket. They are usually hardy once settled, colorful under reef lighting, and fun to feed. That said, they are still anemones, not decorative coral stickers. They can move, sting nearby corals, and grab small animals that make poor life choices near their tentacles.

This anemone is photosynthetic and receives much of its energy from reef lighting through symbiotic zooxanthellae. It also benefits from occasional feeding with small meaty marine foods. Feeding can help support growth, color, and overall condition, provided the aquarium can handle the extra nutrients.

Green Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemones are considered semi-aggressive. Their tentacles are sticky and can sting nearby corals or capture small fish and invertebrates. They are not usually ideal clownfish hosts, and clownfish hosting is uncommon. So no, it probably will not become a tiny anemone apartment complex for clownfish, because apparently even clownfish have rental standards.

Note: Image is a representation of what to expect. The anemone you receive may vary slightly in size, green intensity, patterning, tentacle shape, oral disc coloration, and overall appearance.

AQUARIUM REQUIREMENTS

AQUARIUM SIZE

A minimum aquarium size of 20-30 gallons or larger is recommended for a Green Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemone, though smaller mature aquariums may work if water quality is stable and placement is carefully managed. Larger aquariums provide better stability, more room for surrounding corals, and safer placement options.

Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemones stay much smaller than many other carpet anemones, but they still need stable reef conditions. They should be added to an established aquarium rather than a brand-new system. New tanks have a charming habit of turning “stable parameters” into performance art.

PLACEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS

Green Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemones are best placed on lower to middle rockwork, rubble, or a secure sandy-rubble area where the foot can attach firmly. They often wedge their foot into cracks, crevices, or between rock and rubble while exposing the oral disc to light and flow.

Rockwork Placement: Place near a crevice or textured rock where the anemone can attach securely.

Rubble Placement: A rubble island can work well and may make future movement easier if the anemone needs to be relocated.

Sandy-Rubble Placement: Can work if the anemone can attach its foot to rubble, rock, or a firm surface. Loose sand alone is not ideal.

Spacing: Leave several inches around the anemone. It can sting nearby corals and may expand wider than expected.

Movement Risk: Like all anemones, it can move if unhappy with light, flow, or placement. Once settled, Maxi-Minis often move less than many other anemones, but “less” does not mean “never,” because apparently anemones enjoy interior design.

Powerhead Safety: Use guards or foam covers on powerheads and wavemakers when needed. Wandering anemones and exposed pumps are a famously stupid combination, and nature already has enough bad ideas.

WATER PARAMETERS

Green Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemones need stable reef water conditions. They are hardy compared with some anemones, but they still do best in mature aquariums with consistent salinity, temperature, nutrients, and alkalinity.

Temperature: 75-79°F
pH Level: 8.1-8.4
Salinity: 1.024-1.026 specific gravity
Alkalinity: 8-10 dKH
Calcium: 400-450 ppm
Magnesium: 1250-1350 ppm
Nitrate: 5-15 ppm
Phosphate: 0.03-0.10 ppm

Avoid sudden changes in salinity, temperature, lighting, or nutrients. Anemones can react poorly to rapid swings, and unlike corals, they may physically relocate when offended. Nothing improves a reef tank quite like a sticky green animal wandering toward a pump with the confidence of a toddler near an outlet.

LIGHTING

Green Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemones prefer moderate to high lighting. A general target range of 150-250 PAR works well for many Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemones, though they should still be acclimated gradually if newly introduced.

LIGHTING RECOMMENDATIONS

Moderate PAR Start: Start around 75-125 PAR if newly added, especially if the anemone is freshly shipped or coming from lower light.

Target Range: Once acclimated, many Green Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemones do well around 150-250 PAR.

Gradual Acclimation: If moving into stronger light, increase exposure slowly over several days to weeks.

Color Display: Green Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemones often show their best neon green, lime, yellow-green, or fluorescent coloration under moderate-to-strong reef lighting with a blue-heavy spectrum.

Self-Placement: If unhappy, the anemone may move to adjust its own light exposure. This is helpful in theory and deeply irritating in practice.

Too Much Light: Signs may include shrinking, bleaching, gaping, fading, refusal to expand, or movement into shade.

Too Little Light: Signs may include stretching, dull coloration, poor expansion, wandering upward, or reduced long-term health.

Do not blast a fresh Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemone with maximum light because the green looked radioactive. That is not care. That is photon-based bullying with a reef controller.

WATER FLOW

Green Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemones prefer moderate, indirect flow. The tentacles and oral disc should move gently, but the anemone should not be blasted, folded, or forced to detach.

FLOW RECOMMENDATIONS

Ideal Flow: Moderate, indirect, varied flow that gently moves across the anemone.

Avoid Direct Flow: Strong direct flow can cause the anemone to close, detach, crawl away, or remain irritated.

Avoid Dead Spots: Too little flow can allow detritus to settle around the oral disc or base.

Watch Expansion: A settled anemone should attach firmly and expand naturally. If it stays closed, crawls constantly, or detaches, check flow, lighting, and water quality.

Feeding Flow: Turn down flow briefly during feeding if needed so the anemone can hold food.

The goal is gentle movement, not launching the anemone into the rockwork like a sticky green frisbee. A shockingly high bar, apparently.

DIET

Green Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemones are photosynthetic, but they also benefit from regular meaty feedings. Feeding helps support color, growth, and overall condition.

PRIMARY DIET

Photosynthesis: Moderate to high reef lighting provides much of the anemone’s energy.

Meaty Foods: Offer mysis shrimp, enriched brine shrimp, finely chopped shrimp, chopped marine fish, krill, clam, scallop, or other small marine-based foods.

Prepared Foods: Small LPS pellets or anemone-safe prepared foods may be accepted.

Food Size: Use small pieces. Large chunks can be regurgitated or rot before digestion, because even a sticky anemone has limits.

Feeding Response: The tentacles are sticky and may grab food quickly. This is normal. Also slightly unsettling, but that is half the appeal.

FEEDING FREQUENCY

Feed small portions 1 time per week for maintenance. More frequent feeding may increase growth but can also increase nutrient levels if the aquarium is not able to process the extra food.

Avoid overfeeding. A Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemone does not need a buffet because it looked at you with zero facial features.

COMPATIBILITY

Green Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemones can work well in reef aquariums when given enough space, stable water conditions, and protection from pumps and aggressive tank mates.

COMMON TANK MATES

Fish: Best kept with reef-safe fish that are not tiny, weak, or prone to resting on the anemone. Clownfish may occasionally investigate Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemones, but reliable hosting should not be expected.

Avoid: Very small fish, delicate gobies, tiny blennies, small perching fish, slow-moving fish, or fish that may accidentally contact the sticky oral disc.

Invertebrates: Use caution with small shrimp, tiny crabs, ornamental invertebrates, and slow-moving animals. The anemone may grab vulnerable animals that touch it.

Coral: Keep away from corals. Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemones can sting nearby coral tissue and may move into contact with other livestock.

Anemone Neighbors: Multiple Maxi-Minis may sometimes be kept near each other, but spacing is still recommended. Do not assume all anemones want to become a sticky communal living arrangement.

BEHAVIORAL NOTES

Temperament: Semi-aggressive. Sticky tentacles can sting nearby corals and may capture small fish or invertebrates.

Growth Pattern: Compact carpet-style anemone with a wide oral disc and short sticky tentacles.

Coloration: May show neon green, lime green, emerald green, yellow-green, teal-green, fluorescent green, or mixed patterning depending on lighting, nutrients, and specimen variation.

Maximum Size: Usually reaches around 4-6 inches, making it much smaller than many other carpet anemones.

Attachment: Often attaches its foot into rock cracks, rubble, or crevices.

Movement: May move if unhappy with light, flow, water quality, or placement. Maxi-Minis often move less than many anemones once settled, but they are still capable of making bad choices.

Clownfish Hosting: Possible but uncommon. Do not buy this anemone expecting reliable clownfish hosting.

Sting Strength: Stronger and stickier than many soft corals or typical LPS. Handle carefully and avoid placing it near vulnerable corals.

Fish Risk: Small fish and tiny invertebrates may be at risk if they come into contact with the oral disc. This is still a carpet anemone, just a smaller one. Tiny murder rug, basically.

Powerhead Risk: Wandering anemones can be injured or killed by uncovered pumps and wavemakers. Cover intakes if movement is likely.

Health Signs: A healthy Maxi-Mini should attach firmly, expand regularly, respond to food, and maintain good coloration.

Stress Signs: Watch for gaping mouth, repeated detachment, shrinking, bleaching, melting tissue, foul odor, or refusal to attach.

Do Not Dip: Do not use coral dips, pest dips, or iodine dips on this anemone unless specifically directed by an experienced aquatic veterinarian or trusted anemone specialist. Anemones can ingest dip and be severely damaged or killed.

Handling: Handle gently by the attached rock or rubble whenever possible. Avoid pulling the foot, tearing tissue, or forcing detachment.

Placement Reality: This anemone can be a bright green showpiece, but it needs respect. It is small, sticky, semi-predatory, and fully capable of making placement decisions you did not approve.

ACCLIMATION PROCESS

This acclimation method helps reduce stress by gradually introducing the anemone to your aquarium’s temperature, lighting, and water chemistry.

1. DIM THE LIGHTS

Turn down aquarium lights or place the anemone in a shaded lower area at first. This helps reduce stress while it adjusts.

2. TURN OFF OR GUARD POWERHEADS

Before adding the anemone, make sure nearby powerheads, wavemakers, and pump intakes are guarded or safely positioned. A wandering anemone can be badly injured by exposed equipment.

3. FLOAT THE BAG

Float the sealed bag in the aquarium for 15-20 minutes to allow the temperature in the bag to equalize with the tank.

4. OPEN BAG, ADD ANEMONE TO CONTAINER

Carefully open the bag and transfer the anemone and shipping water into a clean container. Do not pull on the foot or force it off any attached rubble.

5. ACCLIMATE USING TANK WATER

Add small amounts of tank water to the container every few minutes for 30-45 minutes. Anemones can be sensitive to rapid changes in salinity and water chemistry.

6. DO NOT DIP

Do not use coral dip, pest dip, or iodine dip on the anemone. Discard the shipping water after transfer. Do not pour shipping water into your aquarium.

7. TRANSFER ANEMONE TO AQUARIUM

Place the anemone on rockwork, rubble, or a sandy-rubble area with moderate indirect flow and moderate lighting. Give it time to attach on its own. Avoid forcing the foot into a crevice.

8. LIGHT ACCLIMATE

Allow the anemone to adjust gradually over several days to weeks before increasing light intensity. Watch for firm attachment, full expansion, coloration, feeding response, and movement before making major placement changes.