Northeast Gardening: The year of changes.....I hope. :), 2 by pixie62560

pixie62560 wrote:
1. Coral Tank

2. Close up of the orange, it was so vibrant!

3. Black Spiny Sea Urchin

4. Clown Fish (Nemo!) and poisonous sea anemone....I found the following info VERY interesting!

clownfish are found living among the tentacles of the sea anemones. Such a small, seemingly so vulnerable, a fish living within the poisonous tentacles of a sea anemone! The very thought seems a cruel trick of nature. However, if the clownfish has been surviving within the deadly tentacles of the sea anemone, it is because the two have a give and take relationship between them. This relationship is known as symbiosis. After the sea anemone has eaten its meal, the clownfish feeds on the remains of the kill. It also eats up the dead tentacles of the sea anemone and thereby, keeps the environment around the polyp clean. It also helps its host in getting its prey. The clownfish attracts other fish with its bright colors into the tentacles of the sea anemone, that the polyp kills with its poison and then devours. The feces of the clownfish also provides fertilizer to the sea anemone. The clownfish also chases away polyp-eating fish like the Butterfly fish. As the clownfish actively swims around within the tentacles of the sea anemone, it increases circulation of water around the polyp. In return, the sea anemone provides protection to the clownfish, as the predators of the clownfish prefer to steer clear of the venomous tentacles of the sea anemone.