"Dragon Slayer" wrote in message ...
YES, anemones have a very powerful sting and can kill about any coral they
come in contact with. as well as fish other then clowns who are immune to
the stings.

Define "immune".

To my knowledge, the "immunity" stems from the clown rubbing itself at
the base of the anemone to cover itself in mucus from the anemone
itself - this "tricks" the anemone into thinking that the fish is
actually part of the anemone, and it doesn't ever sting itself!

fwiw - a clown which has had it's protective coating removed, or worn
off over time, will have to re-coat itself in the mucus from the
anemone's base, or it will be stung - potentially fatally!

Clowns have no "immunity" to stings from the anemones they host with -
they have a "learned behavior" which allows them to co-exist, or to
make use of a "fail-safe" in the anemone's killing process. Their
symbiotic relationship is actually a clever fish's way of exploiting a
safeguard the anemone has which prevents it from stinging itself.

Given that the anemone actually does the killing in this arrangement
of clown/host anemone, the clown is almost saprophytic (feeds on the
dead flesh of another organism). Although it's true that the clowns
will "lure" for the anemone, the relationship is purely selfish on the
part of the clown - it's not trying to "feed" the anemone, but rather
lure an unsuspecting fish to it's own dinner table.

hth

Greg Hewitt-Long


kc


"news" wrote in message
news:mL_sb.385955$pl3.300390@pd7tw3no...
Stinging anything? They sting?


"TomW" wrote in message
...
I've got the same problem with a LTA.
It just sits in the corner and doesn't seem to want to eat. I've tried
frozen krill (thawed of course) and small pieces of fresh shimp. It just
doesn't seem interested.
-Tom