Stars and Clowns and Anemones, Oh My.

Hey all,

I'm having a nice relaxing morning watching the fish swim and the
anemones sway in the "breeze". Then I noticed Chip the Chocolate Chip
Star creeping up over the back of the rock sneaking up on my anemones.
I had my sleeve rolled up to take corrective action but was waiting to
see if he would actually make the move on them. I saw one arm snake out
over the top. Then another. Out of nowhere the Perc. clown ( I haven't
named her yet but it won't be Nemo.) charges Chip and starts nipping at
the end of his arm. That put an end to his attempt at a quick lunch. He
is now wandering around the tank looking for another meal. Now where
did I put that frozen whiting fish ....

Sorry. I just had to share. I love watching the tank and how everything
interacts. Now that my clowns have started to use the anemones as hosts
the loss to Chips hunger may subside and I'll have them for longer than
6 months. I was just about ready to trade Chip in for store credit. Now
I'll have to keep and eye on him to see if this pattern holds true with
the clowns protecting their home.

Has anyone heard of stars eating anemones before? I know they are
opportunists. Both of my primary reef LFS said that Chip would be find
in my tank. Nevermind. I just researched this at
http://www.thatpetplace.com/LiveFish...25/Detail.aspx
and noticed he is not a reef safe additive. Time to trade Chip in on
another banded serpent. Oh well. Another trip to the LFS. I wonder what
else will come home with me ...

I have a couple questions about corals but I'll raise those in a
different thread.

Greg