NEW Anenome

"Greg Hewitt-Long" wrote in message
om...

.......... the more I read, the more I
tend to think that it's probably "generated" by the clownfish itself -


Immunity defined: Inherited, acquired, or induced resistance to infection
by a specific pathogen.


forgive me but when a body produces anything to protect against
something.........isn't that an immunity?

with all your contradiction in yourself, I tend to stick to my first
assumption of your trolling.

kc

"Dragon Slayer" wrote in message ...
"Greg Hewitt-Long" wrote in message
om...

.......... the more I read, the more I
tend to think that it's probably "generated" by the clownfish itself -


Immunity defined: Inherited, acquired, or induced resistance to infection
by a specific pathogen.


Nice definition - incorrect in it's lacking to mention toxins (which
aren't by definition pathogens) - you can obtain an immunity to a
toxin too - which is what the anemone uses to kill it's prey -
nematocysts fire toxins into the prey.

Anyway - the fact remains, the clown has a layer of mucus which
protects it - not be some "immunity", but more akin to wearing a layer
of protective clothes. This coating fools the anemone into NOT
stinging, or firing it's nematocysts at the clown - therefore, the
clown doesn't get injected with TOXINS.

This mucus is either "generated" by the clown, or picked up - either
way, the clown doesn't have an "immunity". An immunity would be
caused by a tolerance or an anti-body - the clown has neither, as
removal of the mucus will result in the clown being STUNG TO DEATH.
Just putting on a protective suit does NOT provide a bee keeper with
"immunity" from the stings of his bees - rather, it provides
"protection" - which is easily removed.


forgive me but when a body produces anything to protect against
something.........isn't that an immunity?

No - one is a layer which protects - ie, a barrier defense, the other
is an internal tolerance, either caused by anti-bodies, or by an
acquired tolerance (more usual in the case of a toxin).

If you can't see or comprehend the difference between a protective
layer of mucus (or a bee-keeper's protective suit) and the real
immunity, then I'd suggest that you learn a bit more biology. I'm not
trying to split hairs here - there is a real and significant
DIFFERENCE.

Example 1: the beekeeper and his protective suit - stings can't reach
the bee-keeper.

Example 2: almost all fish have a mucus coating, it's job is to
protect from water-borne diseases, parasites, scrapes etc. If this
mucus is removed, the fish is more prone to disease. Did the fish
lose it's "immunity", or was it's barrier defense system damaged?

Example 3: if a castle of old had a moat and a draw-bridge, it was
impregnable to many attacks from it's enemies - if the sentry falls
asleep after letting down the draw-bridge for a friendly villager to
enter the castle, are the castle's defenses now compromised?

Can you see similarities between the defenses I mentioned and the
mucus coating which protects the clownfish? All are barrier defenses
- they do not provide any kind of "immunity", but rather are "barrier
defenses". The difference might be sublte, but it is significant.


with all your contradiction in yourself, I tend to stick to my first
assumption of your trolling.

Assume away - you just don't seem to be able to accept an alternative
opinion that I'm reasonably trying to explain - now *that's* a classic
troll behavior... please don't try to drag the conversation down - I'm
explaining things very simply, and I'd hope that anyone with the power
of reasoning would be able to at least follow the conversation - I
don't want to start a name-calling session here, that's not
constructive.


kc

"Dragon Slayer" wrote in message ...
..........., 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.



I don't know where you get this info from but that is a crock of
it.................


all the clowns I have that are hosting in an anemone (or even other things
in the tank) will grab up food and take it back to the anemone and feed it.
they are very 'unselfish' and the relationship between clown and the anemone
is beneficial to the both of them. the clown will also protect the anemone.


You read taking the food back to the anemone as "feeding" - how about
storing the food there as any potential thief would get stung during
the commission of the crime???

I'd suggest that the clown uses the anemone as a pantry, or storage
cupboard, knowing full well that the only potential thief is another
hosted clown of it's own family group - anyone else will be
potentially fatally stung in the attempt to steal the food - the
anemone may get a free feed, but more often, the clown gets to
retrieve it's food at a later time.

There are often more than one way to interpret the actions of the
animals in your tank... you appear to be closed minded on this though,
so I doubt you've even considered anything apart from "feeding" it's
host...