Haitian anemones

[lord fu fu]

i came home from school today excite to see both my new haition anemones wide open (one green with grenn tips and one white with pink tips) well everything looked fine and dandy in my tank until i was looking for my new scarlet cleaner shrimp, which i got at the same time, only to notice 4 white antennae sticking out of my smaller anemones mouth!!! i dont have many spots where he could hide unless it was his shell, but just wondering, has this ever happened to anyone? and would it be worth gettin another? also i was especially mad because where i am all my lfs sell the scarlets for $40 but i got this guy at $25

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by Lord Fu Fu
http:///forum/post/3261306
i came home from school today excite to see both my new haition anemones wide open (one green with grenn tips and one white with pink tips) well everything looked fine and dandy in my tank until i was looking for my new scarlet cleaner shrimp, which i got at the same time, only to notice 4 white antennae sticking out of my smaller anemones mouth!!! i dont have many spots where he could hide unless it was his shell, but just wondering, has this ever happened to anyone? and would it be worth gettin another? also i was especially mad because where i am all my lfs sell the scarlets for $40 but i got this guy at $25

There is the remote possibility that the anemone was feasting on the skin that floated by from the shrimp shedding. Anemones eat whatever gets close enough to be stung and eaten. They are beautiful fish killers, that is just their nature. If your shrimp got to close it was lunch for the anemone.

 

[meowzer]

I think that anemone will eat anything it can get ahold of....so you might want to think about paying a lot for other tank mates

 

[lord fu fu]

yeah,flower thats what im hoping for, and meowzer you are right too, im planning on just having anems and damsels but i loved that little guy and i just never knew that he was dumb enough to go into one haha well i guess i learned a lesson in SWF and the only way to move is foward

 

[rod buehle]

Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3261317

There is the remote possibility that the anemone was feasting on the skin that floated by from the shrimp shedding. Anemones eat whatever gets close enough to be stung and eaten. They are beautiful fish killers, that is just their nature. If your shrimp got to close it was lunch for the anemone.
Are all species of anemones that apt at catching fish? Or just the non hosting species? I always knew that non hosting species are usually pretty apt at catching fish, and I know that you, flower, used to keep a non hosting species. I was always under the impression that most of the hosting species were not as apt at doing so with the exception of a few. I know that S. hadoni is a very good predator. but S. gigantea is not nearly as likely even thow they are both hosting carpets. (From what I read, when the gut contents of wild S. gigantea has been studied only pods have been found). S. helinthus (non hosting) will make a very very quick meal of fishes.. I also know that h.magnifica might be good at catching a fish, but IME any of the other hosting species are not efficiant predators of healthy fish. Now, if a sick, lethargic fish gets too close, then yes, I guess any anemone might be a fish eater.
Flower, can you tell me what types of hosting anemones that you have had eat a healthy fish?
back to the OP. I do agree with the ladies that its probably a shrimp molt, but it is possible that your non hosting Haitian anemone did eat your shrimp

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by Rod Buehle
http:///forum/post/3261587
Are all species of anemones that apt at catching fish? Or just the non hosting species? I always knew that non hosting species are usually pretty apt at catching fish, and I know that you, flower, used to keep a non hosting species. I was always under the impression that most of the hosting species were not as apt at doing so with the exception of a few. I know that S. hadoni is a very good predator. but S. gigantea is not nearly as likely even thow they are both hosting carpets. (From what I read, when the gut contents of wild S. gigantea has been studied only pods have been found). S. helinthus (non hosting) will make a very very quick meal of fishes.. I also know that h.magnifica might be good at catching a fish, but IME any of the other hosting species are not efficiant predators of healthy fish. Now, if a sick, lethargic fish gets too close, then yes, I guess any anemone might be a fish eater.
Flower, can you tell me what types of hosting anemones that you have had eat a healthy fish?
back to the OP. I do agree with the ladies that its probably a shrimp molt, but it is possible that your non hosting Haitian anemone did eat your shrimp

Dear friend, ALL anemones eat fish…ALL OF THEM.
They sting and stun the fish then eat it. What you call a “hosting” anemone simply means one a clownfish will adapt to. Their bodies can for some reason handle the sting of an anemone, so they can keep themselves from becoming food.
A clown will even go get a critter to feed an anemone, they are buddies. An anemone is a safe place for a clown to reside because if another fish tries to get them the anemone will sting and eat them.
They do not go hunting, they are opportunistic feeders. That means if a critter gets close enough, they get stung and become lunch. So there is no such thing as a predator anemone and a hosting anemone when it comes to behavior, they are one and the same.

 

[rod buehle]

Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3261607

Dear friend, ALL anemones eat fish…ALL OF THEM.
Sure, I guess they CAN (especially sick lethargic fish), but I didnt think hosting species are efficiant predators that you make them out to be. Some Non hosting anemones are very efficiant predators. (remember , there is a difference between hosting and non hosting anemones. PLEASE, READ ON and see below
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3261607
They sting and stun the fish then eat it. What you call a “hosting” anemone simply means one a clownfish will adapt to. Their bodies can for some reason handle the sting of an anemone, so they can keep themselves from becoming food.
No, What I call a hosting anemone is one that naturally hosts clowns in the wild. There are only 10. There are a whole lot of non hosting species, but only 10 that host naturally. They are ( Which book should I draw from .. I guess the best Fautin and Allen.) (Which by the way is on-line)
CRYPTODENDRUM ADHAESIVUM
Fish it naturally hosts... A. clarkii
ENTACMAEA QUADRICOLOR (AKA BTA)
Fish it naturally hosts.. A. akindynos, A. allardi, A. bicinctus, A. chrysopterus, A. clarkii, A. ephippium, A. frenatus, A. mccullochi, A. melanopus (primarily clustered form), A. omanensis, A. rubrocinctus, A. tricinctus, Premnas (solitary form only)
HETERACTIS AURORA
natural fish.. A. akindynos, A. allardi, A. bicinctus, A. chrysogaster, A. chrysopterus, A. clarkii, A. tricinctus
HETERACTIS CRISPA (seabe)
A. akindynos, A. bicinctus, A. chrysopterus, A. clarkii, A. ephippium, A. latezonatus, A. leucokranos, A. melanopus, A. omanensis, A. percula, A. perideraion, A. polymnus, A. sandaracinos, A. tricinctus
HETERACTIS MAGNIFICA (ritteri)
A. akallopisos, A. akindynos, A. bicinctus, A. chrysogaster, A. chrysopterus, A. clarkii, A. leucokranos, A. melanopus, A. nigripes, A. ocellaris, A. percula, A. perideraion
HETERACTIS MALU
A. clarkii
MACRODACTYLA DOREENSIS AKA LTA. ( Often people mistake a the tube anemone as an LTA, but the tube anemone is non hosting and WILL eat your fish.)
fish.. A. chrysogaster, A. clarkii, A. perideraion
STICHODACTYLA GIGANTEA
A. akindynos, A. bicinctus, A. clarkii, A. ocellaris, A. percula, A. perideraion, A. rubrocinctus
STICHODACTYLA HADDONI
A. akindynos, A. chrysogaster, A. chrysopterus, A. clarkii, A. polymnus, A. sebae
STICHODACTYLA MERTENSII
A. akallopisos, A. akindynos, A. allardi, A. chrysogaster, A. chrysopterus, A. clarkii, A. fuscocaudatus, A. latifasciatus, A. leucokranos, A. ocellaris, A. sandaracinos, A. tricinctus
These are all examples of hosting species with their natural symbiotic partner/fish. Sure, in our aqyuaria some fish will accept almost any anemone, and some will not. These are are all natural hosting species and there are only 10. Most of them dont have the ability to capture a healthy fish IME/IMO with the exception of S. hadoni and H.magnifica.
Also from Fautin/Allen Anemone fishes book
Diet In nature, anemonefish feed primarily on zooplankton (tiny animals, mainly crustaceans), supplemented with algae.
This book is on hosting species of anemone. Note, that fish and fish bones arent present ( SIlversides arent the best food)
Again, non hosting species can/will/do/must eat fish. There are a wole lot of non hosting species. Many of them are found in the carribbean. There are no clowns in the Carribean/Haitian waters.

 

[rod buehle]

Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3261607
A clown will even go get a critter to feed an anemone, they are buddies..

Yes, they are buddies, but IME when I see one of my many clowns take food to one of my many hosting anemones, I see it as if the fish is saying "" "here, hold this big hunk for me while I go get more.. I'll be back" "" . But yes, either way, they are buddies feeding the anemone or using the anemone as storage.. Either way, its fun to watch!
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3261607
An anemone is a safe place for a clown to reside because if another fish tries to get them the anemone will sting and eat them..
Or do the eviul clowns protect the anemone from being eaten by other fish.???
Also from Fautin/Allen
""""Or do they? On the Great Barrier Reef, at Enewetak Atoll, and in Papua New Guinea, we removed clownfishes from hosts of the species Entacmaea quadricolor to determine how long it would take for new fish to repopulate them. But usually within 24 hours, there were no sea anemones at all! Instead, butterfly fish were poking their long snouts into crevices where the actinians had been anchored. In the absence of protection by their symbionts (which rarely happens in nature), anemones of this species fall prey to butterflyfishes. Hans Fricke made similar observations in the Red Sea, and Jack Moyer in Japan. Presumably, whatever protects butterfly fishes from the nematocysts of corals, on which they normally feed, does so as well for sea anemones. Thus, the relationship with its fishes is mutualistic for this species of anemone: the partners obviously profit by living together, protecting one another from predators. """"
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3261607
They do not go hunting, they are opportunistic feeders. That means if a critter gets close enough, they get stung and become lunch. So there is no such thing as a predator anemone and a hosting anemone when it comes to behavior, they are one and the same.
Most of the hosting species do not have strong enough nematocysts to kill/capture a healthy fish. Most of the non hosting anemones DO. and they are considered predators ( there is such a thing)

 

[flower]

Tell that to the next owner of a lawnmowr blenny who wanders into a "hosting" anemone, and inquire if he lives from the sting.
I like anemones, but so many folks get them and are so freaked out that it ate their fish. They are beautiful fish eaters. I don't have one anymore, I miss the beauty... but enjoy seeing all my fish each morning more.