For protection, clownfish seek refuge amongst the tentacles of sea anemones. The tentacles contain harpoon-like stinging capsules called nematocysts that the anemones employ to capture prey and ward off predators.
In a yet-to-be resolved biological mystery, clownfish have mucus on their skin that somehow protects them against the sting of their host anemone. As a result, the clownfish are able to stick near their host which is avoided by most other fish in the sea.
'The clownfish gets protection by hiding sting-free among the tentacles. If you remove the clownfish, large butterfly fishes will eat the anemone,' said John Randall, an ichthyologist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Butterfly fish are predators of the sea anemone. In certain areas of the tropics where clownfish, sea anemone, and butterfly fish exist, clownfish scare off butterflyfish from their host anemone. Research has shown that if the clownfish are removed from the anemone, butterfly fish will move in and devour the anemone. So, the protection of the anemone afforded by the clownfish is part of the mutual relationship.
In addition to scaring off predators, some scientists speculate that clownfish waste may serve as a nutrient for the anemones…
There are more than 1,000 species of sea anemones found throughout the world's oceans. Only ten of these species share their niche with clownfish, which thrive in the tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans.
Each individual host anemone is home to one group of clownfish, which contain a dominant breeding pair and up to four smaller, subordinate fish. There are 28 known species of clownfish, so more than one species of clownfish may take to any given species of anemone.
is the relationship between the clown fish and sea anemone
good!
The anemone will protect a clownfish, the only fish that the anemone will not sting.
The relation ship between the anemone and the clown fish is called a symbiotic relationship.
In a mutual relationship, both creatures benefit from the relationship. An example would be a clown fish and an anemone, the anemone provides protection for the clown fish, and the clown fish cleans the anemone and attracts prey for the anemone to eat. This is why mutualism could be described as a helpful relationship.
mutualism
The anemone will protect a clownfish, the only fish that the anemone will not sting.
Symbiosis is demonstrated by the clown fish being protected by the anemone's stinging tentacles from predatory fish. The anemone is protected by the teratorial clown fish from anemone-eating fish. The clown fish has a mucus on its body that keeps the anemone from stinging it and becoming a food source. They protect each other in a near perfect symbiotic relationship.
the relationship is that the anemone is dangerous to other fish but the clown fish is immune to its shocks so the anemone houses the clown fish and it eats the clown fish's waste
The relationship of the clown fish and sea anemone is symbiotic in that the clownfish, having a coating of mucous that makes it immune to the anemone's deadly sting, can swim in safety in the anemone's tentacles, meanwhile attracting other fish as food for the anemone.
By cleaning it and sometimes also by attracting passively other fishes.
There are no disadvantages, but the only thing is that the sea anemone might make the clown fish get stuck in its grass-like things