Rock anemone captures and eats my chromis!

[Hoobahans]

Check it out, my saddleback blenny hated my new chromis, so it attacked it until it had a wound in its side. I would have returned it to my lfs, but they dont take returns. I found it stuck on the inlet grate of my finnex 30g, and after setting it free I was shocked to see it swim by my rock anemone and get caught. Usually it would just flit away, but this time it was too weak and the anemone quickly grabbed it. I quickly borrowed my roommates camera and got the whole ordeal. I know it's dangerous to let a anemone eat something so big, but I thought it would also hurt it to tear the fish out of its mouth. In anycase, it made a good photo sequence. The last photo shows the bone ball that the anemone regergetated the next day. You can also see the blenny who started the whole thing in the second to late photo.

 

[apayne]

NICE PICS!!!
God jop w/ the camera!!

 

[macperry]

How long have you had that anem? I have a sebae for a couple of weeks now that is a VERY picky eater. I need to get it to eat something soon. I wonder if offering it something that looks more natural....like maybe half a siverside....might be better than the pieces of shrimp it keeps spitting out?

 

[Hoobahans]

I have had the anemone for a good two months now, although it did start eating right away. I usually feed it krill, but it will eat pretty much anything that I give it. I had a pink tip haitian anemone, not sure on the specific species, but it really liked to eat bits of formula one that my clown brought to eat...that is before it died when the tank heated up to nearly 100 degrees. I would try that, as well as pellets. All my anemones have liked pellets a lot, however, they were all small anemones. I have had a lot of success with silversides on the bigger coldwater anemones that I take care of for my school, and I assume that your sebae would like them as well. I have one huge fish-eating anemone that eats three large silversides a day...

 

[macperry]

Hoobahans: Thanks for the reply...if you want to follow my anem saga, check out the "anem abuse" thread.