Who needs who more?

[Reefing102]

I know in a tank they don't need each other but in the wild which would it be in your opinion

A clown needs an anemone

or

an anemone needs a clown

I say a clown needs an anemone because the anemone can protect the clown

 

[garygb]

I would say in the wild a clown needs an anemone more. Clownfish aren't found except in anemones, anemones are not always inhabited by clowns, on the other hand.

 

[ezcompany]

and clowns can be destructive if the anemone isn't the right size

 

[traveller7]

I think it might have been BonsaiNut who linked a study of anemones and clowns, essentially, both had implied predation issues without each other.

I say, they need each other or they are food for something else.

 

[garygb]

According to Fautin and Allen, in the book Anemone Fishes and their Host Sea Anemones, M. doreensis are commonly found without fish. Perhaps the importance of the symbiotic relationship varies among the various species of host anemones.

 

[kar93]

If you go anywhere in the wild where clownfish are, they will never be found without an anemone but if you go somewhere where there is anemones then they can be found without clowns so i would say the clown needs the anemone more.