26 
EANHS Bulletin 30(1) 
Sea anomono 
On sandy beaches near the low tide 
mark you may find a large sea 
anemone. It is as big as a cabbage, but 
llatter in shape Its central mouth is 
surrounded by hundreds of short 
tentacles Stings from the tentacles will 
not hurt you. but can stun a little fish 
Look carefully at the living 
anemone. You may see tiny fish swim 
over the tentacles or along the edge of 
the anemone. Young clownfish and 
domino fish live in association with 
the anemone. Some of the stinging 
capsules stick to them; the anemone 
recognises them and docs not sting 
them again. When they sense danger, 
the fish rush to hide in or under the 
big anemone. 
Other small fish that swim by. 
however, arc stung and eaten by the 
anemone. The anemone catches them 
with its tentacles, like a spider catches 
Hies in its web. 
In the sea. many fish are associated 
with bigger creatures. Pilot fish, for 
example, follow large sharks or 
whales, and eat the 
scraps from the 
animal's meals. 
When two living 
things live in an 
association which 
benefits both sides, it 
is called symbiosis. 
Algae also live 
with the sea 
anemone, but they 
are hidden within its 
tissues. Tiny single- 
celled algae give the 
anemone its green 
colour. As the 
anemone lies in shallow water in the 
sunlight, the plants inside its tentacles 
make food The algae, in turn, arc 
protected from danger by living inside 
the sea anemone. 
A big anemone lives for many 
years, even decades! It usually stays 
in the same place; but it can move, 
slowly, by gliding along the surface. 
Some anemones jostle and push each 
other for a good site on the coral reef. 
SOFT CORALS 
Soft corals build colonies that arc 
leathery or rubbery rather than stony. 
Like the stony corals, they live in the 
sea near the shore. 
One kind of soft coral looks like a 
bunch of pale urcy or pink flowers. It 
lives among sea grasses on sandy 
bottoms in shallow water between the 
reel and shore. Another soft coral looks 
like a piece of plastic or rubber lying 
on the reef. 
