Clownfish and Sea Anemone

Trevor 7/09/03 3:43Clown Fish are enjoying great popularity due to the movie "Finding Nemo" As always, with aquarium Clown Fish, there is an accompanying demand for anemones. Unfortunately, all anemones are not suited for captivity. Anemones and Clown Fish have a well-known relationship. In the ocean, the Clown Fish are protected from predator fish by the stinging tentacles of the anemone. Here's a simplified version of the relationship: the anemone receives protection from polyp-eating fish, like Butterfly Fish, which the Clown Fish chases away. The anemone also gets fertilizer from the feces of the Clown Fish. It is a near-perfect symbiosis. People have always been fascinated by this relationship. I think this fascination stems from the fact that human beings lack the ability to understand any other organisms. We have no perfect relationship with any other animal. Even our relationships with animals such as dogs are inherently unequal. As humans, we must live alone. Evidence of both this fascination with the anemone and the human lack of understanding for other animals can be seen in the anemone trade. Every year, thousands of Clown Fish-symbiont anemones are ripped from the ocean and sold in pet stores. Why is this anemone collecting a huge misunderstanding? IT IS Because many Clown Fish anemones do not live in captivity.Recently, Joyce Wilkerson took a survey on captive anemone life span. Only 5 percent of hobbyists with 2-5 years of experience had been able to keep anemones alive for more than two years, and only 1 out of 32 anemones lived for more than 5 years. The anemones simply aren't surviving. Clown Fish anemones (of the species Entacmaea, Heteractis, Stiochodactyla, Macrodactyla and Crptodendrum) have very specialized requirements. Some are from shallow water and need direct sunlight. All are capable of crawling around the tank and injuring themselves. All also need direct feeding in large quantities. And even aquarists who are able to meet those demands are not able to keep anemones alive. CLOWN FISH LIVING IN CAPTIVE RAISED XENIA When an anemone dies in an aquarium, it releases massive quantities of toxins that could decimate every animal you have in that aquarium. These anemones are fundamentally unsuited to aquariums.Despite this, thousands of anemones are raided from the ocean. This is a tragedy, because in the wild, anemones can live for hundreds of years. They also reproduce very slowly. When an anemone with a 60 or 70 years ahead of it is taken from the ocean and left to die in an aquarium in just several months, it is a tragedy. When an anemone is not given the chance to produce offspring, it is a tragedy. If we keep up these destructive collecting practices, there will be no anemones left in the ocean. They simply do not reproduce quickly enough to keep up with the demand of the pet trade. Anemones should be placed in the same category as whales, panda bears and black rhinoceroses: these huge beautiful animals cannot be killed indiscriminately. Imagine a vendor trying to sell baby panda bears to keep as pets in a living room. This vendor would find himself the target of million dollar lawsuits, and would be reviled by animal-lovers everywhere. Keeping pandas in a living room is ridiculous and cruel. Yet, when many large anemones are taken and put in aquariums, it is the exact same situation. CLOWN FISH LIVING IN CAPTIVE RAISED XENIA The appalling destruction of these animals is made even more awful because of human misunderstanding of Clown Fish anemone relationships. If we continue taking anemones from the wild, some Clown Fish may go extinct.If a Clown Fish in the ocean doesn't have an anemone to use as a refuge from predators, that Clown Fish will die very quickly. When we take anemones from the ocean, we are immediately killing off two different animals. Perhaps the worst part of this oceanic pillaging is that captive Clown Fish do not need anemones. Do not let a fish store or an "expert" tell you that Clown Fish need an anemone in an aquarium. They absolutely do not. In the aquarium, there are no Clown Fish predators, and so the protection from the anemone is unneeded. In captivity, there are many other cnidarians that make excellent hosts for Clown Fish; SallyJo has done extensive research on Sarcophytons as an alternate host. We have Clown Fish here at GARF that have even taken up residence in Xenia and mushrooms. CLOWN FISH LIVING IN CAPTIVE RAISED XENIA Of course, you don't even need a cnidarian to raise Clown Fish. In commercial hatcheries, these animals are successfully bred and raised in bare tanks. We must not take any more large host anemones from the ocean. It is absurd that we do this in the first place, since captive Clown Fish need anemones about as much as they need a bicycle. Despite all the evidence of anemones dying in aquariums, they are still offered for sale. When I was doing research for this article, and typed in "carpet anemones" to the search engine, web pages offering these animals for sale came up often. This is, quite simply, disgusting. You may be asking yourself, "what can I do?" As a hobbyist, there is a lot that you can do to stop this injustice from occurring. These anemones are being taken from the sea in the name of the hobbyist, because there is a demand for them. Do not buy an anemone. We aquarists have power in our pocketbooks. If we refuse to support the irresponsible pet stores and suppliers that collect anemones from the wild, they will stop buying anemones quickly. Even if you have no interest in buying an anemone yourself, be wary of shops that carries them. Tell the owner that you refuse to support the killing of anemones. If we work together we can protect the ocean and end this abhorrent practice.

Red-billed ox-pecker

 The effect that the Red-billed oxpecker has on on the Impala is called mutualism. This bird eats mainly ticks but may also eat blood-sucking flies, fleas, and lice off the Impala. Both organisms benefit from this because the Impala is getting the parasites that could harm it off of itself from the ox-pecker. The oxpecker benefits from it because it is getting food from the parasites on it. The Red-billed oxpecker is mainly found in the Savannah of Sub-Saharan Africa.

    The life span of this animal can be up to 15 years. The qualities that help it survive is when alarmed, the birds hiss, alerting their hosts for possible danger. 

Some interesting facts about this animal are:

- The adult species can consume over a hundred ticks and over a thousand of larvae a day.

- Their favorite food is blood.

- It lays 2-5 eggs.

- The birds also trim wounds on their hosts hides and feed on the blood.

- Oxpeckers have very short legs and sharp claws, which help them in perching on the backs of large mammals, both wild and domesticated.

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My old websites: kevinwangb.weebly.com and newsgrid.weebly.com is now closed and discontinued. You can still access them, but will be in basic HTML and not be updated. I will make a new website similar to newsgrid.weebly.com soon. Please continue to visit my blog.

Trip to Disney World

Last week my parents took me to Disney World. When we were at the hotel we unpacked and watched TV until 11pm. The next day we went to Epcot. There we went on the Space Ride, Circle of Life, Innoventions East,  Journey Into Imagination With Figment, Living with the Land, Mission: SPACE, The Seas with Nemo & Friends, Soarin', Test Track Presented by Chevrolet®, and Turtle Talk With Crush .At Circle of Life you are in a boat going throughout life. Close to the end you get to see many different kinds of fruits like the nine-pound lemon. At the Innoventions East we got to play video games like cars 2 and meet Pluto and Minne. In Journey into Imagination With Figment we got to explore our 5 senses: touch, taste, smell, hear, and see. At Living with the Land we saw how food is being grown and distributed in a boat. At Mission: SPACE presented by hp we were controlling a rocket headed to the polar ice cap on mars. (Dad accidentally pressed the burn button, but it wasn't his fault because he didn't know what button to press). At the Seas with Nemo & Friends we saw different scenes in the movie on a moving clam. Soarin' is my favorite ride at Epcot because it makes you feel like you are gliding effortlessly over California. Test Track Presented by Chevrolet® is half fun and half scary. The fun part is making you own car. The not fun part is testing out the car. At the final test my car went over 65 mph even with sharp turns and steep drops(I'm not good with that speed in an open car. Turtle Talk with Crush is where you talk with the turtle Crush. The next day we went to Sea World. At Sea World we saw sharks, went on Journey to Atlantis®, Sky Tower, Shamu Show, Paddle Boats, A pirate show and a christmas edition shamu show. On Journey to Atlantis you are on a boat and you fall down 90 feet into a lake. I thought that was the only drop, but then the was a sign that said: sit up and brace yourself until the end of the hill. I was like what???? The next thing I knew I was soaked again! On the Sky Tower you are on a tower that rotates. At Shamu Show we saw killer whales do tricks in a huge pool. Unfortunately we were in the soak zone so we got wet by the killer whales splashing water to the audience. When we were at the paddle boats we paddled for along time because we don't do this very often. The next day we went to the Animal Kingdom. When we got there we rode a safari, saw animals, went on a river boat ride, and went on a hike across a forest. At the safari I saw lots of animals like tigers, zebras, giraffes, an many many more! On the river boat ride we were in rapids going through the waterfall. On the hike across a forest we saw more animals including bats with a wing span of over 10 feet!!!!(mom was freaked out) The next day we went to the Kennedy Space Center and Coco Beach. We first went to Coco Beach. There I went into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. I was really afraid of the seaweed, but later I got used to it. Then mom and I collected sea shells for our living room. After that mom, dad, and I made a huge sand castle that could resist the ocean waves for a while. By the time we left the sand castle was still there. At the Kennedy Space Center we saw how the shuttles landed, the two launch pads, mission control, a simulation of the mission control on the day the rocket lifted off to the moon, and a life-size replica of the international space station. We also saw the rocket that took the astronauts to the moon. Mom bought me a glow in the dark shirt at the gift shop which was really cool! The next day we checked in to our Disney All Star Music Hotel. Our room was at building 5 right on front the size 270 boots. They were huge! In our room there was a TV, refrigerator, two beds, table, two chairs, 3 blankets, and a painting of Mikey Mouse. The key to the room is our magic bands. Magic bands are these bands that are our room key, credit card, and tickets to the parks. Then we returned our car to the airport and rode the Disney's Magical Express back to our hotel. On the last day we went to the Magic Kingdom. There we went to Tomorrow Land.  There we rode the PeopleMover 5 times, went on the Buzz Lightyear's Ranger Spin 2 times, went on Space Mountain, and I drove a race car! The PeopleMove is a transit system where you tour Tomorrow Land. Buzz Lightyear's Ranger Spin is a game where you defeat monsters and save the galaxy! On Space Mountains you go through an indoor tunnel in turbulent speeds. Then we rode a train around the park 2 times and went on Dumbo: the flying elephant. Then we saw the electrical parade. At the electrical parade the floats are all made of lights. Then we left the park because we couldn't see the firework show. When we were on the monorail we saw the fireworks. They were amazing!!!!! I enjoyed my visit to Disney World and Florida and I really want to come again!

Journal

Today my mom, dad, and I went to Disney Hollywood Studios. When we got into the entrance I grabbed a map and a time guide. When we walked in it looked like I was in New York City because I could see the Empire State Building. After looking around we rode a tour ride. First we saw how they used the special effects in the Pearl Harbor movie. It was a little scary when they showed us the bombing special effect. After that we went on a bus that showed us around the studios. When the ride was over I was disappointed because the they didn't show us very much. Then we went to the star tours. There we were in the actions of star wars. You were inside a ship that would fight for freedom because a passenger on your ship is an enemy. After that mom bought us a frozen lemonade which tasted good. Then we went on a movie ride which takes us through different movies. In one movie the driver is taken captive from bank robbers and the robber becomes the driver. That part from my view is the scariest. Then the driver comes back. The last thing we did is watch the Fantastic show. It was a wonderful show featuring fireworks, mickey mouse, and fireworks. This day is one of my favorite days.


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Journal: Epcot

On the first day of our trip to Florida my mom, dad, and I went to Disney Epcot. (this is about my favorite ride) It was a few days ago but I can tell you a couple things about my experience. We first entered the park and got our bags checked and gave our tickets. Then the first thing we went to is Soarin. I think it is the most popular ride because we waited a long time to get on the ride. I choose to ride this ride first because I really wanted to ride on an airplane. Soarin is a ride that makes you feel like you're on an airplane flying over the great state of California. Once we got on the ride I was really excited. When the ride started the seats rose and went into a dome. Then there was a video on the dome that made you feel like you're flying. When the ride ended I wanted to go on the ride again so we got fast pass so later we don't have to wait as long. Soarin is my favorite ride.


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Journal

Today is one of the best days. My mom, dad, and I have went to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and the Coco Beach. Coco Beach is a beach on the Atlantic Ocean coastline and very big!  There is a strip of hotels on the end of the beach. It was our first time on the beach and near the Atlantic Ocean. I was afraid of the seaweed because I thought it was an animal. Then I saw a little girl playing with the seaweed so I knew it was safe to play with it. After that mom and I looked for seashells. I found a lot of cool looking seashells. My favorite seashell is a smooth light one. After we visited the beach we drove to McDonald's to eat lunch. After we ate lunch we went to the space center. At the space center we got on a bus to give us a tour. Today we got a treat on the bus because the driver decided to give us a tour around the actual space center. We got to see the crawlers, launch pad A, launch pad B, and many more! It was really cool. Then the bus dropped us off at the Apollo station where we saw the spacecraft and a movie on the first moon walk.

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