Fish gone to heaven

[baconbits]

Yesterday I went to LFS and left with a Sebae Clown and a Firefish. Put 'em in the tank and went to sleep with a smile on my face. Got up this mornig and saw that my Pink tip had already had breakfast. BOTH FISH!! Do you think the fish died before succumbing to the anemone is this some kind of Little shop of Horrors thing?

[baconbits]

The Firefish lives!! I guess he was taking a nap. The clown however was definatly consumed. I see him in there. IS this common?

[Ninong]

It is common for anemones to consume fish on occasion, especially fish that they usually do not host.

When you say "Pink Tip," exactly which anemone is that? There are so many different common names that it is tough keeping up with all of them. Is that one of the Indo-Pacific anemonefish-hosting anemones or one of the Atlantic anemones like Condylactis gigantea?

How large was your Sebae clownfish? Are we talking about an Amphiprion sebae or an Amphiprion clarkii? The only reason I ask is because Sebae clowns accept very few anemones as hosts whereas Clarkii clowns, which many LFS incorrectly call Sebae clowns, accept all ten of the clownfish-hosting anemones.

The bottom line is that any anemone is capable of eating fish, especially small fish and especially fish of a species that it does not have a natural symbiotic relationship with, and some anemones, mainly the three carpets, are notorious fish eaters.

[Minh Nguyen]

Ninong is right. Pink tip anemone can be use to describe several anemones. If you pay less than 20 dollars for it, it is likely an Atlantic anemone witch do not host clown fish (there are no clown fish in the Atlantic Ocean) and may consume newly introduce clown fish.

[baconbits]

It is in fact an Atlantic Anemone. It is one i picked up cheap when I began this reef tank (my first) three years ago. It has since grown to larger than a softball and takes up quite a bit of space. You think it would be good idea to trade him out? I have so many questions about reefing and my LFS is so busy they really don't seem to like "dumb" questions. Is there a 'newbie" forum or can I ask all my questions here?