Li Chao pointed at the bungalow and asked, "Brother Xiang, why did you bring us here?"
"Come in."
After Xiang Yang finished speaking, he took the lead and walked into the house.
Li Chao and Xu Yueban looked at each other and then followed.
This house is the old house of Xiang Yang's third uncle. Since his family went out to make a living, the old house became empty and no one has lived in it for many years.
"The house is a bit shabby due to years of disrepair, but you don't have to worry about its safety. Some of my treasures are hidden in here." Xiang Yang said.
"Baby?" Li Chao and Xu Yueban's eyes lit up.
"Actually, these are some sea fish that I think are valuable, but I can't find a buyer for the time being." Xiang Yang opened the door. There were two rows of fish tanks neatly arranged in the dim living room. In each fish tank, there were various graceful fish, big and small, of different colors and shapes. If an ordinary person came, he would definitely be dazzled at first sight.
In a fish tank, there was a group of cute little fish with exaggerated body colors and agile swimming postures that attracted the attention of Li Chao and Xu Yueban.
"This is a clownfish. It's very difficult to catch. I caught these with great difficulty." Xiang Yang said with a smile.
The first time Xiang Yang encountered a clownfish, he was fascinated by its appearance. Although the clownfish does not have many colors on its body, they are all very bright and unforgettable. Especially the white spots on its face are particularly funny and make people feel happy at first sight.
"I found these clownfish among the giant sea anemones when I was fishing for them." Xiang Yang said.
Clownfish, also known as anemone fish, is a general term for a variety of tropical marine fish that can coexist mutually beneficially with sea anemones. They are distributed in tropical waters around the world. There are currently 28 known species of clownfish, most of which belong to the genus Amphiprion, and the largest of them is 11 cm in length.
Each of the clownfish caught by Xiang Yang has one or two white stripes on its head, which looks like the oil paint on the face of a circus clown. This oil paint is a signature feature of the clownfish and is also the origin of their name.
Li Chao looked at Xiang Yang and asked in confusion, "Can a clownfish survive alone without anemones?"
Xu Yueban was also puzzled: "I have also heard that clownfish and sea anemones have a symbiotic relationship."
The so-called symbiosis refers to a symbiotic relationship in which two or more species in the biological world are mutually dependent and beneficial.
This symbiotic relationship can be a long-term or short-term behavior. Generally, the two species in this relationship either live together or die together; neither can leave the other.
"There is a symbiotic relationship between the clownfish and the sea anemone, but it doesn't mean that it cannot survive without the anemone. It's just that its body color is very bright and it is easily discovered by enemies. It has no ability to protect itself, so it relies on the toxins of the sea anemone to protect itself. I keep it in a fish tank, and it has no natural enemies, so why can't it survive?" Xiang Yang asked back.
Many weak marine creatures must find a strong backer if they want to survive in the dangerous ocean world.
The clownfish is one of the many weak marine creatures, so it chooses the anemone as its support.
So can the sea anemone serve as a support for the clownfish
The answer is yes. Sea anemones have tentacles that can secrete venom, which can protect themselves and clownfish from attacks by other ferocious marine creatures.
Moreover, clownfish are extremely small, and they can sustain their life even if they only eat the leftover food scraps of sea anemones.
So are sea anemones willing to be the clownfish’s backer
The answer is also yes.
Sea anemones are only too happy to provide shelter to clownfish because they cannot actively attack when hunting prey.
The sea anemone has a strong toxin but is unable to attack proactively. If it cannot find a way to make its prey come to it, it will starve to death.
So how do sea anemones make their prey come to them
The answer is clownfish.
Clownfish use their bright colors to easily attract other fish to approach, providing anemones with the opportunity to prey on them.
Moreover, the clownfish is the "personal doctor fish" of the sea anemone. After living in symbiosis with the sea anemone, the clownfish will take the initiative to help the sea anemone remove necrotic tissue and parasites on its body. In addition, the clownfish is also responsible for the cleaning of the sea anemone.
Clownfish that parasitize anemones will swim quickly to reduce the probability of food debris remaining in the anemone.
"And not every clownfish can get along well with sea anemones. At least most clownfish don't have a good relationship with sea anemones in the early stages." Xiang Yang said with a smile.
Clownfish will only choose the appropriate anemone to parasitize after they become adults.
Many clownfish will be accidentally injured by anemones when they first start to live in symbiosis with them.
Xiang Yang pointed to a beautiful clownfish with an orange background, a black back, and two sky-blue stripes behind its eyes and said, "When I caught this clownfish, it had not yet reached a symbiotic relationship with the sea anemone. At that time, it was cautiously approaching the tentacles of the giant sea anemone, but the sea anemone moved and it was poisoned and fell to the bottom of the sea. If I hadn't happened to pass by, it would have been poisoned to death by the anemone by now."
Li Chao blinked his eyes. "Can clownfish be poisoned by sea anemones?"
Xu Yueban also looked incredulous.
"Yes, the toxins of sea anemones are also effective against clownfish. Clownfish are not immune to the toxins of sea anemones." Xiang Yang affirmed.
"Clownfish are not immune to the toxins of sea anemones, so how do they achieve symbiosis with sea anemones?" asked Xu Yueban.
"A species that relies on the poison secreted from the tentacles of sea anemones." Xiang Yang said.
It is said that for any highly poisonous substance, there must be an antidote within seven steps.
The tentacles of sea anemones are both highly poisonous and can serve as an antidote.
The tentacles of sea anemones can secrete an unknown substance that can not only neutralize the toxins in the stinging cells of the poisonous tentacles, but also inhibit the ejection of the stinging cells.
When clownfish first come into contact with sea anemones, they need to be very careful when touching the anemone's poisonous tentacles, rubbing their bodies against the anemone's poisonous tentacles constantly, so that their entire bodies are covered with the unknown substance secreted by the anemone's poisonous tentacles.
When the clownfish's body is completely covered by the unknown substance, it becomes a "family member" of the anemone. It no longer has to worry about being stung by the anemone's poisonous tentacles and can safely build nests and reproduce among the anemones.
Of course, the young anemones will leave their parents immediately after hatching and live in the water layer. They will not look for new anemones until they reach adulthood to repeat the traditions left by their parents, continue to establish a symbiotic relationship with the new anemones, and build nests in the anemone bushes to reproduce the next generation.