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| Interesting Facts about Sea Anemones |
- They use their adhesive foot, called the pedal disc, to attach to rocks, mud, and shells on the seafloor.
- Some even attach to the shells of living animals. Anemones vary in size from less than an inch to over 2 feet (.61m) long. They may have anywhere from a few dozen to a few hundred tentacles surrounding the theircentral mouth. The tentacles can expand and contract into their body cavity.
- They may feed on zooplankton, crustaceans, and fish. Much like a jellyfish, anemones possess stinging cells on their tentacles to use for feeding and defense. These cells will react to the slightest touch and eject a toxin that paralyzes prey. Their tentacles will guide the paralyzed prey to their mouth.
- Anemones are well known for their symbiotic relationships with clownfish. Clownfish can inhabit anemones without being affected by their sting.
- The anemone provides protection for the clownfish. In exchange, the anemone gets the food scraps from the clownfish’s meals. Small shrimp and crabs may also inhabit anemones. Some anemones can swim slowly by bending back and forth but mostly stays in the same spot unless conditions become unsuitable.Sea anemones can reproduce both sexually and asexually.
- They can reproduce sexually by releasing sperm or eggs into the water through their mouth. Or they may reproduce asexually by methods like splitting in half or detaching bits of their tissue that can regenerate into complete animals.
Anemones are solitary individuals. They sometimes use their stinging cells to fight each other if another anemone gets too close. Some anemones can live well over 50 years.