In the host Sea Anemone of this Tomato Clownfish, the tentacles appear to be
dull green. To the
photographers, they appeared a brilliant flamingo, due to florescence.
Astrolabe Reef, Kadavu, Fiji.
Depth 45 feet
or 14 meters
*In a close look at the region in
the above image near the top of the fish's head, you will see a vague,
blackish cloud. We were puzzled at first, thinking the cloud to be
some sort of artifact in the scanning process. We then considered
it could be a cloud of mucus. Mimi found reference to a
"Cloudy mucus" in Anemonefish. Randall
1 (2002) described a "Mutualistic relationship" , in which the
presence is noted, but only conjectures were made on the origin or purpose of the
cloud.
(1) Randall, J. E., (2002) "Coral Reefs 21:188-190 |