Sebae Anemone & Sailfin Tang Relationship
Here's an interesting event that happened in our tank! Sorry it's so looooooooooong!
My Sebae "Briney-he's as big around as a "dinner plate" did the inside out thing and looked very sickly for awhile. I thought he was going to die for sure, but the cause was clear when we noticed that my Sailfin Tang "Sally" kept circling and protecting him...gently picking at Briney's mouth/stomach area. Sally bonded with Briney shortly after we got her. Suddenly I noticed that Sally had hold of something from deep in Briney's mouth. At first when she started pulling, there was literally super tight tension on some hair she got a hold of in him. She pulled and pulled, and he held his foot firm and let her yank until a glob of hair mixed with some old food finally broke free from his stomach. After that came out, Briney totally deflated and let his foot come free. His tentacles went completely limp and stringy looking, and he changed to a darker color...kind of a burgundy color. He floated up out of his corner, and I really thought that was the end of him. I checked him over and then set him back in his favorite spot. He turned inside out and then shrunk to the size of a golf ball. Sally stayed with him the whole time protecting him from the other tank members. I was looking him over, and followed my hand with Briney in it. (Darn dog fur) I went to bed fully expecting to find him gone and the hermits doing their job. The next morning he was his normal color, and his tentacles had inflated a bit again, and he was now about 4" around. Big improvement IMO! Briney was sickly for about 3 days. I finally quit worrying since Sally seemed to be watching out for her Briney buddy. What would be was just going to be. Now every once in a while, good old Sally will have poop stuck in a tangle of hair trailing from her bottom since she's been keeping Briney clear of the hair he's been filtering in. Good for Briney, kind of rough on Sally. I know it's kind of funny, but I make sure Sally has lots of fresh macro to eat in order to pass her poops. The 1st time it happened to her, I had to literally net her, and she knew I was trying to help. I put the rim of the net on the poop ball and held it against the glass. Then she would pull and tug trying to get it out of her. Poor girl! If it slipped away before Sally could get it out, she'd turn around, come back to me and the net for another try. Unbelievable! I'm glad she let me help her, or she'd have torn herself up trying to rub it off on the live rock. She's a cool fish...very personable, and she likes to have contact with you always if you have your hand in the tank. She tends to "pet" herself on my hand while I finish what I'm doing in the tank. If I am cleaning the outer glass, she follows me everywhere and will again try to make contact with me through the glass.
I know this is a long story, but it amazes me how these creatures take care of each other. Not only do they bond with their tank mates, the do their best to become close to you too! That's the coolest thing about saltwater creatures. Just had to share this. Sweetpea's post brought this incident to mind. You're not alone when it comes to why or what they're thinking! .....Angel
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