Question

Why do clownfish and sea anemone pair up? What is this relationship called?

Answer 1

Hint: Both organisms need each other for survival. Their relationship is called by the specific name. In this type of relationship both organisms benefit from one another.

Complete answer:
Clownfish and sea anemone pair up for their survival. Both the organisms need one another for their life struggle. Clownfish require protection from the predators so for the protection it needs sea anemone. On the other hand, sea anemone needs food to live which is provided by the clownfish (feces). Both the organisms are getting benefits from one another. So their relationship is called a mutualistic or symbiotic relationship in which both the organisms get benefitted, no one is harmed.

Additional Information: Clownfish- It is also known as Anemone fish. They are omnivorous and feed on undigested food material from their host sea anemones. The fecal matter from the anemone fish provides nutrients to the sea anemone.
Sea Anemone- It is a marine and predatory animal with adhesive feet. It provides protection to many species of fishes. Clownfish is one of them, it provides protection to clownfish from predators with the help of anemone's stinging cells and in turn, the anemone utilizes the nutrients present in its feces.
Mutual or symbiotic relationship: It is the type of close and long term relation between two species or genera in which both the organisms provide benefits to each other. Both fulfill the requirements of each other.
Sea anemone does not fire, its nematocysts sting organs on the clownfish because the mucus coating of the fish is based on sugars rather than proteins. Due to the sugar coating sea anemones fail to recognize the fish as a probable source of food and hence, do not fire their nematocysts, or sting organelles to that clown fish.

Note: For humans both the organism can be used in aquariums for increasing the attractiveness and for studying the mutualistic behavior of both. Scientific name of clownfish is Amphiprion and sea anemone is Actiniaria.