ALL

ABOUT
SEA
ANEMONES

What are sea anemones

Sea anemones[uh-nem-uh-nee] may look like flowers but actually are
meat eating animals.
They are invertebrates and have no skeleton at all.
sea anemones come in many Shapes, sizes and different colours like
pink, red, white, green etc.
They live in coastal waters, deep oceans and also shallow waters.
They spend most of their lives in one place, attached to firm objects
in the seas usually the sea floor, rocks or coral. Some even bury
themselves in mud.
The body consists of a foot shaped like a pedal, that is what allows
them to secure and stay in one place and not float around. They have
a body which looks like a long cylinder. They have tentacles all
around the mouth,( the single body opening.) which is in the center.
Sea anemones belong to the animalia kingdom.

What is so special about sea anemones?

Sea anemones have tentacles which have poisonous stingers. It
helps them catch food. In order for the sea anemone to eat, they
must wait for the their food to swim by. Then they sting it with their
tentacles and then push it into their mouth. The tentacles also
protect the sea anemone.
Sea anemones are carnivores that eat fish, mussels,
zooplankton(like copepods, other small crustaceans and tiny marine
larvae) and worms.
Sea anemones are eaten by very few animals. Their predators
include the Grey Sea Slug and the Tompot Blenny.
Clown fish always live near anemones as they are immune from the
stinging tentacles. They are protected by the sea anemone. In return
clown fish help the sea anemone by cleaning the tentacles.
Hermit crabs sometimes attach sea anemones to their shells for
camouflage.

What do sea anemones look like?

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