Fish EATING anemones and corals: What do you think? Dead or Alive?

[revhtree]

From time to time we get a thread or photos showing an anemone or a coral eating a fish. Was the fish already dead or was the anemone just super hungry? Most of the time the fish has already perished and just get caught up in hungry tentacles! Let's talk about it today!

1. Have you ever had an anemone or coral that ate a fish that was still alive? Tell us about it.

2. Do you think that most "eaten fish" were dead or alive before the "consumption?"

Rhyzo eating a fish image via @JunioMC8704

After

 

[sp1187]

I found one of my kaudal cards dead in one of my mini max. I don't know if it was dead before hand or not.

I had a long tentacle plate coral eat one of my porcelain crabs.
the ltp apparently choked on it and proceeded to die.

 

[dbowman5]

i checked other. 1. i have a RBTA 2. i have had fish go missing never to reappear, 3. the crabs are shrugging that they know nothing = not enough evidence to convict.

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

I have a LTA that's never eaten a fish. but the only fish in the tank with it are a pair or clowns.

I have found a few stomatella shells under him and he got a hermit once.

 

[exnisstech]

Had a carpet that ate a small picaso trigger and spit out the bones. I should have known better

 

[lpsouth1978]

I LOVE Haddoni Carpets and have kept them for years. I have had a number of close calls where a fish got too close and got stuck to the nem, most recently my Tomini tang, but they have always been strong enough to get themselves off with minor injuries that healed in a day or two.

 

[Mical]

My Haddoni ate a 4" Niger trigger

 

[Bfragale]

I have or had: mini maxi carpet, RBT, long tentacle and condi- never had one eat a alive fish.

but I had a “great idea” once: my wife keeps beta fish- one died and I thought “free treat for the nem!” So I fed the nem the dead betta fish.

the nem never opened again. It started to split within a few days, then the two halves never open and slowly died.

I can only assume the feeding of the beta fish is the cause as before it was big and healthy. After I discovered nems can get bacterial infections and I believe this is what I unknowingly caused.

so no more feeding dead bettas lol.

 

[laverda]

I feed any fish that die to my anemones.

 

[mard]

My large RBTA catch a new Yellow tang over night and consumed his face. This same RBTA had previously tried to get a Kole tang and stung him so bad he was "screaming" (speed swimming and so pale he was translucent) around the tank for a day.

The RBTA has since gone back to the LFS.

 

[mard]

I found a picture of my Kole tang "screaming".

 

[Mr_Knightley]

I've kept an LTA for the past four years or so nd have never had a fish casualty, at least that I know of. What he does like to eat are echinoderms! He's eaten at least three brittle stars and countless asterinas, and one of the brittles was so big it could barely fit through it's mouth! I'm pretty sure he ate my sea cucumbers too, lol.

 

[Biokabe]

I've never had a fish die to a 'desirable' anemone, but I did once watch as an aiptasia tried to claim a purple firefish. The fish was too big for the anemone so it eventually broke free, but the fish was an ex-fish within half an hour.

 

[ThRoewer]

From time to time we get a thread or photos showing an anemone or a coral eating a fish. Was the fish already dead or was the anemone just super hungry? Most of the time the fish has already perished and just get caught up in hungry tentacles! Let's talk about it today!

1. Have you ever had an anemone or coral that ate a fish that was still alive? Tell us about it.

2. Do you think that most "eaten fish" were dead or alive before the "consumption?"

Rhyzo eating a fish image via @JunioMC8704

After

What kind of anemone is that?

 

[Tmart83]

RBTA ate a pajama cardinal, it was already a little slow and probably going to die at the time but it wound up a slimy blob after it got mostly eaten and puked back what it didn't want.

 

[Pecesito]

 

[Jax15]

Yup. I found a small rock flower anemone eating my ENTIRE yellow tang. ;Nailbiting Where on earth would it go? I was simultaneously amazing and saddened by the loss. My guess is the tang was already dead and floated into the nem, but I will never really know.

 

[guysmiley]

anemones are predators if a fish isnt onto it it will be its dinner , i have lost a few fish over the years to them , its important to have lots of space for the anemone and the fish, crowded tanks with lots of nems and not much swimming space is a no go if you want to keep fish with them, most fish are pretty onto it and wont go near them but you will always get the ones that think they can steal abit of food from the anemone unfortunately its the last thing they do..

 

[Greybeard]

As a long time keeper of carpet nems, I've had both Haddoni and Mertens, over the years... it's a risk.

Never lost a fish to a BTA or LTA, but the big carpets? Oh yeah. Part of the game, I suppose. Latest was a 5" bicolor goatfish. Nem hadn't been in the tank for a day, that goatfish came nosing around, Haddoni pulled him right on down. Nem was one I bought from a LFS that I'd not had much experience with. I'm fairly certain the cretin who bagged him for me tore his foot getting him loose. He was gone in a few weeks.

I've also seen fishes eaten by Elegance corals, still kicking, but I would hesitate to say they were healthy fish. I'm fairly certain the fish were doing poorly before stumbling into the coral.

On a slightly different note, I have seen fish killing starfish . Had a great big green brittle star that would sit in the rocks and go fishing... waving an arm out there. Grabbed a small chalk bass right out of the water column and yanked him down under the rock. Had to tear the tank apart to get him out. Well over a foot across.

 

[ca1ore]

Both. Used to keep haddoni and they're notorious predators of healthy fish that get to close. Now I just keep magnifica, Mine will opportunistically consume a dead fish but i have not observed it reeling in anything alive.