A Partnership Built on Poison
The sea anemone is a predator. Its tentacles carry nematocysts, microscopic harpoons that fire venom into anything that brushes against them. Most fish die within seconds of contact. The clownfish, belonging to the subfamily Amphiprioninae, does not. It survives because of a thick layer of mucus coating its body, a mucus that chemically mimics the anemone's own surface, tricking the tentacles into recognising the fish as part of themselves rather than prey.
