Feeding behaviour of bubble-tip anemones Entacmaea quadricolor (Leuckart, 1828)

Abstract

Bubble-tip (Entacmaea quadricolor) is an anemone that can be associated with many species of clownfish. This facts makes E. quadricolor more interesting as a marine aquarium ornamental fish, however information about biological aspects of E. quadricolor is not widely available. The purpose of this study was to determine the feeding behaviour, digestion rate, and feeding absorption efficiency to support the maintenance of E. quadricolor. Anemones were divided into two groups, a groups fed with shrimp and a groups fed with grouper. The result shows feeding behaviour such as shortening of the tentacles and folding of the oral disc during the feeding response phase and the absence of pre-feeding response phase. Digestion rate obtained by E. quadricolor has produced egesta (indigestible residue) as early as 22 - 25 hours after feeding and ended in the course of 46 - 48 after feeding. Feeding absorption efficiency fed by shrimps and groupers of E. quadricolor was 40.60% and 39.87% respectively. Analysis with t-test showed no significant difference in feeding absorption efficiency between E. quadricolor fed with shrimps and fed with groupers.