Today, on the 14th of February, I would like to share the cutest love story that I know of.
Your heart will melt reading about it, let alone witnessing it.
You guessed it, I am talking about the symbiotic relationship! 😉
Symbiosis entails two different species living together in harmony and helping each other out.
If you watch nature shows about the underwater world, you probably have seen a big shark with a few small fish comfortably swimming next to him.
While you think this could be a nice midnight snack, the shark knows better!
These small fish are called the cleaner wrasse.
And as their name suggest, they are in charge of flossing the shark’s teeth.
At the same time, the shark protects these little fish from other predators!

Some of you might know that we have a saltwater aquarium.
And it is such a blessing to be able to observe the symbiotic relationship up close!
We have recently purchased a sea anemone for our clown fish pair.
The anemone looks like a coral, but is actually an animal that can walk on it’s own and has a toxic venom which keeps most fish away.
Except for the clownfish! They are resilient against this toxic.
So, they will nestle down in the anemone who will protect the fish against predators.
In return, the clownfish will provide food for the anemone and will keep it clean.
It is so incredibly cute to see the little clownfish snuggle up in the sea anemone!

And I can’t leave this post without telling you about my two favorite little creatures: the watchman goby fish and the pistol shrimp.
The little shrimp is nearly blind, but is very good at digging and shifting sand.
So, while he builds and maintains a cave, the goby acts like a good watchman and protects the shrimp against predators and makes sure he gets food.
The shrimp has large antennas which will always be attached to the Goby.
When there is danger, the Goby will wiggle his tail and they will hide in their cave.
Where ever the shrimp goes (and he moves a lot), the Goby will follow.
He won’t leave his friend for even two seconds!
And even when Goby finds a girlfriend, she will be accepted into this partnership and they will share a cave with the 3 of them!

The most interesting part is that, even though we have no predators in our tank, the fish stay true to what they were born to do!
Last weekend we visited the fish store.
It is a small one, but the owner is the kindest person you will ever meet.
The amount of love he feels for the fish warms my heart more than anything.
In fact, the reefer community is probably one of nicest communities on earth!
Any reefer YouTube video will contain so much happiness and kindness towards these little creature and it is refreshing to see people being nice in the comment section!
J and I have been together for nearly 7 years and of course our relationship has changed from what it was in the first year.
But our mutual love for fish makes our relationship only stronger.
I just know that he is the Goby to my Shrimp! 😊
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!
A few notes:
I know that some people are against keeping fish.
I completely respect that, but be aware that no animals were meant to be pets. They are all man made.
But I think if a person has the time, love and financial means to make a pet as comfortable as possible, it is ok.
I have referred to the fish as “he”.
The truth is that with salt water fish, you cannot determine whether they are male or female (except for one of our clownfish). So we have chosen to refer to all of them as male.
Fun fact: some fish will actually change gender at one point in their life, but that is a story for another time 😉
As an aspiring biologist, this warms my heart.
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Right?!
I am sure symbiosis can be found in other animals, but I am crazy about sea creatures 😊
Such a great profession btw!
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Symbiosis is present in all sorts of fascinating ways! I am very happy to read of this one though!
And thank you! I personally love my work.
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Hmmm… was in the process of posting a comment when my page went blank and then I was told that the post no longer existed…
Anyway… as I was saying – I like that the post was educational. It’s definitely not the type of relationship we usually associate with love, but we cal still see so much care and love in these underwater relationships.
The photo of Shrimp and Goby is awesome. They are looking at the sunset and (well, Goby is seeing and describing it to Shrimp) and thinking about their future.
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That is very annoying. Sorry that it happened.
I don’t know if fish, or animals in general, can fall in love. As mentioned, you can’t really know the gender of fish, so you can never put two of the same fish in one tank unless they are paired.
And more than anything, I would like a Goby pair and a shrimp to see how they interact!
Awesome, right!
I am pretty sure they will remain the best of friends and care for each other in the future! 😊
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This is the cutest Valentines love post I have read today. Well done💥
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I am so glad I took time to read it….so beautiful…truly heart melting one!!!!!!
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So cute! I agree…my post literally said “Happy Valentine’s Day! What a great time to read a romantic book…😉” This was so much cuter! Happy Valentine’s Day!❤
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Reblogged this on The Viewing List.
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Aww thank you so much😊
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I am happy you did! Animals are just amazing 😊
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Aww, these stories definitely made me smile. I like your footnotes at the end. I don’t advocate fish being as pets. Whilst they are meant to swim in the sever seas, you can’t capture in them in small tanks!
I am glad you take care of your fish 😀
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Truly they are☺️
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You are not wrong, but there are a few things that can be said about it:
1. There are rules for what size tank is suitable for certain fish and which fish can live together.
Reefers will adhere to this rules. It is simply too expensive to experiment.
2. Most small fish are very clumsy swimmers. They care mainly about food and safety. So they will mainly just chill near their cave.
3. Reefers will always try to simulate the ocean as much as possible, meaning the appropriate lighting, corals, live rocks and so forth.
4. There are certain parameters for the quality of the water which are usually checked twice a month.
If a chemical is lacking, this can be relatively easily fixed. I have a box full of chemicals 😀
5. There are no predators in a tank, so the fish can live their life without fear.
But indeed, the transportation can be quite stressful for a fish, so reefers will make sure a good home is prepared for them.
In a way, I would wish for all animals to live in the wild. But a world without animals up close would make me sad too.
And we would never learn about their interesting behavior and loveliness 🙂
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Very enjoyable, cute blog post! Thank you for sharing.
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From one fish lover to another—I loved this!!! It brought back fond memories of “Finding Nemo”. I have a fighter fish (beta), I call him MyTyson (yes pun intended🤪). Congrats on your 7 year symbiotic relationship. Wishing you many more great years together.
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Fish are the best! And there a few cute ones in Finding Nemo!
Beta fish have such a beautiful dress. We owned a fresh water aquarium previously and though they are not as colorful as saltwater fish, they are amazing too!
MyTyson is a brilliant name😁😁
As an electrical engineer, I named mine after electrical components, hahha
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Yeah fish are the best!! That’s as far as I go for pets. Teehee 😹 @ MyTyson — I couldn’t help myself: fighter fish/fighter Mike Tyson = MyTyson!!! Your e-engineer names should be interesting 🤔
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Aww..this is the cutest relationship story ever
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How darling! Yes, these ARE the cutest love stories. Who knew? Thanks!
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Right?! 😄
Who needs social media when fish can entertain me for hours 😀
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