Makeover

It's as if she's objecting to the extra attention her rival got last week. Val, the big burrowing anemone, has been open to her fullest extent, waving her tentacles about, grabbing everything that passes, all week, ever since I reported on the plumose anemone's adventures.

And she's dressed herself up in a new batch of multicoloured seaweeds, pink and tan, yellow and green. And dyed her tentacles pink.

Nice jacket, Val!

Up to now, she has usually shown up in ghostly tones of blue and grey, with a slightly green disc and mouth. But now her colours are stronger, and she's picked up a hint of pink. This is encouraging; in the wild, these anemones are more colourful, and even though she was badly damaged when I rescued her, she was pink and green back then.

Here she is, just a small blob, healing, September of 2012.

In the tank, she gradually lost her colour. I did everything I could to help; provided lots of light, since she was found on an open, sunny beach. It seemed to make no difference. I gave her a variety of good food, live and preserved; I surrounded her with assorted seaweeds, red and green. And she seemed healthy and hungry, but as pale as a medieval maiden languishing in a tower.

And now, she's slightly pink. And definitely green.

Wide, green mouth. And even in bright light from two flashes, the hint of pink is there.

I think the difference is that here, in her new location, the aquarium is directly beneath a big, sunny window. Back in Delta, the window faced north into a row of evergreens; the sun never reached the window, and the tank was on the far side of the room. There was twice the amount of artificial light, but something must have been missing.

I wonder what she'll be like once the days are longer and the sun is farther north.