Discover the Fascinating Clownfish World (2024)

FAQs

What is the story of the clownfish? ›

A Clownfish is dared by his fish friends to go steal a tooth from the ferocious, mean Great Shark. He takes the dare, only to learn the shark is a misunderstood, friendly sort, who gladly offers a tooth to the Clownfish so he can win his dare.

The orange clownfish was first described by Lacepede in 1802 as Lutjanus percula and later redescribed as Amphiprion percula.

Clownfish are social fish, communicating through popping and clicking noises. They live in groups of male fish with one dominant female, a dominant male, and a group of smaller males. The dominant male ensures its position by taking the best food opportunities.

The clownfish featured in 'Finding Nemo' are Percula clownfish or 'Amphiprion percula'. There are 30 different species of clownfish, we keep three different kinds including the percula. Percula clownfish are found in the Western pacific - Queensland and Melanesia.

Marlin and Nemo are Ocellaris clownfish, a type of orange clownfish that live in sea anemones, just like in the movie. This type of clownfish is typically 3 to 4 inches long with bright orange coloring and white stripes outlined in black.

Changing Sex. Surprisingly, all clownfish are born male. They have the ability to switch their sex, but will do so only to become the dominant female of a group. The change is irreversible.

There are reports of much older clownfish in captivity and some people even reporting having had their clownfish for 30 years, with the oldest reported at 41 years of age. Such life expectancy is 6 times greater than that of fish with similar sizes.

McCullochi (Amphiprion mccullochi)

The McCullochi Clownfish is native to Lord Howe Island off the coast of Australia. Its tiny natural range is closed to fishing making it one of the rarest Clownfish in the aquarium hobby.

But did you know that male clownfish can become female? Groups of clownfish are led by a female, while the second-in-command fish is male. When the leader dies, the next-in-line male changes into a female in order to become the leader.

Now a new study in the Journal of Experimental Biology offers an insightful clue into why some of the 28 described species of clown fish have white bars on their bodies in the first place — and in the process, their research demonstrates that the fish are even smart enough to count.

What are clownfish babies called? ›

Reproduction. Clownfish males monitor and protect their eggs from predators. The eggs hatch eight days after they are fertilized, usually about an hour after it gets dark in order to increase the survival chances. The babies are called 'fry' and will eat baby brine shrimp several times a day to grow and mature.

Larger fish such as lionfish, snapper, grouper, triggers and eels will prey on clownfish.

The Pink Skunk Clownfish is one of the smallest species in the clownfish family. It is hardy and also very peaceful. The Pink Skunk Clownfish has a wide distribution. It can be found west to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, east to Fiji, north to the Ryukyu Islands and South to New Caledonia.

A true blue clownfish is still just a twinkle in clownfish breeders' eyes but every year we see just a little more of this unusual blue trait in an ever increasing number of domesticated clownfish.

Despite their close relationship with the anemone, clownfish do still live in groups called school. Within each group is a dominant female leader. As all clownfish are born male, if that female leader were to die the strongest male would become a female and the new leader of the school.

Nemo is a young clownfish who lives with his father, Marlin, in a sea anemone. Before he hatched from his egg, his mother, Coral, and the other eggs containing his brothers and sisters were eaten by a barracuda. Only Nemo's egg survived, albeit slightly cracked.

The name, as you might guess, is derived from the bold coloring of most clownfish, which is reminiscent of the daring color mixing you might find on a clown's uniform. While we're on the topic of color, it's worth noting that not every clownfish has the same orange and white striping.

As you may know, the clownfish is also called Anemony-fish in English, because of the anemone in which it lives. Hence the name Nemo (atNEMOny fish) for the little Disney cartoon hero.

When the female dies, the dominant male changes sex and becomes the female, a change which is irreversible. This life history strategy is known as sequential hermaphroditism. Because clownfish are all born as males, they are protandrous hermaphrodites.