Interesting Facts

- The clownfish is protected from the anemone's sting by a coat of mucus made from sugars.

- They can be yellow, orange, black and even blue.

- In a pod of clownfish, the female fish is the largest, the breeding male is the second largest, and the non-breeding other males descend in order based on importance.

Adaptations

Clownfish have more rounded caudal fins that enable them to make quick darting movements. They have the ability to defect the correct host species by olfactory stimuli. They are also able to bleach itself in color at night and hide within the anemone tentacles.

Risks to Survival

Large species of fish, shark and eels are the main predators to clownfish in the water but the human is the biggest overall threat to the clownfish as they are caught to keep in tanks and aquariums and they only live half their normal life span in captivity.

Migration

Clownfish do not migrate because they have a special relationship with their sea anemone.

Reproduction

All clownfish are born male and develop female reproductive organs when needed. When the femle in the sea anemone group dies, the dominant male becomes female and breeds with a male. The female can lay hundreds or thousands of eggs at one time. Clownfish lay their eggs around the same time as a full moon. The male fish guards the eggs until they hatch just over a week later.

Diet

They are omnivorous animals. They eat a wide range of food such as algae, plankton, molluscs and small crustaceans. Their diet is however largely dependant on the species of clownfish and what food is available in the area which they inhabit.

Habitat

The clownfish are found around tropical coral reefs. there are 28 recognised species that are found in the Indian and Pacific oceans. the clownfish is also found as far north as the Red Sea and inhabits the Great Barrier Reef on the Australian East Coast.