Common Clownfish

Common Clownfish also go by the name Ocellaris Clownfish. They are a beautiful and iconic marine fish. They are instantly recognizable, due to their vibrant orange bodies and clear white stripes. Bold black lines highlight the fishes bright colours. Clownfish are very popular in the aquarium trade and are ideal as first fish in new tanks. Groups of Common clowns will inhabit reef slopes and lagoons, in the Indian and West Pacific Ocean.

Common Clownfish Ecology.

Clownfish form strict hierarchies, in which, the dominant fish is female. In the absence of a matriarch, a larger male clown will change gender and also become the new boss. When it is time to lay eggs, the breeding pair will clear an oval shaped space for brood to go. The male Common Clownfish take up the job of guarding and fanning the eggs. Success of the brood depends on how attentive the subordinate males were.

Famously, Clownfish share a symbiotic relationship with anemones. The Anemones offer the clownfish protection against predators. This is so, because anemones have stinging cells called nematocysts. Clownfish have protective mucus coats, which prevents the host from stinging them. In return, the Common Clownfish brings in food and keep the Anemone free from parasites.

Clownfish are omnivorous, they will eat some algae and small meaty foods such as zooplankton or larvae.