6 to 10 years

Clownfish are very active fish and are extremely aggressive. Because they are quite active, the clownfish are thought to be “clowning around”. They defend their territory and the sea anemone that they live in. Clownfish eat the leftovers from fish on the anemone and algae.

It is believed that the clownfish is protected due to a mucus coat on the outside of its skin. This is because the mucus coat they produce is sufficient to protect them from the anemone’s sting. Others, however, must acclimate to the host anemone before they can move freely among its tentacles without being stung.

Within six months of being paired with another male, the dominant fish had grown its preoptic area to a size that made it indistinguishable from the same region in other female clownfish brains. “After six months, this part of the brain is completely changed from a male brain to a female brain,” Rhodes said.

Adaptation. The clownfish has made many adaptations in order to survive better in its habitat. First, this particular species has more rounded caudal fins than other anemonefish, making it a naturally slow, less effective swimmer. These fins, however, enable the fish to make quick darting movements.

On its orange scales, this fish has a very thick mucus layer that lacks substances that activate the nematocysts. This is the reason why the skin of the clownfish makes it immune to the shocks of anemone, and that is why they can live happily among the anemone.

Nemo, alias Amphiprion ocellaris, belongs to the clownfish group, which includes about 30 species. Their colour pattern is characterised by a yellow, orange, brown or black colour with vertical white stripes composed of light-reflecting cells called iridophores. Amphiprion ocellaris, the famous Nemo, has three stripes.

Size & description. Most false clownfish are orange with three white bands on the head and body. The white bands are outlined in black. Their bodies are a bit more than 3 inches (88 millimeters) long on average, but they may grow up to 4 inches (110 mm), according to the Animal Diversity Web (ADW).

Clownfish have a few ocean predators including stingrays, sharks, eels and other big fish; but their greatest threat is humans. People who catch clownfish and keep them as pets in aquariums are making a mistake. There are only ten out of more than one thousand types of anemone that are able to host these fish.

The parents take no part in the rearing of the young. They will protect their eggs but once the eggs hatch, the babies are on their own. The fry can get eaten by other fish, swept away or even eaten by their own parents!

The diet of the orange-clown anemonefish consists of numerous prey items. They forage on algae and plankton as well as obtain food from the host anemone. The anemonefish will eat the dead tentacles of the anemone and any leftover food prey from the stinging tentacles of the anemone.

Most of the eggs won’t get fertilized properly, so they start to decay — hence the reason for eating them.

In classic Disney fashion, Finding Nemo kills off a parent pretty much immediately. Nemo’s opening scene reveals that Nemo’s mom, Coral, was killed by a barracuda. In the film, this just makes Marlin that much more protective of his son. So, after Coral’s death, Marlin should have become Nemo’s mom instead of his dad.

In real life, barracudas do not eat fish eggs and rarely eat clownfish. They typically eat larger fish. They also generally live in open water instead of near coral reefs.

Did you know clownfish have teeth? They’re not very sharp, but these territorial fish won’t hesitate to bite intruders nearing in their anemone abode. Researchers also discovered that clownfish use their teeth to communicate with conspecifics by producing a chattering noise.

So no, they are not smart.

They can bite and almost always make you jump. I have one that always attacks my hand even when I am working other end of tank six feet away. It hurts some times, it will bite at my rings and pull hair on my hands,a couple times I expected to see blood.

Fun Facts about Clownfish They get their name from their bright orange coloring and white stripes, but also from the bouncy way they swim. Clownfish females can lay over 1000 eggs. The male clownfish guards the eggs.

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.

Remember that your clownfish does not need an anemone to thrive and your clownfish will do great without one. But if it is this symbiotic relationship you are looking for, tank raised clownfish will associate with anemones or corals just like wild fish.

The ideal number of clownfish per tank is two. The best way to balance between aggression and partnership life is by growing them in pairs. If you wish to keep more clownfish than that, you should get yourself a relatively large tank. Then, the ideal number would be a school of five.

Clowns aren’t big fans of high flow but they’ll often just avoid high flow areas in the tank.

No, as said earlier, if you added 3 at the same time, 2 would’ve paired up and the odd clown out would have been bullied to death by the pair. Odd numbers of clowns in such a small quantity aren’t really good for smaller tanks, or most tanks.

One clownfish by itself should be fine, but attempting again to pair your fish with another small clown seems to be preferable to the fish (if they can make it through the establishing dominance phases).

Clownfish live in groups consisting of a dominant female — the largest fish — and a smaller male with whom she pairs for life. In the aquarium, clownfish can successfully be kept as pairs, although some squabbling can occur, and in a large tank it’s possible to maintain them effectively as a group.

Clownfish will do quite well on their own in an aquarium. As they can be aggressive and territorial with other smaller fish in a community tank, being alone or in a mated pair will allow them all the space they need to swim freely and explore their aquatic surroundings.

No, you cannot. Clown fish are salt water fish and the rest you have named are all tropical/freshwater fish. Clownfish are saltwater fish and need saltwater. Freshwater will kill clownfish very quickly.

Ease of Care, Fun & Educational Rewards On the positive side, Clownfish are ideal beginner fish, since they are easy-to-care-for, hardy, and don’t require a huge aquarium to survive happily. Because wild clownfish always stay in or near anemones in a reef environment, they require very little space.

Of course it does. Damsels (to include clownfish) are very hardy and generally survive the experience.

Select a creature that lives in freshwater. Make sure that the tank mates you are considering for your guppies will be able to live comfortably in freshwater as well. Damselfish, mollies, and clownfish are examples of saltwater fish that will not be able to survive in a freshwater tank.