The Anemonefish is better known as the Clownfish. It is subfamily Amphiprioninae of the family Pomacentridae. The fish is native to the warm waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans and the Great Barrier Reef. They are omnivorous and eat food like algae, plankton, mollusks etc.
Only 27 species of the Clownfish exists now, of which one is known as the genus Premnas and the rest of the sub-family type is known as genus Amphiprion. The other type of pomacentrides is known as damselfish. The fish is not found on Atlantic Ocean. The fish live with sea anemones for its survival in reef. The clown fish defends the anemone or coral once it has adopted it.
The Clownfish does not need any anemone in an aquarium as there are no predators, but in natural surroundings it is very difficult for the small, brightly colored fish. Due to this reason, the clown fish does not stray far away from its host. It always remains within 15-25 cm of its host for its whole lifetime.
The Clownfish is considered the only species of fish which avoids the potent stings of an anemone. There are several reasons for this. One theory is that the mucus coating of the fish is made up of sugar instead of proteins, which disguises the fish as an inedible food. Another theory is that the mucous coating of the fish may give the impression of the anemones own coating.
The Clownfish always live in small groups and inhabits an anemone of their own. A breeding pair consisting of a female and a male always co-habit with some non-mating smaller male. After the death of the dominant female fish, a male changes its sex and becomes a female. Thus, the fish shows a sexual style called sequential hermaphrodites, in which they start their life as males and have the option of switching to become functional female gonads.
The Clownfish always stay near their host anemones and also lays their eggs on any available flat surface near the or under the protection of their host anemones. The male parent guards the eggs for 6-10 days till they hatch after 2hrs from darkness. The clownfish are omnivorous. In nature they eat live food like algae, mollusks, plankton, crustacea and many more.
The Clownfish are very much in demand for the reef aquariums. The fishes are nowadays tank bred to reduce the number taken from reefs. The tank bred fishes are considered more disease resistant. The clownfish in aquariums feed on live meat, fish flakes and fish pellets. They also survive mostly on copepods and mysids.
Clownfish
