Interesting Facts about Clownfish

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The clownfish gained popularity after the release of the Disney Pixar movie Finding Nemo. The movie depicted the life of a Percula clownfish trying to escape the anguished life of a captive fish in an aquarium. Clownfish can be identified by their bright orange colour of the body with three distinctive bars and are typically reef dwellers.

Here are some interesting facts regarding clownfish.

  • The clownfish is called so because of the black and white bands on the body and bright colour. However, they are aggressive and territorial fish by nature.

  • Clownfish makes their homes inside the tentacles of sea anemones with which they have a mutually symbiotic relation and hence derive the name anemonefish.

  • There are over 1000 species of sea anemones found in the sea but not all are host to the clownfish. Only 10 species are capable of hosting the clownfish.

  • Clownfish belongs to the damselfish family, and are found of 28 different species.

  • The typical clownfish has an average lifespan of 6 ‘“ 10 years and measures approximately 4.3″ in length.

  • Irony lies in the fact that, after the release of the movie Finding Nemo, the demand for captive aquarium clownfish rose three times.

  • Since this species of fishes are poor swimmers, they tend to live close to their host habitats created within the sea anemones.

  • They are also unable to easily camouflage themselves due to their bright colour and therefore depend on the sea anemone for shelter and protection from predators.

  • Clownfish lives on the food remaining after they are captured by the sea anemone’s tentacles that paralyse preys.

  • The clownfish in return helps the sea anemone by driving off intruders, preening the host and even removing parasites from its body.

  • Clownfish is omnivores and their diet usually comprises of algae other than the leftover food from the sea anemones.

  • Clownfish are all born male but when a dominant female in the school die, one of the fish develops into a female and the change is irreversible. They are also monogamous for life and when the female partner dies, the male developing into female mate with their own offspring for reproduction.

  • A female clownfish can lay up to almost 1000 eggs at a time, and they are all capable of surviving unlike the eggs of many other fish.

  • They lay their eggs only during the full moon period and the eggs hatch only after dusk.

  • The percula clownfish is famous for the dance like moves it performs when it comes in contact with sea anemones for the first time. They do this before establishing a relation with the sea anemones by gently touching the tentacles and trying to get acclimatised to their host.

  • Sea anemones hunt prey with the lethal sting from their tentacles which most fish are vulnerable to except the clownfish who have a protective layer of mucus on their skin.

The varied species of clownfish can be found in the waters of the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and the western Pacific. Their habitat mostly comprises of shallow waters. They are not found in the Mediterranean, Atlantic or the Caribbean seas.

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