Clownfish also known as the Anemonefish , are fishes which are native to warmer waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans including the Great Barrier Reef and the Red Sea. Thirty species of Clownfish are identified till now. In the wild, they all form symbiotic mutualisms with sea anemones.

     Clownfish became familiar after the animation movie “Finding Nemo.” The most common species of Clownfish is looked like Nemo (Orange with white shades.)


Some interesting facts about Clownfish:

• All Clownfish are born males. But when a female dies, the most dominant clownfish changes itself into a female!
• One species of the clownfish, called the percula clownfish, dances when it comes into contact with the anemones for the first time!
• Clownfish live in small groups among sea anemones. Anemones are flesh-eating animals that look like plants.
• They can lie around thousand eggs at one time, and unlike other fish, out of the thousand eggs, all can survive !
• Clownfish get their name because of their stripes and their bouncing movements, which make them look like clowns!
• The relationship between the clownfish and sea anemone is a symbiotic relationship. Clownfish benefit the anemones by eating the leftovers and dead tentacles of the anemones. Clownfish help the sea anemones by circulating the water around them. In return the anemones protect the Clownfish from the attack of other fish by their venomous tentacles.
• Though clownfish are shown as calm and modest in the movie, ‘Finding Nemo’, they are actually known to be aggressive fish! But there are exceptions, like the skunk clownfish.
• In the wild, clownfish are said to live for six-eight years, and they grow up to only three to five inches!
• Clownfish are not pure vegetarians, they are omnivores. They eat algae, and the food left by the anemones. Clownfish care is easy as they can survive without anemones also.
• Wondering how clownfish protect themselves from the poisonous tentacles of the anemones? Well, they are protected from the venomous tentacles of the anemones by a layer of mucus which is present on their bodies.