Fish
Clownfish
Amphiprion ocellaris
Harmless🌊 1–15 m📏 up to 11 cm⏳ up to 8 yearsIUCN status: Least concern
Epipelagic zone
Immune to the venom of the anemone that hosts it, it spends its entire life in one spot, and can literally change sex if the group's female disappears.
🗺️ Geographic range
Coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific, from Southeast Asia to Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
📊 Population
Not threatened and widespread across Indo-Pacific reefs (IUCN, least concern).
Habitat
- Pacific Ocean · Coral reef · Epipelagic zone · Permanent
🥚 Reproduction
The dominant female lays her eggs at the base of the anemone; the male guards them until hatching.
Behaviour
- Diet
- Small invertebrates, algae, and leftovers from prey caught by the host anemone.
- Hunting
- Rarely hunts: mostly lives off the resources brought by life around its anemone.
- Communication
- Postures and small fin movements within the small, hierarchical group.
- Social life
- Lives in a small group organised around a single anemone, with one dominant female.
Physiology
- Anatomy
- A specific mucus layer protects it from the anemone's stinging cells.
- Respiration
- Standard bony-fish gills.
- Vision
- Good eyesight suited to life on the reef.
- Adaptations
- Sequential hermaphroditism: all born male, able to become female if needed.
🔗 Web of marine life
Partners
⚡ Its extraordinary abilities
- Immune to the anemone's stinging tentacles thanks to a protective mucus
- Sequential hermaphroditism: born male, can become the dominant female
If you cross paths with this animal…
Risk: No danger to humans.
Behaviour: Territorial around its anemone; may nip at a diver who gets too close, with no consequence.
Advice: Never touch the host anemone — a fragile ecosystem in balance.
💡 Did you know?
- Made globally famous by the film Finding Nemo.
- The whole group is organised around a single dominant female: if she disappears, the dominant male becomes female.
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