Clown Fish

Clown fish are remarkable creatures from their origin, to the habitat they live in, and even the way they reproduce. With their vibrant orange and white colors they are one of the most unique fish ever to be researched. They live in the most dangerous depths of water, with the sea anemone which they are always seen to be with.

The Clown Fish also known as Anemonefish come from all over from the tropical Pacific Ocean, Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and the Australian Great Barrier Reef. They live near a coral reef in only salt water with the sea anemones and are found to be shy creatures. They live in the deepest depths of water where no other fish dare to live in. Amphiprion ocellaris is the most commonly seen Clown fish (finding Nemo) and its body is bright orange with three vertical white bands edged in black. All fins are also edged in black. There are about twelve known types of clown fish but are all the same when it comes to the way they live. There is still much to learn about these creatures and they have not been completely figured out.

The Anemones are creatures with poisonous tentacles that most fish in the sea try to avoid, but not the Clown fish. You see Clown Fish have a thin layer of mucus that allows them to live in certain parts of the sea that other fishes cannot. This layer gives them immunity to the anemones poisonous sting. The Clown Fish live literally on the sea Anemone and in the wild are never seen to be without each other. The Anemone protect Clown Fish from most predators while the Clown Fish helps the anemone to lure food in. The Clown fish eat other fish caught by the anemone they have left behind, they also eat dead anemone tentacles or plankton found or Coral Reefs. The Clown Fishes mouths have a hard jaw that allows them to nibble at the coral. The Clown Fish is described, as being brightly colored orange with three vertical white stripes and have rounded fins with black margins that enable them to change directions. They are known to grow from two to five inches depending were they stand in their school.

The usual breeding procedure used with Clown Fish is the keeping the group of juveniles (just hatched). As they grow, pairs are separated from the crowd. Usually, an Anemone is where the breeding process takes place, but isn't necessary. Before mating, the Clown pair will usually clean off a rock or some kind of surfaces and will deposit their eggs. Normally, the mating occurs once a monthly and hundreds to thousands of eggs may be deposited. The female is the largest Clown Fish of the school and the male is eighty percent of her size and the non-sex fishes are eighty percent of his size and they just get smaller and smaller. The Clown Fish in which their sex is undecided are not to reproduce, but in the case that female was to die the male will then turn into the female (thus getting larger) and the next fish in line will take shape of the male and so on. When the eggs are laid it is always close to the anemones. The resulting Fry's (eggs fertilized then hatched) are then introduced to the Anemone. Both parents care for the baby fish until they are old enough to fend for themselves.

All in all Clown Fish to this day are somewhat mysterious. We still have many questions, like how long does the average life span of a clown fish? And what is their compatibility with other sea water fish? But as for where they originate, their habitat, and especially how they reproduce, those finds itself are remarkable.