Clownfish

Facts:

• Clownfish belong to a group of small, brightly colored fish called damselfish.
• It gets its name from its distinctive black and white markings.
• Clownfish and sea anemones have a symbiotic, mutualistic relationship.
• The sea anemone protects the Clownfish and provides food through the scraps left its meals.
• The clownfish defends the anemone and cleans it from parasites.
• The anemone functions as a safe nest site for Clownfish.

Scientific classification of Clownfish:.

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Actinopterygii

Order: Perciformers

Family: Pomacentridae

Subfamily: Amphiprioninae

Level of endangerment:

Clownfish is indeed endangered. Few years back it wasn´t so. There were plenty of Clownfish swimming happily on reefs and lagoons. After the movie “Finding Nemo” hit the cinema Clownfish got suddenly extremely popular and they were in high demand as pets.

Population:

The population of anemone Clownfish is stable; however over collecting these creatures would cause a threat to these animals.

Habitat: Clownfish can be found in the warm waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans. They can be also seen on the Great Barrier Reef and the Red Sea.

Clownfish live in sheltered reefs or in shallow lagoons at the bottom of the sea. No Clownfish live in the Atlantic.

Nourishment: In the wild Clownfish eat such live food as algae, plankton, mollusks and crustacean. Around 20-25 percent of its diet consists of algae. Clownfish also feed on small invertebrates which could be harmful to the sea anemone. A portion of the Clownfish diet also includes undigested food from their host anemone.

Breeding: Clownfish lay their eggs in batches on the coral or rock near the anemone. The male guards the eggs until they hatch 4-5 days later. In some species of the clownfish, the male cares for the babies until they reach sexual maturity. When they are have reached it, they leave to find their own host anemone.

Peculiar habits: Clownfish tend to live in groups. They consists reproducing female and male and all the other clownfish in the group are neuter, which means they have not fully developed functioning sex organs for either gender

 In these groups there is a strict dominance hierarchy. The largest and most aggressive female is at the top. Only two clownfish, a male and a female, in the group reproduce.

 Clownfish are “sequential hermaphrodites”, which means that they develop into males first, and when they mature, some of them will become females.

If the female should die, the male will change sex, while the biggest neuter clownfish will develop functioning male sex organs to replace the male. The remaining males of the group will move up a rank in the hierarchy.

Sources:

• Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clownfish

• Shedd the worlds aquarium

sea.sheddaquarium.org/sea/fact_sheets.asp?id=72