Animal Facts

The clown fish’s starring role was in Finding Nemo where little Nemo is caught by scuba divers along the Great Coral Reef and father Marvin goes searches desperately for his kidnapped son. They’ve become quite popular pets among salt water fish owners. But a wild Clown fish lives in the tentacles of a Sea Anemone. After an Anemone paraylzes and eats a fish, the Clown fish will eat the scraps left behind. The Clown fish also keeps the Anemone free of dead tentacles by eating them. The Clown fish’s bright coloration often lures other fish into the Anemone’s reach where it then traps and devours the unsuspecting fish.

An interesting fact of the Clown fish is that it can switch genders. Therefore, if a female Clown fish were to die, the pre-dominant male could morph into a female and choose a partner from a non-mating male. When Clown Fish are born, they are all male. As the grow the pre-dominant male will morph into a female and become the primary defender of the territory.

Mated Clown fish hold a strong bond. They lay their eggs in large batches along coral or a rock adjacent to their Anemone home. Both parents guard the eggs for 3-5 days and once the eggs hatch the male may stay to care for the young until they reach sexual maturity.