Nemo - False Clownfish & Embryos

Description:

The Common clownfish is a small fish which grows up to 11 cm (4.3 inches). Its body has a stocky appearance and oval shape. It is compressed laterally, with a round profile. The coloration of its body is orange to reddish-brown, but it can also be black in some particular areas such as the Northern Territory in Australia.[5] It has three vertical white stripes outlined with a fine black line. The first passes just behind the eye, the second in the middle of the body widens forward to the head centrally and the third one circles the caudal peduncle. All the fins are also outlined with a fine black line. A. ocellaris is often confused with Amphiprion percula, which possesses exactly the same colours and patterns at first sight but distinguishes itself by the thickness of the black outlines. Like many other fish species, females are, however, larger than males.The life cycle of Amphiprion ocellaris varies in whether they reside at the surface or bottom of the ocean. When they initially hatch, they reside near the surface. However, when Amphiprion ocellaris enters into the juvenile stage of life, they travel down to the bottom to find shelter from a host anemone. Once they find their anemone, they form a symbiotic relationship with them. A. ocellaris is a diurnal fish. It is a protandrous hermaphrodite, which means the male can change its gender to female during its life, and lives in a harem in which an established dominance hierarchy manages the group and keeps individuals at a specific social rank. It is aggressively territorial and is completely dependant on its sea anemone

Habitat:

This species is found in the Eastern Indian Ocean and in the western Pacific Ocean. They can also be found in Northern Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan.

Notes:

Pic#1 shows the clownfish taking care of the embryos. They do that by blowing fresh water or using the pectoral fins to fan the embryos, which at the same time also 'cleaned' the embryos from particles landing on it. Pic#3 shows the embryos with eyes visible.