Clownfish,Anemone Fish

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Clownfish, Anemone Fish

The Clownfish is probably the most popular saltwater fish species today and one of the reasons that many people want to get into the saltwater hobby. The Disney movie Finding Nemo probably has a lot to do with the incredible popularity of this fish. Clownfish have a somewhat unique way of swimming. They don't swim like other fish, they waddle and it kind of reminds you of a happy dog when it comes up to greet you. The orange, white and black coloration on the Ocellaris is strikingly beautiful. The Ocellaris Clown is often confused with the True Percula Clownfish because the two species look very similar. The Ocellaris has very thin black bands around the white stripes whereas the True Percula has much wider black bands on the white stripes. They will take almost every type of marine food available and can be very easy to keep.
Many believe that you can't keep a clown fish without their host anemone. This is not true. You can keep them without their host anemone and many have reported success with breeding them even without having their host anemone present. Because many breeders are having success breeding them, tank raised clowns are readily available. In fact, you are generally much better off buying a tank raised clown than a wild one because the tank raised fish tend to have better survival rates and should acclimate more quickly. Tank raised clowns usually cost slightly more than the wild ones but if they adapt better and live longer, it's worth it.

The host anemones that are found in their natural environment of the clownfish can be difficult to care for in captivity and are not recommended for the saltwater novice. Very high output aquarium lighting such as metal halides is often required.

Maroon Clownfish

The Maroon Clownfish (Premnas biaculeatus) has a maroon body with 3 vertical white stripes or lines on its body. There is also a gold stripe variety that comes from Sumatra and the gold stripe is usually a little more expensive. This fish may be one of the most aggressive of the clownfishes. They will not get along well with any other clownfish in the same tank unless they are a mated pair. Even hobbyists keeping them in very large aquariums have reported aggression amongst the maroon clown fish and the other clowns in their tank. They do have the same characteristic swimming style as other clowns and are really interesting to watch.
This is reportedly one of the easier marine fish to breed and they have been successfully breeding in home tanks even without a host anemone present. This is good to know because their host anemone (E. quadricolor) requires intense aquarium lighting (metal halides) to be kept alive for prolonged periods of time. Many hobbyists can't afford the metal halides needed for the anemone but should be able to afford a maroon clown which can range anywhere from $15 - $25 USD.

Getting them to eat standard aquarium fish foods shouldn't pose a problem because they are fairly good eaters. In the wild they eat zooplankton and sometimes algae. Give them a nice variety of marine fish foods such as vitamin enriched flakes, frozen marine preparations and every once in a while, live foods.

Unfortunately, Maroon Clownfish are not all that saltwater fish disease resistant and you will need to use a quarantine tank before introducing them into your main tank. Keep them in the qt tank for two weeks or so and watch for obvious saltwater diseases, like marine ich. Be especially careful with any medications you use with this fish. They will not tolerate high levels of copper based medications!

We have a maroon clown fish pair that hosts with a bubble tip anemone. At feeding time, they will bring back food (usually flake fish food) to the anemone. If you have shrimp, such as the cleaner shrimp, be advised that these shrimp are good at taking food from the anemone. The clownfish would bring the food to the anemone and then the shrimp would scamper up into the anemone and remove the food! When this happens we drop in a few more flakes for the clowns to give to their host anemone. It's very cool to watch the clownfish feeding their anemone.

Tomato Clownfish

Tomato clownfish are readily available and are very hardy, making them a great choice as a beginner fish. You can usually find them at local pet stores for $10 - $20 and even cheaper online. Breeders are breeding this fish in captivity which should (hopefully) lower this price even more.
A quarantine tank is a necessity as this fish is susceptible to most saltwater disease, especially marine ich (cryptocaryon) and brooklynella. Use extreme caution before using copper medications because clownfish are very sensitive to copper.

The tomato clownfish will eat most fish foods that you place in the tank. Flakes, freeze dried, frozen and live foods are eaten with gusto. Try to provide a variety of foods for optimum health and coloration.

They can be territorial with other fish that approach their space in the tank. They may also scrap with other clownfish species in the same tank and for this reason it is advisable to only keep one species in your tank. If you have an extremely large tank you may be able to keep more than one clown species in your aquarium. They may also fight with other tomato clownfish in the same tank.

Tomato Clownfish do not need an anemone to survive in the home aquarium. Anemones can be beneficial for the clownfish but the host anemones that are found in their natural environment can be difficult to care for in captivity and are not recommended for the saltwater novice.

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