Worldwide about twenty-nine species of clownfish or anemonefish are recognized. Depending on species, clownfish are yellow, orange, reddish or blackish and many show white bars or patches. The largest can reach a length of 18 centimetres, while some barely can reach 10 centimetres.

Ecology and habitat

Clownfish are native to warm seas, e.g. the Indian and Pacific ocean, the Great Barrier Reef and the Red Sea.

Clownfish live at the bottom of the sea in reefs or in lagoons. There are no clownfish in the Caribbean.

Diet

The clownfish feeds on small invertebrates which otherwise potentially could harm the sea anemone. Clownfish are omnivores. The diet of the clownfish also consists of copepods, algae, isopods and zoo plankton.

Clownfish are omnivorous: in the wild they eat live food such as algae, plankton, mollusks, and crustacea; in captivity they can survive on live food, fish flakes, and fish pellets

Special Characteristics

Clownfish are the only species of fishes that can avoid the poison of a sea anemone.

Clownfish live in pairs inhabiting a single anemone. When the female dies, the dominant male changes sex and becomes the female. Because clownfish are all born as males. On the top of the hierarchy is the reproducing female followed by the mating male.

In a group of clownfish, there is a strict hierarchy of dominance. The largest and most aggressive female is found at the top. Only two clownfish, a male and a female, in a group reproduce through external fertilization.

Life of a clown fish

Clownfish lay eggs on any flat surface close to their host anemones. Depending on the species, clownfish can lay hundreds or thousands of eggs. Members of some clownfish species become aggressive in captivity; others can be kept successfully with other individuals of the same species.In captivity, the clownfish can live from 3 to 5 years. In the wild, they live 6 to 10 years.

sources : www.wikipedia.com