---
title: "What the sources say about the Ocellaris Clownfish | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "43 claims from the Ocellaris Clownfish profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/ocellaris-clownfish-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/ocellaris-clownfish/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Ocellaris Clownfish (*Amphiprion ocellaris*)

> 43 claims from the Ocellaris Clownfish profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Ocellaris Clownfish](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/ocellaris-clownfish/)

## Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris). Aquarium of the Pacific.

https://www.aquariumofpacific.org/onlinelearningcenter/species/clown_anemonefish

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| about 8 cm long | the average length is 8 cm (3.15 in) (note: tagline) |
| shelters among stinging anemone tentacles | Clownfish live on coastal seaward reefs ... They have three anemone hosts (note: tagline; stinging from the page's 'anemone's stinging cells, its nematocysts') |
| where the breeding male turns female if the female is lost | Should something happen to the female, the male of the breeding pair changes to a female (note: tagline) |
| Coastal reefs and sheltered lagoons from the Andaman Sea to northwest Australia, the Philippines and southwest Japan | Native to the Andaman Sea to Northwest Australia, central Indonesia and the Philippines, and southwest Japan. (note: stats.habitat) |
| Coastal reefs and sheltered lagoons | Clownfish live on coastal seaward reefs and in shallow and sheltered lagoons (note: stats.habitat) |
| living among sea anemones | They have three anemone hosts on which there are dependent (note: stats.habitat) |
| Zooplankton, bottom-dwelling invertebrates and algae | They feed primarily on zooplankton but also eat bottom dwelling invertebrates, and algae (note: stats.diet) |
| a male can change sex to become the breeding female | Should something happen to the female, the male of the breeding pair changes to a female, rapidly increasing in size. (note: stats.superpower) |
| Male first, female later | they all mature as males but have the ability to change their sex to female (note: heading) |
| Every ocellaris clownfish matures as a male, and any of them can later turn female. | they all mature as males but have the ability to change their sex to female |
| Biologists call that being a protandrous hermaphrodite. | Clownfish are protandrous hermaphrodites |
| One host anemone typically holds a breeding pair plus up to four juveniles that do not breed. | A typical harem living in the host anemone consists of a breeding pair and up to four juveniles (non-breeders). |
| The bigger fish of the pair is the female. | The larger fish of the pair is the female. |
| She stops her mate from turning female, and he stops the juveniles from maturing into males. | She controls the dominant male from becoming a female while he controls the juveniles from becoming mature males. |
| Lose the female and the group reshuffles. Her mate changes sex and rapidly grows | Should something happen to the female, the male of the breeding pair changes to a female, rapidly increasing in size. |
| the next largest male usually becomes the new breeding male. | The next largest male usually becomes the breeding male. |
| Once the eggs are laid, the male tends the nest for six to seven days, rarely helped by the female. | The male swims behind the female and fertilizes the eggs. Between 100 and 1000 eggs are laid in several spawning passes, the number depending on the age of the female. Older females lay more eggs.. The initial pink to orange coloration of the eggs will gradually change to a dull gray or brown and shortly before hatching, to silver. For the next six to seven days the male tends the nest rarely helped by the female. (note: 'once the eggs are laid' is the source's sequence: egg-laying is described, then 'for the next six to seven days') |
| He fans the eggs with his pectoral fins to aerate them and sweep off settled debris, eats any that are infertile or damaged, and aggressively chases off predators. | He fans the eggs with his pectoral fins to aerate and clean them of settled debris, eats any that are infertile or damaged, and aggressively chases away predators. |
| The average length is 8 cm (3.15 in), and the species can reach 11 cm (4.3 in). | These fish can grow to a length of 11 cm (4.3 in); however, the average length is 8 cm (3.15 in). |
| A clownfish lives about 8 years in the wild, and 12 years or more in a protected environment. | Clownfish live about 8 years in the wild and 12 years or more in a protected environment. |
| Over-collecting for the aquarium trade has hit populations in some areas | Over-collection of this species for the aquarium trade has impacted the populations in some areas. |
| It is native from the Andaman Sea to northwest Australia, central Indonesia, the Philippines and southwest Japan. | Native to the Andaman Sea to Northwest Australia, central Indonesia and the Philippines, and southwest Japan. |
| It lives on coastal seaward reefs and in shallow, sheltered lagoons at depths of 1 to 12 m (3.3 to 39.3 ft) | Clownfish live on coastal seaward reefs and in shallow and sheltered lagoons at depths of 1-12 m (3.3-39.3 ft). |
| it depends on three host anemones: the magnificent anemone, the leathery anemone and the giant carpet anemone. | They have three anemone hosts on which there are dependent—outer reefs: magnificent anemone Heteractis magnifica and leathery anemone Heteractis crispa , and on shore reefs: giant carpet anemone Stichodactyla gigantea . |
| It rarely strays more than 30 cm (12 in) from its host. | They rarely move more than 30 cm (12 in) from the protection of their host anemone. |
| An anemone's stinging cells are called nematocysts. | the anemone’s stinging cells, its nematocysts |
| Some researchers believe the fish's mucus coat has a special biochemical makeup, so the anemone fails to recognize it as food and does not fire. | Some researchers believe that the mucus layer covering an clownfish’s body has a special biochemical makeup that provides the fish with protection from the anemone’s stinging cells, its nematocysts. It is believed the anemone fails to recognize the fish as a food source because of this chemical composition so it does not fire its nematocysts. |
| Others theorize the mucus carries the same chemical signature as the host itself. | Other researchers theorize the mucus contains the same chemical signature as the host anemone so that the stinging cells never fire. |
| What is known is that a clownfish away from its host for a while has to re-adapt to the stings. | It is known that if an clownfish leaves its host for a period of time, it has to re-adapt to the host stinging cells. |
| On its return it performs a dance-like ritual, touching the tentacles first with only its ventral fins, then its whole belly. | the fish returning to the host goes through an elaborate dance-like ritual. It tentatively touches the anemone’s tentacles with only its ventral fins, then its entire belly. |
| Acclimation takes several hours. | Acclimation takes several hours. |
| Its diet is mostly zooplankton (tiny drifting animals), with bottom-dwelling invertebrates and algae on the side. | They feed primarily on zooplankton but also eat bottom dwelling invertebrates, and algae (note: 'tiny drifting animals' is a plain gloss of zooplankton) |
| Not by catching food for it, whatever popular belief says. | Contrary to popular belief, they do not capture food for the anemone. |
| the anemone uses the fish's nitrogenous waste as food. | provide nitrogenous waste that the anemone uses as food. |
| The fish also aerates the water around the tentacles and clears waste from the anemone's oral disc. | These fish aerate the water around the tentacle of their host anemone, remove waste from its oral disc |
| Probably by smell. Juveniles find the same host anemones their parents preferred, and researchers believe an odor imprinted while they were eggs, in a nest close to the host, is what guides them. | The ability of juvenile clownfishes to locate the same host anemones preferred by their parents is believed to be due to an olfactory (smell) stimulus imprinted at the time of egg incubation. The eggs in the nest site located close to the host anemone. |
| If one finds a host before a predator eats it or the current residents chase it off, it becomes the youngest and lowest-ranking member of the group. | If lucky enough to find one before being consumed by a predator or chased by the anemone’s current inhabitants, they will become the youngest and lowest member of a community |
| Anywhere from 100 to 1000, spread over several spawning passes, and older females lay more. | Between 100 and 1000 eggs are laid in several spawning passes, the number depending on the age of the female. Older females lay more eggs. |
| The eggs start pink to orange, fade to a dull gray or brown, and turn silver shortly before they hatch. | The initial pink to orange coloration of the eggs will gradually change to a dull gray or brown and shortly before hatching, to silver. |
| A clownfish returning to its anemone touches the tentacles first with only its ventral fins, then its whole belly, and acclimation takes several hours. | It tentatively touches the anemone’s tentacles with only its ventral fins, then its entire belly. (note: vibe.reason) |

## Amphiprion ocellaris (Clown anemonefish). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Amphiprion_ocellaris/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Shelters among a stinging anemone's tentacles | These fish are dependent upon the anemone for shelter. (note: stats.superpower) |

## Allen et al. (2022). Amphiprion ocellaris. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T188321A1857718.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2022-2.rlts.t188321a1857718.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: stats.conservationStatus; category read through GBIF's copy of the Red List) |
| the IUCN Red List rates the species Least Concern. | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |