Despite seeing them on just about every dive, we have not yet written a single article on clownfish. That is terrible and we are going to put that right straight away.

There are many kinds of clownfish and they live in warmer waters only. There are none in the Atlantic. Here in the Maldives, we have 2 different kinds, the black footed clownfish which is endemic to the Maldives and the Clark’s Anemone fish.

Anemone & Clownfish
They live in a symbiotic, mutualistic relationship with an anemone. Big words I know but it just means that they both benefit from living together. For example, the anemone is a good hiding place and protects the clownfish from predators whereas the anemone picks up nutrients from the clownfish excrements. I wonder who gets the better deal.

Something else weird is going on between the two species. For its protection the anemone has stinging cells and only the clownfish is immune against them. There are two theories, either the anemone recognizes that the clownfish is no enemy and doesn’t fire the stinging cells or the clownfish has developed a mucus layer for protection against the stinging cells.

Depending on the size of the anemone, maybe 2 – 6 or maybe 8 clownfish will live there. This is my guess, have you seen more?

Sex Change
The largest and most aggressive female is the boss. While the second biggest will be male and second in command. Babies develop into males first. When they mature, they become females or when the leader dies, the next in line male changes into a female to take over leadership. Basically they live in a reverse harem, one female with several males. Despite multiple males and only one female living together there is no polygamy, only the dominant couple reproduces.

Babies
A female can lay 600 – 1500 eggs and the male will take care, fanning and guarding them. The eggs hatch 8 days after they are fertilized, usually an hour after dark to increase the chances for survival. Babies are called fry.

They can live 6 – 8 years.