Clownfish: A Little Creature In the Coral Reef

clownfish, nemo

Damn, who doesn't know about this little character, popularly known for the films "Finding Nemo" and "Finding Dory" which made people easily identify it. The real name of this orange and white color creature is clownfish and some individuals also resemble dark black and white in color.

There are at least 30 clownfish species, most of them live in the shallow waters of the Indian Ocean, Red Sea, and the Western Pacific.

Like all other clownfish, they spend most of their life feeding on the tentacles of their host anemone. They feed themselves on zooplankton and phytoplankton floating on the water column. Sometimes, they also prefer to eat algae present on the reef structure. 

What makes them more interesting? We all know specific animals change their sex to meet the demands of their life. Usually, they change from female to male, but the clownfishes can change from male to female. They hatch as males and join the individual groups on the anemone. Only the largest female and the male in the group can reproduce. The female lays the eggs on the reef surface and together they guard the eggs until they hatch. If anything happens to the female, the male changes its sex to female and the second largest male becomes active. Together, they reproduce and the other group continues to subordinate.

The common clownfish have become popular in the aquarium trade. Most of the individuals are available in the aquarium store. The conversation status of this little creature is still unknown.

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