Finding Nemo – The movie brought the not-so-popular species of the clownfish into a bright perspective. These tropical fish belong to the sub-family Amphiprioninae. They live in corals and inside anemones most specifically in the Great Barrier Reef. Here are some interesting facts about clown fish:

 

  • These fish live in small groups inside anemones with which they form a symbiotic relationship where the fish eat the leftovers of anemones and anemones have their decaying tentacles eaten (therefore increasing their chance of survival)

 

  • These fish lay a thousand eggs at a time and all of these can survive. These eggs are laid only in a full moon and they hatch after dusk. The eggs are guarded by the male all the time.

 

  • Because of their stripes and bouncing movements, these fish look like clowns hence the given common name.

 

  • One amazing trivia about clownfish is that they can change their sex. They are all born as males and when the female clownfish dies, the most dominant of all the males in the group changes its sex into female.

 

  • Here’s another clownfish facts you might not know. These fish are known to be aggressive in spite of its portrayal in the movie.

 

  • Clownfish normally inhabit the Indian and Pacific oceans. They live for 3 to 8 years and grow to 3 to 4 inches.

 

  • Clownfish are omnivores. They eat both algae and scraps from anemones.

 

  • Clownfish can survive in the anemone tentacles because of protective mucus secreted by their skin.

 

  • These fish can survive without anemones in fish tanks.

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