Clowning Around With The Black Clownfish

The Black clownfish (Amphiprion clarkii) is also knownrange of different anemone species. If you keep your
as Clarkii clownfish and Yellowtail clown fish, and canfish with an anemone species that it has not
be obtained in several colour variations. The mostencountered before, the Black clownfish must
common form of Black clownfish is black and yellowgradually acclimatize itself to the anemone to avoid
with white vertical stripes. Just like the otherbegin injured. Examples of anemone species that
clownfishes, These fish form a symbiotic relationshipBlack clownfish are known to appreciate in the wild
with anemones and are therefore also known asare Stichodactyla mertensii, Stichodactyla haddoni,
Black anemonefishes.Stichodactyla gigantean, Macrodactyla doreensis,
The Black clownfish is one of the most frequently keptHeteractis malu, Heteractis magnifica, Heteractis crispa,
clownfish species and you can find these fishes inHeteractis aurora, Entacmaea quadricolor and
numerous saltwater aquariums all over the world. It'sCryptodendrum adhaesivum.
native region is the warm Indo-West Pacific Ocean.The Black clownfish can be kept in a comparatively
Populations are found from the Persian Gulf to thesmall aquarium since it grows no bigger than 5 inches
Western coast of Australia. They inhabit the(13 centimetres) and claims a very small territory. A 20
Indo-Australian archipelago, the many reefs ofgallon (75 litres) aquarium will be enough. You should
Melanesia and Micronesia, and you can also find themhowever keep in mind that it requires supreme water
up to north Taiwan and south Japan.quality and keeping the levels of soluble waste down
The vibrant coloration of the fish makes it very easywill be much easier in a bigger aquarium. In the wild, the
to spot for predators, and it would not survive long interritory of a Black clownfish group is limited to the
the wild if it was not protected by the tentacles of theimmediate area around an anemone. It is however
stinging anemone. The Black clownfish will keep theknown to occasionally leave its host anemone to
anemone clean by eating left over food. When kept inattack nearby fish. This habit makes it more
an aquarium without any natural enemies and isaggressive than the other clownfish species.
provided with food by the aquarists, it does not needSince the Black clownfish is native to warm, tropical
an anemone to survive. You should however makeparts of the world it can only be kept in tropical
sure that the aquarium set up provides it with suitableaquariums. The temperature must be in the 75-82 F
hiding spots, since it can be very stressed in a barren(24-28 C) range for it to do well. The pH should be
aquarium, especially when no anemone can be found.around 8.3-8.4.
In the wild, these fish known to co-habit with a wide