Clownfish Essay

800 Words4 Pages
The Amphiprion percula, more commonly known as the clownfish, a member of the Damselfish family, is a small tropical fish known for it’s bold vertical stripes and bright colors. Clownfish have a number of interesting qualities; such as their many of their basic traits, natural habitat, sexual orientation and mating habits, their natural as well as unnatural threats. The clownfish is an omnivore whose diet includes algae, plankton, and mollusks. The average lifespan of a clownfish when in the wild is six to ten years and can grow an average to eleven centimeters. When congregated in large groups they are called either a school or a shoal; when staying together for social reasons a group of fish is called a shoal, but if the group is moving…show more content…
When the breeding female of the group dies, the dominant male becomes female and will breed with one of the males that also inhabits the same anemone. The remaining males will move up in rank in order to maintain their strict hierarchy. Their mating season is year round when in tropical waters and a male will attract the female through courtship; their courtship techniques including biting, chasing, and extending of the fins. When they are ready to mate the clownfish will lay their eggs in batches on coral, rocks, or next to their anemone. The breeding male will build a nest near the anemone so it is provided with protection from predators. Once the nest is built the male will chase the female to the nest where she will release the eggs. An estimated one hundred to one thousand eggs are laid, using the method of external fertilization; a process by which the sperm cell unites with the egg in the open. The anemone will also aid the process by releasing a compound which the male fish gently blows onto the eggs, this compound is thought to aid in the building of the juvenile clownfishes immune system. The male clownfish will protect and guard the eggs until they hatch, four to five days after having been laid. The Amphiprion percula has many natural as well as unnatural
Open Document