That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  Please see Part I of this article for information on the natural history of the clownfishes and their close relatives, the damselfishes.  Today we’ll take a look at the most popularly kept of the clownfishes, the beautifully-colored Percula clownfish, Amphiprion ocellaris.

Even before being skyrocketed to fame by the movie Finding Nemo, the Percula was an aquarium favorite, and one of the most widely-recognized marine fishes in the world.  Its brilliant orange and white coloration and seemingly “comic” mode of swimming endears it to all. 

Natural History

Hailing from the Indo-Pacific region (western Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans, including the Great Barrier Reef), this clownfish reaches a length of 3.2 inches in captivity; wild specimens are reported to exceed 4 inches in length, but captive bred animals are generally smaller.

Observations of free living Percula clowns indicate that they usually colonize magnificent sea anemones, Heteractis magnifica.  I have not read any research indicating that the various clownfishes seek out host anemones based upon their ability to survive within a particular species (please see Part I), but such would certainly be interesting to investigate.  Please note: Maldive Clownfishes are pictured here with a Magnificent Sea Anemone.

Clownfishes in the Aquarium

Like all clownfishes, the Percula is territorial and quite protective of the anemone in which it lives.  Generally only one mated pair can be maintained in an aquarium, unless it is very large and well stocked with coral and other sight barriers. 

Percula Clowns are omnivorous, and accept a wide variety of dry, frozen and live foods.   A mix of vegetable-based and meaty items should be provided.

Fortunately, captive bred specimens are readily available.  If considering a Percula Clownfish, please be sure to select a captive bred animal. 

The Anemone-Clownfish Relationship

Percula clowns do fine in captivity without an anemone in which to live, but not so
in the wild….there, clownfishes deprived of an anemone’s protection are quickly consumed by predators.  However, they are at their best when displayed with a living anemone, and when kept so will reveal a great many of their interesting interactions with these invertebrates (please see Part I of this article for further information).

The keeping of live sea anemones differs somewhat from fish-keeping.  For further information, please see the following articles on our blog: Unusual Invertebrates for marine Aquariums and Anemone Movement: Common Aquarium Questions .

Further Reading

Please check out the book I’ve written on marine and fresh water aquariums: The Everything Aquarium Book.

You can learn about clownfish natural history here.

Please write in with your questions and comments. 

Thanks, until next time,

Frank Indiviglio

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. Damselfishes and Clownfishes are closely related, with all 325+ species being classified in the Family Pomacentridae. Among the most numerous and conspicuous fish on tropical coral reefs, a number make hardy marine aquarium inhabitants.

Range and Habitat

Damselfishes and Clownfishes are found throughout the world’s tropical and semitropical seas, with the greatest diversity occurring in the Indo-Pacific Region, especially off Australia; relatively few occur in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans. They occupy a startling variety of habitats, with many species restricted to specific depths or specific areas of wave action. Several species can even enter brackish waters.

Identification in both the wild and pet trade is sometimes difficult, as their colors often vary from individual to individual; different populations of the same species may also exhibit unique color patterns.

Clownfishes and Sea Anemones

Clownfishes (aka anemonefishes) are well-known for their habit of living in close association with an invertebrate that is also an aquarium favorite, the sea anemone. Usually home to just one pair of clown fish, the host anemone forms the basis of their territory, and they rarely stray far from it.

Surviving Among Deadly Tentacles

Clownfishes were long thought to be immune to the anemone’s stinging tentacles, as they shelter right among them without being harmed (other small fishes would be killed if they attempted to do this). We now know, however, that the clownfish’s secret is not immunity at all, but an even more amazing adaptation.

Anemone tentacles fire their sting-bearing cells (nematocysts) upon contact with any organism that they come in contact with. The tentacles are coated with mucus which inhibits them from stinging one another. It seems that the clownfish secretes mucus which mimics that covering the tentacles of the anemone. Therefore, the anemone simply does not recognize the clownfish as prey, or even as a distinct organism!

In return for the protection offered by its host, the clownfish consumes parasites that might harm the anemone. By swimming about and fanning its fins, the clownfish may also increase the flow of oxygenated water through the anemone’s tentacles and about its base.

Do Anemones and Clownfishes “Need” One Another?

Aquarists often question whether clownfishes and anemones can survive without one other. It appears that the relationship might the best be described as “commensal”. By this we mean that each derives benefits from living in close association with the other, but they are not strictly limited to that situation.

The vast majority of anemones live without clownfishes. Clownfishes, however, seem somewhat more dependent upon the relationship. While they will live quite well “on their own” in the aquarium, experiments in the wild have shown that clownfishes without anemone hosts are quickly eaten by larger fishes.

Further Reading

The Florida Museum of Natural History has posted an interesting article and video on clownfishes here.

Next time we’ll take a closer look at the damselfishes and a favorite aquarium clownfish.

Please write in with your questions and comments.

Thanks, until next time,

Frank Indiviglio

Amphiprion sandaracinos image referenced from wikipedia and originally posted by Bricktop

We recently added a new line of Metal Halide light bulbs to our product selection here at That Fish Place, the Ushio Aqualite line of bulbs.  Ushio is an industry leader in lighting technology who manufactures their light bulbs in Germany, so you can be confident in the quality control and workmanship of their products.

The Ushio Aqualite bulbs are available in single ended (mogul base) style in 175 watt and 250 watt, and double ended (HQI) style in 150 watt and 250 watt.  Both types of bulbs are available in 10,000K, 14,000K and 20,000K color temperature ratings. 

Ushio takes the utmost care and inspection of their raw materials and maintains top standards in cleanliness during their  lamp production. USHIO Aqualite lamps utilize proprietary rare-earth mixtures to provide the most consistent lamp color over the entire lifetime of the lamp.

We are proud to offer these top quality bulbs to our marine aquarium enthusiast,  give them a try, I think that you will be very pleased with their performance.

Please let us know if you have any questions about this exciting new line.

Thanks,

Dave

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. Plankton forms the base of the food chains in all the world’s fresh and marine waters. Comprised of innumerable species of tiny, often microscopic plants and animals, plankton is a very useful but overlooked food source for tiny fish fry, filter-feeding invertebrates and seahorses, pipefishes and other small live food specialists.

Collecting Plankton

Marine waters are undoubtedly the best sources of plankton for seahorses and such creatures, but do not hesitate to try fresh water plankton as well. Just bear in mind that fresh water creatures will perish rapidly in salt water, so don’t overload your tank.

Available through biological supply houses, plankton nets are the most effective means of harvesting this valuable food. Don’t forget to examine your catch with a hand lens or microscope – you won’t believe your eyes!

Using Plankton

When rearing Atlantic seahorse fry at the Staten Island Zoo, I often towed a plankton net behind a boat and by hand from a dock. My efforts were rewarded with an amorphous glob of “organic material”, but the seahorses sure knew what to do with it!  Their reactions were much more vigorous than when presented with their standard meal of brine shrimp, and they grew rapidly.  I have also noticed that northern pipefishes immediately begin feeding when fresh seawater is added to their aquarium…I usually cannot see anything that looks like food, but they do!

I consider plankton to be nearly indispensible for seahorse and pipefish fry, and for adult dwarf seahorses and similar species. But nearly all small fishes and invertebrates, including fresh water species, will eagerly accept plankton as well.  Its use will greatly improve your chances of success with a number of delicate organisms.

Useful Products

Fortunately, “plankton substitutes” are available for those unable to collect their own. “Reef Bugs” are living microbes that are eagerly accepted by corals and other invertebrates. A wide range of other foods for filter feeding invertebrates helps simplify the keeping of these fascinating creatures.

Newly hatched brine shrimp, while not a complete diet for seahorses and pipe fishes, may be nutritionally improved through the use of Artemia food.

Further Reading

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has posted an interesting article on plankton collecting here.

Please write in with your questions and comments.

Well, MACNA XXI is in the rearview mirror, along with all the traffic on the Atlantic City expressway.  This years MACNA was number six for both myself and That Fish Place, and I must give my complements to the New Jersey Reefers Club and MASNA for a very well organized and well run show.  What a great bunch of folks, I lost count of how many times someone from the club stopped me to make sure we did not need anything, or just to ask how things were going.

I would also like to thank all the attendees that stopped by our booth.  It is great to meet people who know us as a mail order company, but never get to meet us, or visit our retail store.  Lots of familiar faces as well, we really enjoy the interaction at events such as this.

With the venue in Atlantic City this year, we (along with several other vendors) put an element of gambling into our booth with a Plinko game.  Wow, was that a popular idea! We even had other vendors coming over to play.  We had some great prizes to win in the game, everyone won something, it was a lot of fun.  We had some special T-Shirts made up for the show, they were by far the most popular prize in the game, I think that you will see them make an appearance in our store in the near future.

One of the things that the New Jersey Reefers did with this particular show was set the workshop demonstrations up in multiple locations within the exhibit hall, a great idea.  With the video system they used, it allowed far more people to see the Demos.  Especially for the folks who only attended the show for one day, I think that it let them get more done in a short period of time than at past shows.   They had three demo areas running at once, for an hour each.  Each demo lasted 15 minutes, then repeated, this allowed you to see all three demos within the hour, without having to move from room to room.   I sat in on a couple of the demonstrations, one by Justin Credabel (great name, I think I need a new one) and Kelly Jedlicki, both were very interesting, short, and too the point.  I will post a follow up blog about the topics that they discussed.

The speaker hall was in a nice sized room, a short walk from the exhibit hall, and again very well organized with video systems so that no matter where you were sitting, you had a good view of what was going on with video screens and monitors throughout the hall.  Unfortunately, time did not allow me to get away from the exhibit hall to see most of the speakers, but Cory and I did get a chance to see a few. We will also post some blogs about the topics of discussion in the near future.

We had a great time at the show, and from what we saw, so did most everyone else.  For those of you who have never attended a MACNA show, I would very much encourage you to do so.  There is so much to see and do, and everyone is there to have a good time.  Hopefully, we will see you in Orlando next year for MACNA XXII.

Dave