Amphiprion clarkii, known commonly as Clark's anemonefish and yellowtail clownfish, is a marine fish belonging to the family Pomacentridae, the clownfishes and damselfishes.^[1]

Description[edit]

Clark's anemonefish is a small-sized fish which grows up to 15 cm. It is stocky, laterally compressed, and oval to rounded.

It is colorful, with vivid black, white, and yellow stripes, though the exact pattern shows considerable geographical variation. Usually it is black dorsally and orange-yellow ventrally, the black areas becoming wider with age.^[2] There are two vertical white bands, one behind the eye and one above the anus, and the caudal peduncle is white. The snout is orange or pinkish. The dorsal and tail fins are orange-yellow,^[3] and the tail fin is generally lighter in tone than the rest of the body, sometimes becoming whitish.^[4] Juveniles are orange-yellow with vertical white bands.^[5]

Distribution[edit]

Clark's anemonefish is widely distributed in tropical waters from the Indian Ocean to the western part of the Pacific Ocean.^[6]

Habitat[edit]

The adult inhabits lagoons and outer reef slopes. It lives in association with about ten species of sea anemones:

• Cryptodendrum adhaesivum
• Entacmaea quadricolor
• Heteractis aurora
• Heteractis crispa
• Heteractis magnifica
• Heteractis malu
• Macrodactyla doreensis
• Stychodactyla gigantea
• Stychodactyla haddoni
• Stychodactyla mertensii^[7]

Feeding[edit]

Clark's anemonefish is omnivorous and its diet is based on zooplankton and algaes.^[8]

Behaviour[edit]

The fish is diurnal. It is a protrandous hermaphrodite, the male often changing sex to become a female. A male may keep a harem. It has also aggressive and territorial. It is dependent on sea anemones to provide a habitat and nesting sites. The fish has a mucous coat to protect it from anemone stings. It is a mutualistic relationship. The clownfishs help to attract prey items close to the anemone's tentacles, and helps to defend it from tentacle-eating predators, such as butterflyfishes.^[9]

References[edit]