5 fascinating facts about clownfish

Clever disguise

Clownfish are covered with a mucus similar to that of their anemone home, making them immune to its sting and tricking it into thinking the fish is part of itself.

 

Beneficial relationship

The clownfish has a symbiotic relationship with its anemone home. The anemone shelters the fish from predators, while the clownfish feeds off its parasites and removes dead tentacles.

 

Poor swimmers

Clownfish aren’t very good swimmers and so they usually only venture as far as 5-10cm (2-4in) from the anemone, unlike a certain cinematic Nemo.

 

Anemonefish species

There are 28 known species of anemonefish. Nemo in Finding Nemo is a clown anemonefish, which have an average lifespan of 6-10 years and can grow to be 11cm (4.3in) in length.

 

Native waters

Most clownfish live up to 15m (50ft) below the surface of Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and the western Pacific. They are not found in the Caribbean, Mediterranean or Atlantic Ocean.