When I first saw clownfish on the reef, I was so excited! I have always loved the movie Finding Nemo, so it felt like I was meeting a celebrity. I was careful not to get too close to the fish or disturb any other organisms in the area. Looking closer, I was surprised at how well they blend in to their environment even though they are so brightly colored! As I watched them swim around in the anemone, I noticed that one of the clownfish was much larger than the other two. In school, I learned that the biggest clownfish is always a girl while the rest are boys. Can you tell which is which?
Clownfish live in tropical coral reefs in the warm waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Although there are lots of coral reefs around Oahu, you won't see any clownfish in Hawaii! They can be seen around Southeast Asia in countries like Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and even Australia. On the reef, clownfish live in and around anemones, which are invertebrate animals with stinging tentacles.
Clownfish have symbiotic relationships with anemones, which means that the clownfish and the anemone both help each other survive. Clownfish have a layer of mucus on their bodies that makes them immune to the anemone stings, so they use the anemone for shelter and lay their eggs inside. The stinging tentacles of the anemone help protect the clownfish from predators, and the clownfish poop helps feed the anemones!
