Maroon Clownfish

1 Breed Introduction

The Maroon Clownfish, also called the Spine-cheek Clownfish, is a fairly common clownfish. It is native to the coral reef waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, reaches 10 to 15 cm as an adult, and has three silvery-white bands running across the whole body.

Chinese name: Maroon Clownfish

Binomial: Premnas biaculeatus

Also known as: Spine-cheek Clownfish

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Actinopterygii

Subclass: Neopterygii

Order: Perciformes

Suborder: Labroidei

Family: Pomacentridae

Subfamily: Amphiprioninae

Genus: Premnas

Species: Premnas biaculeatus

Distribution: Coral reef waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans

2 Physical Characteristics

The Maroon Clownfish comes in bright red, purple-red, and purple-black, with three distinctive white ring bands on the body. Many people first met it through the animated film Finding Nemo; so what exactly is special about its appearance?

Adults are oval and laterally compressed, with a short, blunt snout. The eye is medium and upper-sided; the mouth is large, the maxilla not reaching the front of the eye; teeth are in a single row with notched tips. The dorsal fin is single, its soft part elongated and square; the caudal fin is fan-shaped, with the outer rays of the upper and lower lobes not extended into filaments. Adults are black, with the head, chest, belly, and all fins red. Behind the eye is a broad white band with a white edge that extends down to the throat. Sub-adults are uniformly orange-yellow with a vertical white band behind the eye. As it grows, the body gradually turns red and black spots appear at the rear and spread over the whole body.

The juvenile is entirely black with blue concentrated in the scales, white patches on the forehead and upper sides, and all fins black except the transparent pectorals and the outer parts of the soft dorsal rays. Adults vary in color by geography and behavior.

3 Housing and Environment

The Maroon Clownfish is very aggressive; wild ones have strong territorial instincts, while captive ones are less territorial and interact more playfully. In captivity, note its close symbiotic relationship with sea anemones.

Keep it in an invertebrate tank of at least 200 liters at 26 to 27 C, seawater specific gravity 1.022 to 1.023, pH 8.0 to 8.5, hardness 7 to 9 dH. It is best kept with other fish of varying sizes; it loves to nestle among sea anemones in a mutually dependent relationship, so it is often kept in invertebrate tanks, resting among the gently swaying anemone tentacles, looking exquisite. However, it grows well even without anemones. If a tank has only one small anemone but a dozen or so clownfish, usually only one stays with it; the others may approach or briefly contest it but will not fight to the death, and those without an anemone simply live elsewhere.

4 Feeding

The Maroon Clownfish is omnivorous, taking marine algae, animal plankton, and marine fish pellets. Note its preference for living among anemones in a mutually dependent symbiosis.

The Maroon Clownfish feeds on marine algae, animal plankton, and marine fish pellets. It inhabits lagoons and bays at depths of 1 to 12 m and lives in symbiosis with the bulb-tentacle anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor). Its diet is mainly plankton, copepods, seaweed, and invertebrates.