Clown Fish | Do They Have The Most Interesting Life Cycle?

The ClownFish...

I Imagine the first thing that pops into your head is Nemo... And that's where my mind goes too. However, Clownfish can't talk and don't just come in orange and white stripes. They have a huge variety of colors and patterns (Including Yellow - See Below) And there are over 28 different species of clownfish! But, what makes the clownfish so interesting? Continue Reading To Find Out...

Firstly, let us talk about where we find them. Unfortunately, an aquarium is a wrong answer.

So we know they live in the ocean, which is a good start. So they are a marine species, which means they live in saltwater rather than fresh. They are found in warm waters such as the Red Sea and The Pacific Ocean. They live in a coastal environment called a reef ( A reef is made from thousands of tiny organisms called coral polyps, these tiny organisms are held together by calcium carbonate rocks ) Reefs are naturally shallow as they need light. An example of a reef is the Great Barrier Reef which is located off the coast of Sydney, Australia.

If we dive a little bit further into the habitat of a clownfish (pun not intended) we can see they live in a coral called "Anemone" (See Below-)

Anemone is fascinating and acts as a sort of security system for the clownfish... Anemone is made up of a central body and dozens of tentacles that wave in the water waiting for prey. We call these tentacles since anemone is technically a living organism, each tentacle has stingers which are deadly to other fish. The clownfish are immune to these stingers though.

The Clownfish and the Anemone have a symbiotic relationship... The Anemone protects the clownfish and the clownfishes eggs. in return the clownfish uses its bright colors to attract fish into the anemone where they are killed and eaten by the anemone, the anemone also uses the clownfish feces as fertilizer to help promote growth.

Now let us talk about the life cycle...

The first thing that happens is the male clownfish go out looking for a home to raise the young. after he finds a suitable home (An Anemone) the female comes to join him.

The female lays her eggs, usually hundreds, on a rock concealed by the anemone. the male then fertilizes the eggs. these eggs then start to develop.

After about ten days they hatch!!! And their first step is to learn how to hunt, specifically they learn how to hunt plankton and other microorganisms. This is vital to their growth and health.

On day 17, they develop their first stripe!

Once the clownfish are fully developed they leave their parents and the anemone to find their own anemone. They usually like to stick together though.

Fun Fact!

• All clownfish are born male! The biggest clownfish of the group then becomes the female. This can happen because all clownfish are born with both male and female reproductive organs.

Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you learned something. have a wonderful day!

GoodBye...