Fish of The Week

Last Update : Monday 20 August, 2001 9:06 PM

Illust : Anuwat Saisaeng

Crown Anemonefish

Scientific name

Amphiprion ocellaris

Common name

Crown Anemone fish

Size

5 centimeters

Dispersion

Andaman Sea. Only one finding report in the Gulf of Thailand, at Losin Island

Area found

Demersal fish, found with sea anemone. Not found alone.

Depth

1 – 25 meters. Mainly found both in shallow water.

Feed on

Plankton.

Situation

Reasonably exist.

Conservation

This kind of fish is caught as Aquarium fishes a lot. There might be a problem in the future. We should not keep anemonefish since all of them are caught from the sea.

Fish Tip

If you want to meet one, go to Chong-Khad's coral reef at Surin Islands, you are guaranteed to find one.

Lavishly common anemonefish of the Andaman Sea, well known by all sea tourists, are easily found. Just pop your head down to any coral reef. If you find the sea anemone, you are likely to find crown anemone fish. They live in a group of 6 – 8 or more, ranging from small to large size in the same or similar color. The largest fish in the group is female, second largest is male. It may be difficult to notice the size because they keep swimming about.

Crown anemone fish would spawn on the floor near the sea anemone. The mother might spurt the water or nibble at the rotten ova. Spawning is done all year round. Hatching duration is different, ranging from 2 – 3 weeks. The ovum is hatched into plankton. Then it floats in the water until growing to almost 1 centimeter long before landing to settle down in a sea anemone. They cannot live alone in the coral reef without sea anemone. So, the small fish we see in the sea anemone is not the offspring of the large fish in the same sea anemone. He is a young fish from elsewhere.

Crown Anemonefish



Scientific name	Amphiprion ocellaris
Common name	Crown Anemone fish
Size	5 centimeters
Dispersion	Andaman Sea. Only one finding report in the Gulf of Thailand, at Losin Island
Area found	Demersal fish, found with sea anemone. Not found alone.
Depth	1 – 25 meters. Mainly found both in shallow water.
Feed on	Plankton.
Situation	Reasonably exist.
Conservation	This kind of fish is caught as Aquarium fishes a lot. There might be a problem in the future. We should not keep anemonefish since all of them are caught from the sea.
Fish Tip	If you want to meet one, go to Chong-Khad's coral reef at Surin Islands, you are guaranteed to find one.

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