Barberi clownfish
Amphiprion barberi
Also known as Fiji Barberi Clownfish, Barber's Anemonefish, Fiji Anemonefish, Barberi Clown
SaltwaterFish
Care at a glance
- Temperature
- 75–81°F
- 24–27°C
- pH
- 8.1–8.4
- Adult size
- 3.5 in
- 9 cm
- Minimum tank
- 30 gal
- 115 L
- Temperament
- Mostly peaceful
- Social behavior
- Social
- Swim level
- Middle
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Breeding
- Easy
- Rarity
- Common
- Reef safe
- Reef safe
- Family
- Pomacentridae
- Origin
- Western Pacific around Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, in shallow reefs with host anemones.
Overview
The Barberi clownfish is a hardy, long-lived, reef-safe clownfish. It is easy to keep.
Did you know
The Barberi clownfish was long confused with the tomato and cinnamon clownfish. It was only recognized as its own species in 2008, after DNA testing split it off from the very similar cinnamon clownfish.
Caring for the Barberi clownfish
Give a single Barberi clownfish or a pair at least 30 gal (115 L). It fits either a fish-only setup with live rock or a reef, with or without a host anemone. The water should stay at 75 to 81°F (24 to 27°C), with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Feed mysis, enriched brine and quality clownfish preparations.
Keep only one or a bonded pair, since clownfish are aggressive to their own kind. It is mostly peaceful and safe with community fish. Barberi clownfish are readily captive bred, and breeding them is easy.
Good to know
The Barberi clownfish, Amphiprion barberi, is a bright red-orange anemonefish in the family Pomacentridae. Adults keep a single thin head bar. Most Barberi clownfish in the trade are captive bred.
In the wild
The Barberi clownfish comes from Fiji, Tonga and Samoa in the western Pacific. It lives on shallow reefs and hosts mainly bubble tip anemones (Entacmaea quadricolor), as well as leathery anemones (Heteractis crispa).
Symbiotic relationships
Clownfish and their host anemones
A clownfish lives inside an anemone that stings and eats other fish its size. Its mucus coat keeps the anemone's stinging cells from firing, and a new fish builds that protection up over hours of brief touches. The fish gets a refuge no predator will follow it into and a nest site at the anemone's base. The anemone gets a guard that drives off the butterflyfish that would graze its tentacles, a steady supply of nitrogen from the fish's waste, and water movement at night, when the fish fans its fins among the tentacles and the anemone takes up more oxygen. Only ten anemone species host clownfish in the wild, and each clownfish species uses its own short list of them.
Captive-bred clownfish have never seen an anemone and do not need one; they settle for a coral, a powerhead or a corner of the tank. If you want the pairing, the anemone is the harder animal by far and goes in first, into a mature tank with strong light and stable water, at the tank size its own profile lists. The bubble tip anemone is the hardy host, and the one most clownfish accept in captivity even when it is not a natural host, so a clownfish profile lists it as the usual tank host where that is the case. The sebae, magnificent and carpet anemones are marked difficult, and the carpets eat fish. Expect a paired clownfish to defend its anemone against everything else in the tank.
Weekly picks
Tank mates
The Barberi clownfish is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the middle. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.
Forktail fang blenny
Meiacanthus atrodorsalis
Saltwater4.3 in (11 cm) · 30 gal (114 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)
Pajama cardinalfish
Sphaeramia nematoptera
Saltwater3.1 in (8 cm) · 29 gal (110 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)
Yellow watchman goby
Cryptocentrus cinctus
Saltwater3.5 in (9 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)
Fighting conch
Strombus alatus
Saltwater3.1 in (8 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)
Pearly jawfish
Opistognathus aurifrons
Saltwater3.9 in (10 cm) · 29 gal (110 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)
Skunk cleaner shrimp
Lysmata amboinensis
Saltwater2.4 in (6 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)
Common questions
What size tank does a Barberi clownfish need?
A Barberi clownfish needs at least 30 gal (115 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.
What temperature and pH does a Barberi clownfish need?
A Barberi clownfish is comfortable at 75–81°F (24–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.
What does a Barberi clownfish eat?
A Barberi clownfish eats mysis, enriched brine and quality clownfish preparations.
How big does a Barberi clownfish get?
An adult Barberi clownfish reaches about 3.5 in (9 cm).
Related species
3.9 in (10 cm)30 gal (115 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)Pink skunk clownfish
Amphiprion perideraion
3.9 in (10 cm) · 30 gal (115 L)
3.1 in (8 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)Ocellaris clownfish
Amphiprion ocellaris
3.1 in (8 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)
3.1 in (8 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)Percula clownfish
Amphiprion percula
3.1 in (8 cm) · 20 gal (75 L)
4.3 in (11 cm)26 gal (100 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)Skunk clownfish
Amphiprion akallopisos
4.3 in (11 cm) · 26 gal (100 L)
4.7 in (12 cm)30 gal (115 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)Cinnamon clownfish
Amphiprion melanopus
4.7 in (12 cm) · 30 gal (115 L)
5.1 in (13 cm)40 gal (150 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)Saddleback clownfish
Amphiprion polymnus
5.1 in (13 cm) · 40 gal (150 L)