The Gold Stripe maroon clownfish is a maroon with gold bars in place of white ones. It is easy to keep but aggressive, and it is priced above a white stripe and stocked less often.
Did you know
The Gold Stripe maroon clownfish has an old name waiting for it. Fowler described a maroon from Sumatra in 1904 as Premnas epigrammata, a name now carried as a synonym rather than a valid species. Some writers argue it should be resurrected if the split holds up, this time under Amphiprion, the current genus.
Caring for the Gold Stripe maroon clownfish
Keep one Gold Stripe maroon clownfish per tank, in at least 40 gal (150 L). It is reef safe. Hold the water at 75 to 82°F (24 to 28°C) with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. It is hardy and easy to feed, taking prepared, frozen and live foods.
ORA reports it as the calmer of the two natural forms, which can matter when you plan tank mates. It is still an aggressive clownfish. A mature female can dominate a tank, harass or kill other clownfish, and bully smaller or peaceful tank mates. Add her last in most cases, and never keep her with another clownfish that is not her mate.
A pair is a large, dominant female and a much smaller male, the biggest size gap between the sexes of any clownfish. Gold stripe pairs produce gold striped young, because gold is the local wild pattern rather than a rare pick out of a spawn. Breeding it takes a little experience.
Good to know
The Gold Stripe maroon clownfish is a form of Premnas biaculeatus, in the damselfish family Pomacentridae. Its color shift is a maturation step, not a grade a farm assigns.
In the wild
Across the rest of the maroon clownfish's range, away from Sumatra and the Andaman Islands, the wild fish wear white bars.
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.
Is a Gold Stripe maroon clownfish a different species from the maroon clownfish?
No. A Gold Stripe maroon clownfish is a variety of the maroon clownfish, Premnas biaculeatus, and it wants the same tank, water and food as the species.
When do Gold Stripe maroon clownfish turn gold?
Between about nine and twelve months, starting with the head bar. Juveniles arrive with white bars, so patience is part of the purchase.
Are Gold Stripe maroons a designer line?
No. Gold bars are the natural pattern of maroons around Sumatra, and ORA states its broodstock comes from that area. The same gold barring turns up in the Andaman Islands, so this is a regional wild form rather than a hatchery creation, and gold stripe pairs produce gold striped young.
What size tank does a Gold Stripe maroon clownfish need?
A Gold Stripe maroon clownfish needs at least 40 gal (150 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.
What does a Gold Stripe maroon clownfish eat?
A Gold Stripe maroon clownfish is easy to feed. It takes prepared, frozen and live foods.
How big does a Gold Stripe maroon clownfish get?
An adult Gold Stripe maroon clownfish reaches about 6.7 in (17 cm).
How can you tell a male Gold Stripe maroon clownfish from a female?
Males stay much smaller than females. A pair is a large, dominant female and a much smaller male.
5.9 in (15 cm)55 gal (210 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)
5.5 in (14 cm)55 gal (210 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)
6.7 in (17 cm)55 gal (210 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
5.9 in (15 cm)30 gal (115 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
3.5 in (9 cm)29 gal (110 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)
3.5 in (9 cm)29 gal (110 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)