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Variety of Percula clownfish

Helmet Picasso clownfish

Amphiprion percula

One of 4 varieties of Amphiprion percula · See all varieties →

SaltwaterFish

Helmet Picasso clownfish (Amphiprion percula)
Biota · Used with permission

Varieties · Amphiprion percula

See all 4 →

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–82°F
24–28°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
3.1 in
8 cm
Minimum tank
20 gal
75 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Middle
Difficulty
Beginner
Breeding
Easy
Rarity
Very common
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Pomacentridae

Overview

White runs up over the head and around the face, which is where the name comes from. Proaquatix treats helmet as its own line and combines it with the Picasso grades, so listings run Helmet Picasso, Helmet Premium Picasso and Helmet Extreme Picasso. Coverage runs from a neat cap to white spilling down the cheeks, so judge each fish from its own photo. Several farms sell it, and the heavier grades are priced separately.

In the wild

Helmet is a captive designer pattern rather than a wild one. Proaquatix keeps a Helmet Percula line and says its Helmet Extreme Picasso comes from that line and the Picasso line together. Biota lists a Helmet Picasso and a Black Helmet Picasso produced by Bali Aquarich, so more than one farm works the pattern. Aberrantly barred perculas do turn up around the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, but the helmet as sold is a hatchery product.

Good to know

Helmet describes extra white barring over the head rather than a named gene, and farms grade it by eye alongside the Picasso grades. Biota calls the coloration variable enough that each fish is unique, so a pair will not hand you a matched set. Black pigment between the bars fills in as the fish matures, so an adult reads darker than the juvenile you unpack.

Did you know

Grading goes several steps past the name. Proaquatix lists Helmet Percula, Helmet Picasso, Helmet Premium Picasso, Helmet Extreme Picasso and Helmet Extreme Onyx Picasso as separate entries. Shops price those tiers apart from one another.

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.

Every symbiotic relationship in the catalog

Weekly picks

Tank mates

Helmet Picasso 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.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

Is a Helmet Picasso clownfish a different species from the Percula clownfish?

No. A Helmet Picasso clownfish is a variety of the Percula clownfish, Amphiprion percula, and it wants the same tank, water and food as the species.

What makes a Helmet Picasso clownfish a helmet?

White that runs up over the head and around the face. Proaquatix treats helmet as its own line and combines it with the Picasso grades, so listings run Helmet Picasso, Helmet Premium Picasso and Helmet Extreme Picasso. Coverage runs from a neat cap to white spilling down the cheeks.

Will a Helmet Picasso clownfish change as it grows?

The black between the bars fills in as the fish matures, so an adult reads darker than the juvenile you unpack. Biota calls the coloration variable enough that each fish is unique, so a pair will not give you a matched set.

What size tank does a Helmet Picasso clownfish need?

A Helmet Picasso clownfish needs at least 20 gal (75 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

How big does a Helmet Picasso clownfish get?

An adult Helmet Picasso clownfish reaches about 3.1 in (8 cm).

Related species