One species · 4 varieties
Maroon clownfish
Premnas biaculeatus
Also known as Spine-cheeked Clownfish, Spine-cheeked Anemonefish
SaltwaterFish
Care at a glance
- Temperature
- 75–82°F
- 24–28°C
- pH
- 8.1–8.4
- Adult size
- 6.7 in
- 17 cm
- Minimum tank
- 40 gal
- 150 L
- Temperament
- Aggressive
- Social behavior
- Social
- Own kind
- One per tank
- Tankmates
- With caution
- Swim level
- Middle
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Breeding
- Medium
- Rarity
- Common
- Reef safe
- Reef safe
- Family
- Pomacentridae
- Origin
- Indo-Australian Archipelago and Western Pacific
Pick a variety
One setup covers every line on this page: care is the species' care.
White Stripe maroon clownfish
the standard form; stripes stay white into adulthood
Gold Stripe maroon clownfish
stripes turn gold with age; from Sumatra broodstock
Lightning maroon clownfish
stripes fracture into a white web; from a famous wild Papua New Guinea pair
Gold Nugget maroon clownfish
gold spreads over the flank, bred from the gold stripe line
Overview
The maroon clownfish is the largest of the commonly kept clownfish, with a deep maroon to reddish body crossed by white or gold bars. It is hardy and easy to keep.
Did you know
The maroon clownfish carries a sharp spine on each cheek, which sets it apart from other clownfish. The spine also gives it another name, the spine-cheeked clownfish.
Caring for the maroon clownfish
Keep a single maroon clownfish in a tank of 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 easy to feed and takes prepared, frozen and live foods.
The maroon is genuinely aggressive and one of the most territorial fish in the hobby. A mature female can dominate a tank, harass or kill other clownfish, and bully smaller or peaceful tank mates. She should usually be the last fish added. Never house her with another clownfish that is not her mate.
A pair is a large, dominant female and a male that stays a fraction of her size. That is the most extreme size difference between the sexes of any clownfish. Breeding maroon clownfish takes a little experience.
Good to know
The maroon clownfish is the only species traditionally placed in the genus Premnas, though some authorities now fold it into Amphiprion. It belongs to the damselfish family Pomacentridae. Like all clownfish, it is a protandrous hermaphrodite.
In the wild
The maroon clownfish is found on reefs and in lagoons of the Indo-West Pacific. In the wild it lives almost exclusively with the bubble-tip anemone.
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.
Common questions
What size tank does a maroon clownfish need?
A maroon clownfish needs at least 40 gal (150 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.
What temperature and pH does a maroon clownfish need?
A maroon clownfish is comfortable at 75–82°F (24–28°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.
What does a maroon clownfish eat?
A maroon clownfish is easy to feed. It takes prepared, frozen and live foods.
How big does a maroon clownfish get?
An adult maroon clownfish reaches about 6.7 in (17 cm).
How can you tell a male maroon clownfish from a female?
Males stay much smaller than females. A pair is a large, dominant female and a much smaller male.
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