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Variety of Ocellaris clownfish

Mocha Storm clownfish

Amphiprion ocellaris

One of 17 varieties of Amphiprion ocellaris · See all varieties →

SaltwaterFish

Mocha Storm clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
Biota · Used with permission

Varieties · Amphiprion ocellaris

See all 17 →

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

Mocha Storm puts Storm marbling on a coffee-brown body, sitting between the orange and black versions of the line. Sea & Reef describes the ground as a blend of orange and brown rather than a set shade. Marbling differs on every fish, and sellers usually photograph individuals rather than grade them.

In the wild

Sea & Reef made the Mocha Storm by crossing the Black Storm to bright orange ocellaris, which left the Storm white sitting on a mocha ground instead of black. It went on sale to hobbyists on January 22, 2018. Sea & Reef lists it as the second designer clownfish in its Storm line. The pattern has no wild counterpart.

Good to know

Plain Mocha ocellaris get their brown from crossing an orange ocellaris to the black Darwin form, and the Mocha Storm reaches a similar middle ground from the Black Storm side. Reef Builders describes Mocha coloration as a predictable, consistent blend of the two parents rather than a two-way split. Storm white sits on top of that ground rather than replacing it.

Did you know

Mocha Storm reached the market almost a year before the Orange Storm. One cross to orange ocellaris already lifts the black to mocha, while going all the way to orange took seven generations.

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

Mocha Storm 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 Mocha Storm clownfish a different species from the Ocellaris clownfish?

No. A Mocha Storm clownfish is a variety of the Ocellaris clownfish, Amphiprion ocellaris, and it wants the same tank, water and food as the species.

What is a Mocha Storm clownfish?

Storm marbling on a coffee-brown body, between the orange and black versions of the line. Sea & Reef made it by crossing the Black Storm to bright orange ocellaris and released it on January 22, 2018, its second Storm designer.

Why did the Mocha Storm come out before the Orange Storm?

One cross to orange ocellaris already lifts the black ground to mocha, while breeding it all the way to orange took seven generations. The Mocha Storm reached the market almost a year earlier.

What size tank does a Mocha Storm clownfish need?

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

How big does a Mocha Storm clownfish get?

An adult Mocha Storm clownfish reaches about 3.1 in (8 cm).

Related species