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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

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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

The Mocha Storm clownfish carries Storm marbling on a mocha ground. It is a hardy, easy fish for the middle of a reef tank.

Did you know

The Mocha Storm clownfish is usually sold from photos of individual fish rather than by grade. Its marbling differs on every fish.

Caring for the Mocha Storm clownfish

Keep a Mocha Storm clownfish on its own or as a bonded pair in at least 20 gal (75 L). It is reef safe and holds a small territory around its chosen host. A live anemone is not needed, since it will often adopt a coral, a powerhead or a patch of rock instead.

Keep the water at 75 to 82°F (24 to 28°C) and the pH at 8.1 to 8.4. It accepts virtually all prepared, frozen and live foods.

The Mocha Storm clownfish is mostly peaceful and rarely bothers other species. Other clownfish are the exception, and it will usually harass a second clown that is not its mate. All clownfish are born male, and the largest, most dominant fish in a group becomes the female. That makes her the bigger fish of a pair.

Breeding Mocha Storm clownfish is easy. Their species is among the most widely captive-bred marine fish, which is why tank-raised stock is so hardy.

Good to know

The Mocha Storm clownfish reaches its brown from the Black Storm side, as a plain mocha does from the black Darwin form. Sea & Reef describes the Mocha Storm's ground as a blend of orange and brown rather than a set shade. Reef Builders calls mocha coloration a predictable, consistent blend of the two parents, not a two-way split. The Storm white sits on top of that ground rather than replacing it.

In the wild

The Mocha Storm clownfish is a Sea & Reef line, and its pattern has no wild counterpart.

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

The 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.

What does a Mocha Storm clownfish eat?

A Mocha Storm clownfish eats virtually all prepared, frozen and live foods.

How big does a Mocha Storm clownfish get?

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

How can you tell a male Mocha Storm clownfish from a female?

Males are the smaller fish of a pair. Mocha Storm clownfish are all born male, and the largest, most dominant fish in a group becomes the female.

How does a Mocha Storm clownfish breed?

Mocha Storm clownfish are easy to breed. Their species is among the most widely captive-bred marine fish, and tank-raised stock is hardy.

Related species