TankBud

One species · 17 varieties

Ocellaris clownfish

Amphiprion ocellaris

Also known as False Percula Clownfish, Common Clownfish, Nemo

SaltwaterFish

Ocellaris clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
Ritiks · CC BY-SA 3.0

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
Origin
Indo-Pacific

Pick a variety

One setup covers every line on this page: care is the species' care.

Pattern lines

20 gal (75 L) minimum · grows to 3.1 in (8 cm) · 75–82°F (24–28°C) · pH 8.1–8.4

Color bases

20 gal (75 L) minimum · grows to 3.1 in (8 cm) · 75–82°F (24–28°C) · pH 8.1–8.4

Overview

The Ocellaris clownfish is a hardy, easygoing fish that swims in the middle of the tank. It is a great choice for a first saltwater tank.

Did you know

The Ocellaris clownfish does not need a live anemone to do well in captivity. It will often adopt a coral, a powerhead or a patch of rock as a surrogate home instead.

Caring for the Ocellaris clownfish

Keep an Ocellaris clownfish singly or as a bonded pair in a tank of at least 20 gal (75 L). It is reef safe and stays in a small territory around its chosen host.

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

The Ocellaris clownfish is mostly peaceful and rarely bothers other species. It can be territorial toward other clownfish, though, and will usually harass a second clown that is not its mate. All clownfish are born male, and the largest and most dominant fish in a group becomes the female.

Ocellaris clownfish are easy to breed and are among the most widely captive-bred marine fish. That is why tank-raised stock is so hardy and readily available.

Good to know

Clownfish are protandrous sequential hermaphrodites. If the female of a group dies, the top-ranking male changes sex to replace her. Amphiprion ocellaris is also called the false percula clownfish, the common clownfish or Nemo.

In the wild

The Ocellaris clownfish lives on warm, shallow coral reefs and in lagoons across the Indo-Pacific. There it almost always nestles in a host anemone that shelters it from predators. Its protective slime coat lets it live unharmed among the anemone's stinging tentacles, and the two share a well known partnership.

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

Every variety on this page wants the same water, so one set of picks fits them all. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does an Ocellaris clownfish need?

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

What temperature and pH does an Ocellaris clownfish need?

An Ocellaris clownfish is comfortable at 75–82°F (24–28°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does an Ocellaris clownfish eat?

An Ocellaris clownfish accepts virtually all prepared, frozen and live foods.

How big does an Ocellaris clownfish get?

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

How can you tell a male Ocellaris clownfish from a female?

Ocellaris clownfish are all born male. The largest and most dominant fish in a group becomes the female, so she is the bigger fish of a pair.

How does an Ocellaris clownfish breed?

Ocellaris clownfish are easy to breed, and they are among the most widely captive-bred marine fish. Tank-raised stock is hardy and readily available as a result.

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