TankBud

Orange skunk clownfish

Amphiprion sandaracinos

Also known as Orange Anemonefish, Yellow Clownfish, Yellow Skunk Clownfish

SaltwaterFish

Orange skunk clownfish (Amphiprion sandaracinos)
Jenny (JennyHuang) from Taipei · CC BY 2.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–82°F
24–28°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
5.5 in
14 cm
Minimum tank
30 gal
115 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Middle
Difficulty
Easy
Breeding
Egg layer · Medium
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Pomacentridae
Origin
Coral Triangle reefs, from the Philippines and Indonesia to northwestern Australia

Overview

The orange skunk clownfish is a hardy, adaptable clownfish and a good choice for a reef tank. It swims in the middle of the tank and is easy to keep.

Did you know

Once paired and settled, the orange skunk clownfish is one of the more prolific home-aquarium breeders among clownfish. An established pair can spawn about every 10 days.

Caring for the orange skunk clownfish

Give an orange skunk clownfish a tank of at least 30 gal (115 L). It is reef safe and does not require a host anemone. It will readily settle into rockwork or a large-polyp coral instead.

Keep the water at 75 to 82°F (24 to 28°C) with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. It readily takes marine flake, mysis, brine shrimp and chopped seafood. Feed it a couple of times a day.

The orange skunk clownfish is not aggressive toward other species, but it defends its space from other clownfish. Keep it singly or as a bonded pair, which it forms easily.

It is a protandrous hermaphrodite. Females grow noticeably larger than males, reaching around 11 to 14 cm, while males often stay under 7 cm. The eggs of an established pair hatch in 7 to 9 days, and breeding takes a little experience.

Good to know

The orange skunk clownfish, Amphiprion sandaracinos, belongs to the family Pomacentridae. In parts of New Guinea it has even been recorded hybridizing with the larger Amphiprion chrysopterus.

In the wild

The orange skunk clownfish lives on outer reef slopes and in lagoons of the Coral Triangle. Its range runs from the Philippines and Indonesia to northwestern Australia and the Ryukyu Islands, usually no deeper than about 20 meters. It pairs most often with Mertens' carpet anemone or the sebae 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.

Every symbiotic relationship in the catalog

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The orange skunk 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

What size tank does an orange skunk clownfish need?

An orange skunk clownfish needs at least 30 gal (115 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does an orange skunk clownfish need?

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

What does an orange skunk clownfish eat?

An orange skunk clownfish readily takes marine flake, mysis, brine shrimp and chopped seafood. Feed it a couple of times a day.

How big does an orange skunk clownfish get?

An adult orange skunk clownfish reaches about 5.5 in (14 cm).

How can you tell a male orange skunk clownfish from a female?

Males are the smaller fish. Female orange skunk clownfish grow noticeably larger, reaching around 11 to 14 cm, while males often stay under 7 cm.

How does an orange skunk clownfish breed?

Orange skunk clownfish form bonded pairs easily, and an established pair's eggs hatch in 7 to 9 days. Breeding them takes a little experience.

Related species