TankBud

One species · 4 varieties

Percula clownfish

Amphiprion percula

Also known as True Percula Clownfish, Orange Clownfish, Clown Anemonefish

SaltwaterFish

Percula clownfish (Amphiprion percula)
CrisisRose · 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
Western Pacific

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

Overview

The Percula clownfish is a small, mostly peaceful clownfish for a reef or saltwater community tank. It is one of the hardiest and most beginner-friendly marine fish.

Did you know

Percula clownfish keep a strict pecking order by size within their anemone. Subordinate fish that do not breed deliberately stay small, so they never challenge the dominant pair.

Caring for the Percula clownfish

Keep a Percula clownfish in a tank of at least 20 gal (75 L). Captive-bred fish adapt well to reef aquariums, and the species is reef safe.

Hold the water at 75 to 82°F (24 to 28°C) and a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Captive-bred Percula clownfish readily accept flake, pellet and frozen foods.

It is peaceful toward other species, so it fits a community tank. It will defend its host and territory against other clownfish, though. Keep it alone or as a bonded pair.

A mated pair is a dominant female and a smaller male. Like all clownfish, the Percula is a protandrous hermaphrodite, so the male will change sex if the female is lost. Breeding them is easy.

Good to know

The Percula clownfish, Amphiprion percula, is the classic true clownfish, in the family Pomacentridae. It is very similar to A. ocellaris, but it usually has thicker black outlines around its white bands. It usually has 10 dorsal spines, where the ocellaris usually has 11. It is also sold as the orange clownfish or the clown anemonefish.

In the wild

Percula clownfish live on sheltered reefs and lagoons of the western Pacific, inside host anemones that protect them from predators. Each fish stays very close to its host through the day. It darts only a short way out to feed on drifting plankton, then returns to the safety of the tentacles.

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 a Percula clownfish need?

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

What temperature and pH does a Percula clownfish need?

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

What does a Percula clownfish eat?

A captive-bred Percula clownfish readily accepts flake, pellet and frozen foods.

How big does a Percula clownfish get?

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

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

Males are the smaller fish of a pair. The dominant fish is the female, and the male will change sex if she is lost.

How does a Percula clownfish breed?

Percula clownfish breed as a mated pair, a dominant female with a smaller male. Breeding them is easy.

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