TankBud

Red saddleback anemonefish

Amphiprion ephippium

Also known as Red Saddleback Clownfish, Saddle Anemonefish, Fire Clown, Ephippium Clownfish

SaltwaterFish

Red saddleback anemonefish (Amphiprion ephippium)
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Care at a glance

Temperature
75–81°F
24–27°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
Easy
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Pomacentridae
Origin
Eastern Indian Ocean from the Andaman Sea to Java and Sumatra, in lagoons and coastal reefs with host anemones.

Overview

The red saddleback anemonefish is a hardy, bold clownfish, more so than many of its relatives. It suits the middle of a reef tank and is easy to keep.

Did you know

Adult red saddleback anemonefish lose the white bars most clownfish keep. They end up an almost solid fiery red with one dark saddle.

Caring for the red saddleback anemonefish

Keep one red saddleback anemonefish or a bonded pair in a tank of at least 30 gal (115 L). It is reef safe and does not need an anemone. Without one it may host in a stony coral, which the coral dislikes.

Keep the water at 75 to 81°F (24 to 27°C) with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. Feed a varied diet of mysis, enriched brine shrimp and quality clownfish preparations.

The red saddleback anemonefish is feistier than most clownfish, so choose tank mates that can stand up to it. Females are the bigger sex. All clownfish begin life as males, and the dominant one becomes the female. Breeding it is easy.

Good to know

The red saddleback anemonefish, Amphiprion ephippium, is one of the larger clownfish, in the family Pomacentridae. Its juveniles show a faint head bar that fades with age.

In the wild

The red saddleback anemonefish lives in the eastern Indian Ocean, from the Andaman Sea to Java and Sumatra. It keeps to lagoons and coastal reefs, where it lives with bubble tip anemones, Entacmaea quadricolor, and leathery anemones, Heteractis crispa.

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 red saddleback anemonefish 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 a red saddleback anemonefish need?

A red saddleback anemonefish needs at least 30 gal (115 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a red saddleback anemonefish need?

A red saddleback anemonefish is comfortable at 75–81°F (24–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does a red saddleback anemonefish eat?

A red saddleback anemonefish eats a varied diet of mysis, enriched brine shrimp and quality clownfish preparations.

How big does a red saddleback anemonefish get?

An adult red saddleback anemonefish reaches about 5.5 in (14 cm).

How can you tell a male red saddleback anemonefish from a female?

Males are the smaller sex. All red saddleback anemonefish begin life as males, and the dominant one becomes the female.

Related species