Sebae Clownfish

Amphiprion sebae

Also known as Sebae Anemonefish, Yellowtail Clownfish, Brown Clownfish

SaltwaterFish

Sebae Clownfish (Amphiprion sebae) — Miles Wu from Princeton NJ, Newbury/Winchester UK, Limassol Cyprus, USA/United Kingdom / Cyprus · CC BY-SA 2.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–82°F (24–28°C)
pH: 8.1–8.4
Adult size: 5.9 in (15 cm)
Minimum tank: 30 gal (115 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Rare
Reef safe: Reef safe
Origin: Northern Indian Ocean reefs, from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal and Sumatra
Family: Pomacentridae

Overview

A generally calm clownfish that can turn semi-aggressive once it has claimed a territory, particularly toward other clownfish. It is reef safe and gets along with most fish and invertebrates, making it a solid pick for a reef tank. Best kept singly or as a bonded pair. It eats a wide range of prepared, frozen, and live foods and should be fed a couple of times a day.

In the wild

Lives on reefs of the northern Indian Ocean, from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal and Sumatra, with most aquarium trade specimens collected off Sri Lanka. It pairs primarily with the sebae anemone, and occasionally the saddle carpet anemone. In the aquarium it does not need a live anemone and will readily host in mushroom corals, frogspawn, or leather corals instead.

Good to know

Amphiprion sebae is a protandrous hermaphrodite, with the largest fish in a group becoming the breeding female and the next largest becoming her mate. It is a deep-bodied, dark brown to near-black fish with two angled white bars and a bright yellow to orange tail, and is one of the larger clownfish species kept in the hobby. Eggs are laid near the host and hatch in 6 to 11 days depending on temperature.

Did you know

For years many exporters mislabeled Clark's clownfish as Sebae clownfish, so a lot of hobbyists who believe they have kept this species actually had a different fish entirely.