TankBud

Skunk clownfish

Amphiprion akallopisos

Also known as Nosestripe Anemonefish, Nosestripe Clownfish, Skunk Anemonefish

SaltwaterFish

Skunk clownfish (Amphiprion akallopisos)
Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–82°F
24–28°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
4.3 in
11 cm
Minimum tank
26 gal
100 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Middle
Difficulty
Easy
Breeding
Medium
Rarity
Rare
Reef safe
Reef safe
Family
Pomacentridae
Origin
Shallow inshore reefs of the Indian Ocean, from the Seychelles to the Andaman Sea

Overview

The skunk clownfish is a peaceful, hardy clownfish for the middle of a reef tank. It is easy to keep, which makes it a solid choice for new and experienced marine keepers alike.

Did you know

The skunk clownfish's narrow white racing stripe runs from the mouth all the way to the tail, with no other markings. It is the plainest pattern of any of the skunk-complex clownfish.

Caring for the skunk clownfish

Give a skunk clownfish at least 26 gal (100 L). It will host in an anemone if one is offered, but it settles just as readily into a patch of rockwork. It is reef safe and gets along well with most reef tank mates.

Keep the water at 75 to 82°F (24 to 28°C) with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. It accepts mysis, frozen shrimp, pellets and flakes without any fuss.

The skunk clownfish ranks among the calmer members of its genus. It still guards its host anemone and territory from other clownfish, so keep it singly or as a mated pair.

Like other anemonefish, it is a protandrous hermaphrodite. It lives in a small hierarchy of one breeding pair and several smaller, non-breeding males. Breeding it takes some experience.

Good to know

The skunk clownfish, Amphiprion akallopisos, is easily confused with the similar pink skunk clownfish. It lacks the vertical white bar behind the eye, and its dorsal stripe is narrower. It belongs to the family Pomacentridae.

In the wild

The skunk clownfish lives on shallow inshore reefs of the Indian Ocean, from the Seychelles and Comoro Islands to the Andaman Sea. It is the only anemonefish species found around the Comoro Islands. It often lives in areas with moderate to strong current. It pairs with a host anemone, typically the magnificent sea anemone or Mertens' carpet anemone, and rarely strays far from it.

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 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 a skunk clownfish need?

A skunk clownfish needs at least 26 gal (100 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.

What temperature and pH does a skunk clownfish need?

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

What does a skunk clownfish eat?

A skunk clownfish accepts mysis, frozen shrimp, pellets and flakes without any fuss.

How big does a skunk clownfish get?

An adult skunk clownfish reaches about 4.3 in (11 cm).

How does a skunk clownfish breed?

Skunk clownfish live in a small hierarchy, where one pair breeds and several smaller males do not. Breeding them takes some experience.

Related species