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Variety of Ocellaris clownfish

Tangerine Albino clownfish

Amphiprion ocellaris

One of 17 varieties of Amphiprion ocellaris · See all varieties →

SaltwaterFish

Tangerine Albino clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)

Varieties · Amphiprion ocellaris

See all 17 →

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

Overview

The Tangerine Albino clownfish is a hardy, mostly peaceful clownfish for the middle of a reef tank. It is easy to keep and a good choice for a first saltwater tank.

Did you know

The Tangerine Albino clownfish's name has been contested twice over. In a September 2011 piece, Reef Builders argued that both albino and Tangerine were wrong labels for the Proaquatix strain, and suggested Apricot instead. Matt Pedersen warned there against reusing Tangerine, since Morgan Lidster's earlier fish already carried it.

Caring for the Tangerine Albino clownfish

Keep a Tangerine Albino clownfish singly or as a bonded pair in a tank of at least 20 gal (75 L). It is reef safe and stays in a small territory around its chosen host. A live anemone is optional, since it will often adopt a coral, a powerhead or a patch of rock instead.

Hold the water at 75 to 82°F (24 to 28°C) and the pH at 8.1 to 8.4. It accepts virtually all prepared, frozen and live foods.

The Tangerine Albino clownfish is mostly peaceful and rarely bothers other species. It can be territorial toward other clownfish, though, and will usually harass a second clown that is not its mate. All clownfish are born male. The largest, most dominant fish in a group becomes the female, which makes her the bigger fish of a pair.

Tangerine Albino clownfish are easy to breed. Their species is among the most widely captive-bred marine fish, which is why tank-raised stock is so hardy.

Good to know

The Tangerine Albino clownfish carries what Reef Builders read as a codominant mutation that reduces melanin. It is a color form of Amphiprion ocellaris, in the family Pomacentridae.

In the wild

The Tangerine Albino clownfish is not a wild form. Morgan Lidster at Inland Aquatics in Terre Haute, Indiana marketed an early tangerine ocellaris. Proaquatix later produced a separate strain, and Sea & Reef brought the trait into its own program after that.

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 Tangerine Albino 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

Is a Tangerine Albino clownfish a different species from the Ocellaris clownfish?

No. A Tangerine Albino clownfish is a variety of the Ocellaris clownfish, Amphiprion ocellaris, and it wants the same tank, water and food as the species.

Is the Tangerine Albino clownfish a true albino?

It is usually described as hypomelanistic rather than albino. Reef Builders reported a uniform reduction of black pigment across the fish, eyes included, rather than a complete loss. Reduced and not absent is the distinction the trade name gets wrong.

What does a Tangerine Albino clownfish look like?

A bright orange fish with solid white bars and no black between them. The missing black outlining is what separates it from a standard ocellaris. Sea & Reef also crosses the trait into other lines, listing a Tangerine Albino Snowflake and a Tangerine Storm.

What size tank does a Tangerine Albino clownfish need?

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

What does a Tangerine Albino clownfish eat?

A Tangerine Albino clownfish eats virtually all prepared, frozen and live foods.

How big does a Tangerine Albino clownfish get?

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

How can you tell a male Tangerine Albino clownfish from a female?

Males are the smaller fish of a pair. Tangerine Albino clownfish are all born male, and the largest, most dominant fish in a group becomes the female.

How does a Tangerine Albino clownfish breed?

Tangerine Albino clownfish are easy to breed. Their species is among the most widely captive-bred marine fish, and tank-raised stock is hardy.

Related species