Tomato Clownfish

Care at a glance

Overview

A hardy, striking clownfish that is a good beginner marine fish, but it is more pugnacious than the smaller ocellaris and percula. Aggression increases with age, and a mature female can bully smaller or similar-looking tankmates, so give it space and add it later in the stocking order. Keep singly or as a bonded pair. Eats a wide range of prepared and frozen foods.

In the wild

Lives on shallow reefs and in lagoons of the western Pacific, typically associating with the bubble-tip anemone. Adult females develop a deep tomato-red body with a single white head bar, while males stay smaller and brighter orange. It patrols a fairly small territory around its host.

Good to know

A. frenatus is one of the larger and more robust clownfish, and females can substantially outsize males. As a protandrous hermaphrodite, the dominant fish in a group is always the female, and a lone male will change sex to become female if no female is present.

Did you know

A well-fed adult female tomato clownfish will often defend her patch of the tank aggressively enough to charge and nip at the aquarist's hand during maintenance.

Related species

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  Clark's Clownfish

  Amphiprion clarkii

  5.5 in (14 cm)30 gal (115 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

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  Orange Skunk Clownfish

  Amphiprion sandaracinos

  5.5 in (14 cm)30 gal (115 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Red Saddleback Anemonefish

  Amphiprion ephippium

  5.5 in (14 cm)30 gal (115 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Sebae Clownfish

  Amphiprion sebae

  5.9 in (15 cm)30 gal (115 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Saddleback Clownfish

  Amphiprion polymnus

  5.1 in (13 cm)40 gal (150 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Cinnamon Clownfish

  Amphiprion melanopus

  4.7 in (12 cm)30 gal (115 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)