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Variety of Ocellaris clownfish

Wyoming White clownfish

Amphiprion ocellaris

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

SaltwaterFish

Wyoming White 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

A finished Wyoming White is a plain white body with an orange face, so there is no pattern to grade. Juveniles arrive with dark fins that turn jet black as the fish grows, and the orange face picks up a black outline with age. Some fish keep a black spot immediately behind the gill cover, which is normal and not a flaw.

In the wild

Bill Addison of C-Quest introduced the Wyoming White in August 2009, out of ocellaris broodstock that only occasionally threw a white fish. C-Quest ceased operation about a year later, and Sea & Reef restarted the line, saying its stock is direct lineage from the original C-Quest fish. ORA and Proaquatix sell it now as well. It is a captive line with no wild form.

Good to know

White here covers the whole flank instead of sitting in three bars. Face and fin color fill in later, so a young fish is not the finished look. Sea & Reef makes its DaVinci by crossing a Wyoming White to a standard ocellaris, so the two lines share genetics. Yield is low: Sea & Reef says its broodstock produce only a small number of Wyoming White offspring per batch.

Did you know

The line almost disappeared. C-Quest ceased operation about a year after the release, which ended production. Wyoming Whites are back only because Sea & Reef restarted the line from that original lineage.

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

Wyoming White 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 Wyoming White clownfish a different species from the Ocellaris clownfish?

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

Who made the Wyoming White clownfish?

Bill Addison of C-Quest introduced it in August 2009, out of ocellaris broodstock that only occasionally threw a white fish. C-Quest ceased operation about a year later, and Sea & Reef restarted the line from that original lineage. ORA and Proaquatix sell it as well.

Why does my Wyoming White clownfish have a black spot behind the gill?

That is normal, not a flaw. Some fish keep a black spot immediately behind the gill cover. Juveniles also arrive with dark fins that turn jet black as they grow, and the orange face picks up a black outline with age.

What size tank does a Wyoming White clownfish need?

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

How big does a Wyoming White clownfish get?

An adult Wyoming White clownfish reaches about 3.1 in (8 cm).

Related species