Pi 140 Amphiprion percula

 

Phylum: Chordata

Order – Perciformes

Family – Pomacentridae

Genus – Amphiprion

Species – percula

These small reef fish spend a great deal of their lives in a symbiotic relationship with a specific anemone, often with a mate and several non-breeding fish. They are protandrous hermaphrodites, which means all fish are males except for the largest of the group, which is female. Once the female dies, the largest male becomes female, and the others move up the hierarchy. These clownfish are often confused with the clown anemonefish in that they are both vibrant orange with three white bands, but this clownfish has very distinct black borders between the white and the orange. When very young, each clownfish builds an immunity to the stinging tentacles of its chosen anemone through being stung several times and developing a mucous covering its skin.

IUCN Status: Least concern