Content
- The clown fish aquarium
- Clown fish aquarium decoration
- Clown fish feeding
- Compatibility with other clown fish and other species
Everyone knows the protagonist of the movie "Finding Nemo", a clown fish, also called anemone fish (Amphiprion ocellaris), which inhabits the tropical waters of the coral reefs of the Indian and Pacific oceans and can live for up to 15 years. Since the movie was released in 2003, this colorful orange fish with black and white stripes is increasingly seen in aquariums around the world for its beauty and for how relatively easy to maintain are.
If you want to know how to take care of a clownfish, keep reading this PeritoAnimal article in which we'll explain exactly what the clownfish care, in case you adopt one. Find out what your marine companion needs to be a healthy, happy fish. Good reading!
The clown fish aquarium
If you are looking for the nemo fish, as it became affectionately due to the popular movie, know that to properly care for a clown fish it is necessary to prepare a good habitat for it to live. So, if you are going to adopt a pair of clown fish, the ideal aquarium should have no less than 150 liters of water. If it's for just one fish, an aquarium with 75 liters of water will be enough. You should keep in mind that these fish are very active animals and they don't stop swimming up and down in the aquarium, so they need a lot of space to move around.
On the other hand, the water has to be between 24 and 27 degrees temperature, since clown fish are tropical and need the water to be kept warm and clean. For this, you can put a thermometer and a heater in the aquarium and make sure every day that the water is at the ideal temperature. You should also make sure the water is within the corresponding salinity parameters for a saltwater aquarium, as clown fish are not freshwater fish.
In this other PeritoAnimal article you will see 15 options for freshwater fish for aquarium.
Clown fish aquarium decoration
Other important cares of the clown fish are the things that must be in your aquarium. In addition to being part of their diet, the sea anemones are essential animals for these fish, since in addition to feeding on parasites and food residues present in them, they also serve as a place of entertainment and as a refuge to hide from other fish.
As we mentioned, clown fish are very active and need places in the aquarium where they can distract themselves and hide from other fish, but be careful. Clown fish are very territorialist and hierarchical, so each one needs an anemone for themselves and if they don't have it, they'll fight with others to get it. That's why, in addition to nemo fish, it is also called anemone fish.
You can also place other animals and plants inside the aquarium and on its bottom. It is recommended to place corals because the clown fish are the inhabitants par excellence of the coral reefs of tropical waters and putting them in your aquarium will remind them of their natural habitat.
Clown fish feeding
Clown fish feeding is another factor that should be taken into account for their care. They are omnivorous fish and they need a daily amount of food from specific rations, but it is also recommended to give them from time to time live or dead food without stopping the aquarium water currents, since being predators, their hunting instinct makes them chase your food until you reach them.
In addition to the symbiosis with sea anemones, clown fish can eat in their natural habitat from small crustaceans such as shelled shrimp, squid and even some molluscs such as brine shrimp or mussels. However, also need vegetables in your diet, so giving him quality dry or dehydrated food once a day will cover all the clownfish's dietary needs.
If you've just adopted a clown fish and don't want to call it Nemo, be sure to check out this article we've prepared with numerous suggested pet fish names.
Compatibility with other clown fish and other species
Clown fish are very territorial, which must be taken into account when choosing other fish for the aquarium. They don't usually get along with othersfish of its same species and can even get to be aggressive when we put a new individual in the aquarium because there is already an established hierarchy there. Usually, it is not recommended to mix clown fish species unless you have very large aquariums (300 to 500 liters of water).
Despite this, they are small and relatively slow to swim, so, to favor the care of clownfish, it is not recommended to put them with other larger species or aggressive carnivorous fish such as lionfish, as the chances of anemone fish surviving will be reduced exponentially. What you can do is put other tropical fish in your aquarium that go well with the clown fish, such as:
- maidens
- angel fish
- goby
- surgeon fish
- sea anemones
- corals
- marine invertebrates
- gramma loreto
- Blennioidei
Now that you know all about nemo fish, you've discovered that clown fish is not freshwater and still fish compatible to live with it, see in this other PeritoAnimal article how to set up an aquarium.
If you want to read more articles similar to Clown fish care, we recommend that you enter our Basic Care section.