Amphiprion ocellaris is perhaps the world's most famous marine aquarium fish. Many know it simply as "Nemo," but thanks to aquarium breeding, the classic orange-and-white natural form is today just one of numerous different ocellaris color morphs.

The natural form has a bright orange base color and three white vertical stripes, usually bordered by a thin black area. The species very closely resembles the Amphiprion percula clownfish, and these two species are still often confused with one another.

The Amphiprion ocellaris clownfish sold at Korallifarmi are always captive-bred, not wild-caught. Ocellaris was also one of the first marine aquarium fish to be successfully bred on a large commercial scale. A long history of breeding has also enabled a large number of different color and pattern variations.

Pairing and behavior

Ocellaris should be kept singly or, preferably, as a pair. Clownfish are protandrous hermaphrodites: the larger and dominant fish in a pair is the female, and the smaller one is the male. If the female disappears, the male can change sex and develop into a female. The sex change only works in this direction; a female cannot become a male.

Ocellaris belongs to the more peaceful clownfish, but it is not always completely docile either. A pair usually chooses their own territory in the aquarium and may defend it against other fish, especially once sexually mature and during spawning. In a small aquarium, keeping more than one pair of ocellaris can lead to the established pair harassing other individuals.

Does Nemo need a sea anemone?

No, it does not. Captive-bred ocellaris do perfectly fine without a sea anemone.

In the wild, A. ocellaris lives in symbiosis with sea anemones. Its natural hosts include Heteractis magnifica, Stichodactyla gigantea, and Stichodactyla mertensii.

In an aquarium, the situation can be significantly more flexible. Captive-bred clownfish can take, for example, a bubble-tip anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor) as their host, even though it is not among the natural host species for ocellaris. Sometimes an LPS coral, soft coral, corallimorph, or even a specific rock crevice or corner of the aquarium is acceptable as a host.

If an ocellaris chooses a coral as its host, constant rubbing and dwelling in the coral can sometimes irritate it.

Feeding

Ocellaris is omnivorous and usually very easy to feed. Captive-bred individuals are already accustomed to common aquarium foods.

It is recommended to combine high-quality marine fish pellets or granules with a variety of frozen foods, such as mysis and brine shrimp. Foods containing algae are also suitable as part of a varied diet.

Spawning in the aquarium

A well-settled, sexually mature pair can also start spawning in a standard reef tank. The female usually lays the eggs on a cleaned hard surface near their territory or host. The male plays a major role in caring for the clutch: he guards the eggs and ensures their aeration with his fins. The eggs hatch after about a week, depending on the temperature.

Spawning, however, does not mean that small Nemos will suddenly appear in the aquarium. Newly hatched larvae are extremely tiny, planktonic fry. In a regular reef aquarium, they easily end up as food for other animals or get caught in the filtration.

Raising the fry requires a separate rearing tank as well as suitable live starter food, usually rotifers. Later, the feeding can be switched to, for example, newly hatched brine shrimp. Therefore, actual breeding is an entirely different matter from the pair successfully spawning.

Care instructions

Color morphs

All the different-looking "designer" ocellaris are still the same Amphiprion ocellaris species. Advanced selective breeding has produced very different colors and patterns, and new lines are still being developed. The names of the color morphs can also be breeder-specific.

Examples of well-known color morphs include Ocellaris, Misbar, Extreme Misbar, Black Ocellaris, Misbar Black Ocellaris, Extreme Misbar Black Ocellaris, Caramel, Snowflake, Premium Snowflake, Black Snowflake, Premium Black Snowflake, Black Ice Snowflake, Gladiator, Premium Gladiator, Mocha Gladiator, Wyoming White, Naked Ocellaris, Midnight, Domino, Frostbite, Black Frostbite, Black Storm, Snow Storm, and Zombie. In addition, for example, Longfin lines are also bred for this species.