The tomato clownfish

FRENCH name : Poisson-clown rouge

English name : Tomato clownfish

LATINE name : Amphiprion frenatus

Geographic distribution: the tomato clownfish can be found in the North West Pacific and in East Asia.

Habitat: tomato clownfish are the only fish able to survive among the venomous tentacles of sea anemones. They live in association with these marine invertebrates which provide them with protection from predators.

Diet: the tomato clownfish is omnivorous. It will happily feed on red worms, brine shrimps, cyclops, daphnias and other small crustaceans.

Biology: the tomato clownfish is one of the most colourful clownfish. Young fish have two white stripes, whereas adults only retain one, on their head. In a mating pair, the female is always bigger than the male. There’s a logical explanation for this: every individual fish begins life as a male, before growing to (ultimately) become a female.