Shore Buddies Wisdom Wednesday 03/17/2021
Photo by @divercaptain
Did you know that all Clownfish are born male? Clownfish have a strict hierarchy, the most aggressive female is at the top. Because all Clownfish are born male, when the top female dies, the most dominant male will turn itself into a female and take its place at the top of the hierarchy. Clownfish inhabit the warm waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans and will migrate to deeper waters in the winter to stay warm. Clownfish live symbiotically with anemones and are the only fish able to do so without getting stung by the anemone. However, although there are over 1,000 species of anemones, only 10 species are able to coexist with different species of Clownfish. Clownfish are not strong swimmers, spending most of their time hiding in anemones. Additionally, male Clownfish are dedicated fathers. They are responsible for preparing the nest for the female, guarding the eggs, and cleaning the nest. Clownfish are able to communicate with each other using popping and clicking noises and sometimes catch prey by luring them back to the anemone where they are stung and killed.