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Anemone Demoiselle

Amphiprion ocellaris

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • Usual depth1–18 m
  • Water temperature26–30 °C
  • How commonOccasional
All species

Photo credit: (c) Donald Davesne, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The ocellaris clownfish, also known as the false percula clownfish or common clownfish, is a marine fish belonging to the family Pomacentridae, which includes clownfishes and damselfishes. A. ocellaris are found in different colors, depending on where they are located. For example, black A. ocellaris with white bands can be found near northern Hawaii, USA, North America, Australia, Southeast Asia, and Japan. Orange or red-brown A. ocellaris also exist with three similar white bands on the body and head. A. ocellaris can be distinguished from other Amphiprion species based on the number of pectoral rays and dorsal spines. A. ocellaris are known to grow about 11 cm long. Females are larger than males. The life cycle of A. ocellaris varies in whether they reside at the surface or bottom of the ocean. When they initially hatch, they reside near the surface. However, when A. ocellaris enter into the juvenile stage of life, they travel down to the bottom to find shelter in a host anemone. Once they find their anemone, they form a symbiotic relationship with them.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Ocellaris clownfish”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

  • January: 314 records
  • February: 245 records
  • March: 315 records
  • April: 332 records
  • May: 293 records
  • June: 303 records
  • July: 314 records
  • August: 259 records
  • September: 290 records
  • October: 236 records
  • November: 240 records
  • December: 325 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–18 m · Deepest record: 287 m

  • 0–10 m: 51 records
  • 10–20 m: 26 records
  • 20–30 m: 3 records
  • 30–40 m: 2 records
  • 40–50 m: 0 records
  • 50–60 m: 0 records
  • 60–70 m: 0 records
  • 70–80 m: 0 records
  • 80–90 m: 0 records
  • 90–100 m: 0 records
  • 100–110 m: 0 records
  • 110+ m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 26–30 °C

  • 26–28 °C: 4 records
  • 28–30 °C: 64 records

Names and classification

English
Anemone Demoiselle, Black Anemonefish, Black Clownfish, Black Ocellaris Clown, clown anemonefish, Common Clown, common clownfish, false clown anemonefish, False Percula Clownfish, Frostbite Anemonefish, Frostbite Clownfish, Juggalo Clownfish, Nemo, Ocellaris Anemonefish, Ocellaris Clownfish, Puller, Snowflake Anemonefish, Snowflake Clownfish, Western Clown Anemonefish, Western Clownfish, Wyoming White Clownfish
Names in 7 more languages
German
Falscher Clownfisch
Spanish
Falso pez percula, Pez Payaso común, Pez payaso negro
French
Poisson-clown à trois bandes
Indonesian
Ikan giru Ocellaris
Japanese
Kakure-kumanomi, Kakurekumanomi, カクレクマノミ
Thai
ปลาการ์ตูนส้มขาว
Simplified Chinese
公子小丑, 眼斑雙鋸魚

Other scientific names: Amphiprion bicolor, Amphiprion melanurus

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

  • Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
  • Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
  • Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
  • 643 open-data records from 1830 to 2024.
  • Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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