
Anemone Demoiselle
Amphiprion ocellaris
- Usual depth1–18 m
- Water temperature26–30 °C
- How commonOccasional
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
Loading the map
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
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 26–30 °C
Photos

(c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Petr Knotek, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Jacek Pietruszewski, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Ian Dugdale, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Ditch Townsend, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist (c) Ria Qorina Lubis, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) João D'Andretta, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
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
Yellowtail clownfishAmphiprion clarkii
Spiny chromisAcanthochromis polyacanthus
Golden DamselAmblyglyphidodon aureus
Ternate chromisChromis ternatensis
Blue-green damselfishChromis viridis
Weber's chromisChromis weberi
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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