Wednesday, September 3, 2014


Clownfish are little orange and white fish that live in the ocean.
The fancy name for a clownfish is amphiprioninae.

They're very well known from the movie Finding Nemo!

Usually clownfish make their homes right in an anemone's tentacles.
The anemones have poison on their tentacles that they use to sting and kill other fish, but the clownfish don't get hurt!

Clownfish have a slimy coating called mucus that is different from other fish, so the sea anemones don't try and sting them.
Because clownfish have lived in anemones for so long, their bodies can survive after being stung by some of the anemone poision.

The clownfish and anemone have what is called a symbiotic relationship.
That means they are two animals that work together to help each other out.

When clownfish live in the anemone, they are protected from fish that would try to eat them up.
They also sometimes eat some of the food leftover from an anemone's meal.
The clownfish helps keep the anemone clean, and it might sound yucky but the anemone actually eats the pee and poop from the clownfish!

(from: wikipedia - amphiprioninae)

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