Monday, January 12, 2009

Clown Fishes







Identify



Clownfish are overall yellow, orange, reddish or blackish, and many show white bars or patches. Clownfish can grow to be from 2 to 5 inches long. The males tend to be significantly smaller than the females



Location


You have seen an anemone; you will recognize it as a pretty undersea flower with hundreds of tentacles! These tentacles are poisonous. How then does the clown fish live in here without being killed by the poison? The clown fish has a special coating of mucous that makes it immune to the anemone's sting..It inhabits the warm waters of the tropical Pacific Ocean, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and Australia's Great Barrier Reef.


Eating habits

Clownfish eat the leftovers from fish on the anemone and algae. The leftovers include copepods, isopods and zooplankton.



Type of fish

The clownfish is a type of fish that lives in salt water habitats. A clownfish is a bony fish



Reproduction

Clownfish lay eggs on any flat surface close to or under protection of their host anemones. These eggs are cared for by the male and hatched under complete darkness after a period of 7 to 10 days. Hatching occurs in a natural rhythm directly connected to the phases of the moon


How they breathe



A fish breathes by absorbing oxygen from the water it drinks. Water flows into the mouth, through the gills, and out of the body through gill slits. As water flows through the gills, the oxygen it contains passes into blood circulating through gill structures called filaments and lamellae. At the same time, carbon dioxide in the fish’s bloodstream passes into the water and is carried out of the body.



Facts ……

There are 28 different species of clownfish
Finding Nemo caused the demand for clownfish to triple
Lifespan: 3 to 5 years

Belong to the same family as a Damsel Fish