By Lauranne Reynaert, MIB San Francisco
Clownfish is none other than the little Nemo, main character in the movie “Finding Nemo”.
If you want to see clown fish you must look at coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific Ocean where they live in small groups in symbiosis with a sea anemone. They need this mutual co-operation to survive. Clown fish cannot swim very well so they spend most of their time in an adequate refuge to protect themselves.
Clown fish find the best refuge is sea anemones because they use their tentacles to paralyze the invaders and indeed, clown fish are immunized against sting attacks, unlike their predators.
Interesting Fact:
It is the female clown fish who is the boss in the relationship, simply because she changes sex. So, if the female dies or disappears for any other reason, then her official and dominant husband becomes a female.
Around the most important couple, a few immature fish are waiting in line for their turn to reproduce as a dominant male and then as a female.
It sounds complicated but it is not. So, in the sea anemone, there is a male and a female clown fish as well as a few other immature ones. If the female disappears, the male becomes the female and the bigger (in size) immature fish becomes the new dominant male. If you consider the opposite scenario, if the male disappears, the female will have a new partner and it will be the bigger sized immature fish. Got it?
And Nemo?
In the real world, Nemo would not have spent his life under his dad’s protection. His dad would have become a female and Nemo the new dominant male…
The Hultian 