Maroon Clownfish Pair

Premnas biaculeatus

 

Clownfish are renowned for the symbiotic relationship that they form with various species of sea anemones. Due to this symbiosis, Clownfish are also known as Anemonefish.

 

The Maroon Clownfish is a popular aquarium species and it is not very difficult to keep if you known how to keep a basic saltwater aquarium. It is a very beautiful fish and will look stunning in any aquarium set up. The entire body is maroon red and decorated with three very distinct white stripes; one on the forehead, one on the midsection and one just in front of the anal fin.

 

You should ideally not keep your Maroon Clownfish in an aquarium smaller than 30 gallons, and a larger aquarium is even better. A Maroon Clownfish can reach a size of 4-6 inches. In the wild, Maroon Clownfish will always try to find an anemone that can protect it from predators, but in an aquarium with no predators around an anemone is not mandatory. You should however provide your Maroon Clownfish with some other type of safe place in the tank, since a barren aquarium can make the fish feel stressed. Keeping an anemone is hard and should not be tried if you are a beginner saltwater aquarist, but when you feel more confident the anemone-clownfish relationship can be highly fascinating. Always carefully research the anemone species that you are interested in before you get one, since anemones have particular requirements that differs from the typical fish requirements. If you provide your Maroon Clownfish with an anemone species that it has never before encountered, the fish will need some time to adjust to the new anemone. During this acclimatization period, your Maroon Clownfish will not be protected from the dangerous sting of the anemone.

 

Maroon Clownfish can be aggressive, especially towards other Clownfish regardless of species. Housing it with other Clownfish is therefore unadvisable unless you have a very large and well decorated aquarium. A male and a female can however do well together if they are compatible.