Care
A long-standing favorite among many aquarists, Clark's Clownfish is one of the most sought-after and durable clownfish in the aquarium trade. These characterful fish are known from lagoons and outer reef slopes where they are afforded lifelong protection from predators and skin parasites by a host anemone. These fish are closely associated with a number of anemones, including Cryptodendrum adhaesivum, Entacmaeaquadricolor (Bubble), Heteractisaurora (Beaded), H. crispa (Sebae),H. magnifica (Ritteri), H. malu (Malu), Macrodactyla doreensis (Long Tentacle), Stichodactyla gigantea (Giant Carpet), S haddoni (Haddon's Carpet), and S. mertensii (Merten's Carpet). In the community reef aquarium, a host anemone - some of which can be a little tricky to maintain successfully incaptivity - is not necessary for your clownfish as most reef set ups contain plenty of hiding places, no large predatory fish, and sometimes cleaner shrimp/cleaner wrasse. In the absence of an anemone, some clownfish take up residence in what they see as a suitable coral substitute - which may cause them to retract in irritation as the clownfish wallow - but this isn't always the case. Many species of clownfish (including Clark's) are now captive-raised, so wherever possible the conscientious aquarist should aim to source these hardier specimens for the home aquarium, in turn helping to take pressure off the reefs. This is a colourful species, with vivid black, white and yellow stripes, though the exact pattern shows considerable geographical variation. As these fish can be somewhat territorial, keep only one pair per tank, providing them with ample space and plenty of visual barriers amongst thedécor. It is also best not to mix this species with other species of clownfish they will fight. With regards to sexing, all clownfish are born as males. A wild colony may consist of a breeding pair, which cohabits with a few-reproductive smaller male specimens. When the female dies, the dominant male will change sex and become the female. This is known as protandrous sequential hermaphroditism. In the case of two juvenile specimens in the home aquarium, the larger of the two will become the female. Please be aware that these fish are very sensitive to treatment with copper remedies.
Feeding
Offer a varied diet including meaty items such as Mysis shrimp, chopped krill, vitamin-enriched brine shrimp etc, plus herbivore flakes and green foods. Feed small amounts 3 times per day.If living with a symbiotic anemone, many clownfish will share their food with them.
Breeding
The clownfish will clean a smooth rocky surface (typically a flat wall inside a cave), where between 200 and 2500 elliptical amber-colored eggs will be deposited. These adhere to the substrate via fine threads at the ventral pole, and the male will aerate them by fanning them with his pectoral fins whilst guarding against predators. The eggs will hatch in darkness after 7-10 days, and the larvae typically settle after another 7 days or so. The tiny fry is left to fend for themselves and should be fed on suitably tiny foodstuffs such as live rotifers, moving on to baby brine shrimp after a few days. It is unlikely that fry will survive the attentions of the other fish in a community reef set-up.
