Care
The Saddleback Clownfish is known from silty lagoons, harbours, and sandy slopes, to depths of 30m (98ft). They are closely associated with the Sebae Anemone (Heteractis crispa) and Haddon's Carpet Anemone (Stichodactyla haddoni), which afford them lifelong protection from predators and skin parasites. This is a popular and robust aquarium fish which thrives in mature reef aquaria. A host anemone - some of which can be a little tricky to maintain successfully in captivity - is not strictly 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 the Saddleback) 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 beautiful but variable species, with a brown, orange, or almost black body. There is a thick white vertical bar behind each eye, a large white saddle shaped marking dorsally over the centre of the body, and thick white edging to the black caudal fin; sometimes there is an additional white marking over the caudal peduncle. As these fish can be somewhat territorial, keep only one pair per tank, providing them with ample space and plenty of visual barriers amongst the décor. It is also best not to mix this species with other species of clownfish as they will fight. With regards to sexing, all clownfish are born as males. A wild colony may consist of a breeding pair, which cohabit with a few non-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, krill, vitamin-enriched brineshrimp etc, plus herbivore flakes and greenfoods.
Breeding
Saddleback Clownfish have been bred in captivity. The pair will choose and clean a spawning site, usually a smooth rocky surface such as a flat wall inside a cave, and if a host anemone is present, the spawning site will usually be within close vicinity for protection. Several hundred orange 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 after 7-8 days, and the larvae typically settle after another week or so. The tiny fry are left to fend for themselves and should be fed on suitably tiny foodstuffs such as live rotifers, moving on to baby brineshrimp after a few days. It is unlikely that fry will survive the attentions of the other fish in a community reef set-up.
