The Tomato Clownfish (Amphiprion frenatus) is a tropical marine (saltwater) fish in the Pomacentridae family of clownfish and damselfish. It is also known as the Blackback Anemonefish, Bridled Anemonefish, Fire Clown, or Red Tomato Clownfish.
The Tomato Clownfish has an oval-shaped, flat, compressed body. It is yellow and orange, or reddish, or blackish. Many have white bars or patches behind their eyes, with a black outline. The female is mainly blackish on her sides.
It grows to about 10-18 centimetres (4-7 inches) in length.
It is native to the oceans of western Pacific, from Japan to Indonesia. It lives among sea anemones, but it is not affected by their stinging tentacles. The anemone protects the Tomato Clownfish from pedators.
The Tomato Clownfish prefers warm topical waters in shallow, sheltered coral reefs and lagoons.
It is diurnal, active during the day. It is omnivorous, eating algae, plankton, worms, and small crabs.
The Tomato Clownfish lives in groups, headed by the most aggressive female.
It is oviparous. The female lays about 500 eggs, which hatch after 6-8 days.
The young fish, called fry, can swim freely after hatching. The Tomato Clownfish, like all clownfish, is a sequential hermaphrodite. This means that it starts its life as a male, and then when it is mature (an adult), it becomes a female.
Location of photographs: Aquarium de Paris-Cinéaqua, France
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM