Yellow clownfish

Amphiprion sandaracinos

Saltwater
Clownfish
Least concern

About

The yellow clownfish, better known as the orange skunk clownfish, is a small, bold reef fish that never strays far from its host anemone. It grows to about 14 cm and lives its whole life within stinging tentacles that would harm most other fish.

Also known as: eastern skunk anemonefish, golden anemonefish, yellow clownfish, yellow skunk clownfish, golden angelfish, yellow skunk clownfish, skunk clownfish, eastern skunk anemonefish, skunk anemonefish, golden anemonefish, yellow clownfish, orange skunk anemonefish, golden angelfish, orange skunk clownfish

Length: 14 cm
Depth: up to 20 m

How to tell it apart

It is easily confused with other anemonefish that also carry a single white stripe. The giveaway is how far the white extends — starting at the upper lip and running between the eyes, then continuing onto the dorsal fin rather than stopping at the back.

Appearance

The body is oval and flattened side to side, coloured bright orange all over. A thick white stripe runs from the upper lip, between the eyes, and back along the ridge of the body to the base of the tail. The dorsal fin is partly white to match this stripe, while the other fins stay orange. The eye has a bright yellow iris.

Habitat

This clownfish lives on outer reef slopes and in lagoons, usually in small groups, from about 3 to 20 m deep. It is a specialist that is almost always found sheltering in a Mertens' carpet anemone, gaining protection from the anemone's sting.

Conservation

The yellow clownfish is listed as Least Concern. Its main risks are localised: bleaching of its host anemone from warmer or more acidic water, and collection for the marine aquarium trade.

Did you know?

On New Guinea's northern coast, male yellow clownfish sometimes breed with the much larger female of a different species, Amphiprion chrysopterus, producing a distinct hybrid anemonefish called Amphiprion leucokranos.