There are 28 types of clownfish. You can tell the types of clownfish apart by their colors. Clownfish come in many colors, like yellow, maroon, red, and black. A "Nemo" clownfish is called a Percula Clownfish. It is mostly orange with stripes of white. So, why are they called "clownfish"? Well, because of their cute wiggling motion when they swim, they look like they're clowning around!
Clownfish are usually between 2 and 5 inches long. They can be found in the Red Sea and the Pacific and Indian Oceans. They are very territorial, so they always protect their homes. In fact, some clownfish will not move more than a few inches away from their homes during their entire lives! Clownfish are also called anemone fish because they live in sea anemones. These two animals are best friends because they help each other.
Sea Anemones look like flowers in the ocean. Although they look pretty, they are not very nice! The tentacles of these creatures are very harmful to fish. The sea anemones sting their prey with their tentacles. The toxins on the tentacles stun the fish so that the sea anemones can eat them. However, clownfish are protected from these toxins by a substance that covers their bodies.
The food left by the sea anemone is eaten by the clownfish. The clownfish in return cleans the anemone by eating its dead tentacles and by scaring away animals that might hurt the sea anemone.