Tomato clownfish

Taxobox
name = Tomato clownfish

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regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Perciformes
familia = Pomacentridae
genus = "Amphiprion"
species = "A. frenatus"
binomial = "Amphiprion frenatus"
binomial_authority = Brevoort, 1856
synonyms = "Amphiprion ephippium"
"Amphiprion macrostoma"
"Amphiprion melanopus"
"Amphiprion polylepis"
"Prochilus polylepis"

The tomato clownfish, "Amphiprion frenatus", is a clownfish that is found in the waters of the Western Pacific, from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, to Malaysia and Indonesia. It is also known as the bridled clownfish, red clownfish, or tomato anemonefish.

The adult fish is bright orange-red, with one white vertical stripe just behind the eyes, joined over the head. Some varieties have darker coloration or dark spots on their flanks. Juveniles are a darker red, with three vertical white bands and black pectoral fins. They can grow to 14 cm (5.5 in) in length, however the female is usually larger than the male. The eggs are deposited on a flat surface and tended by the pair until they hatch (6 to 11 days). They prefer to nestle in purple anemones such as the bubble-tip anemone, "Entacmaea quadricolor", or the Sebae anemone, "Heteractis crispa".

In the aquarium

As a pet, an aquarium of at least 25 gallons is necessary, while even bigger is recommended so that the fish can have enough space. A quarantine tank is suggested because this helps rid the fish of saltwater diseases before introduction to the main tank. It thrives even without a host anemone, and will eat most meat or vegetable food preparations. It is reported to be aggressive and territorial when mature and specimens have been known to be extremely aggressive to clownfish of other species if not introduced at the same time. For this reason, it is best kept singly or in mated pairs; but some claim that it will cohabit with other clownfish varieties if they are introduced at the same timeFact|article|date=May 2007. It is easy to breed; the fry can be fed on baby brine shrimp and rotifers.

References

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External links

* [http://animal-world.com/encyclo/marine/clowns/frenatus.php/ Tomato Clownfish page] at Animal World.
* [http://saltaquarium.about.com/library/blank/bl_prtomatoclown.htm Tomato Clownfish page] at Stan & Debbie Hauter guide to Saltwater Aquariums.
* [http://www.ramblincameras.com/Ipcanfsh4.htm Photo of Tomato Clownfish in anemone, Astrolabe Reef, Kandavu, Fiji] , at Walt and Mimi Miller's Ramblin' Cameras site.
* [http://www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/directory/gallery_Tomato+Clownfish_0.php Several Tomato Clownfish images] at Aquarist Classifieds Gallery, UK.
* [http://species.fishindex.com/species_1469amphiprion_frenatus_tomato_clownfish.html Some Tomato Clownfish images] at FishIndex.com site