All fish / Pomacentridae

Skunk Clownfish

Amphiprion akallopisos

Also known as skunk clownfish, orange skunk clownfish, skunk anemonefish, nosestripe anemonefish, skunk clown, akallopisos clownfish, ปลาการ์ตูนส้มขาว, セジロクマノミ, ikan badut skunk, 背纹双锯鱼, 银线小丑鱼

This clownfish is pinkish orange with one thin white stripe along the top of its back from snout to tail, and it has no bars across the body. Keepers like it because it is smaller and gentler than many clownfish, and they enjoy watching it live in a host anemone.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

9 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

110 litres

Keep as

Single fish or one bonded pair

Diet

Omnivore: marine flakes and pellets, frozen mysis and brine shrimp, chopped seafood and some algae

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

10 to 15 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Western Indian Ocean (East Africa, Madagascar, Seychelles) and eastern Indian Ocean (Andaman Sea, western Indonesia)

Breeding

Pairs lay eggs on a flat rock near their anemone, and the male looks after them until they hatch after about a week. Captive breeding works but is harder than with ocellaris clowns, since the larvae need rotifers and then newly hatched brine shrimp.

Good to know

It is shy and can be bullied, so keep it away from larger, aggressive clownfish and damselfish. Do not confuse it with the Pacific Pink Skunk Clownfish (A. perideraion), which has a white bar on the head; in the wild it usually hosts Heteractis magnifica or Stichodactyla mertensii.