Amphiprion chrysopterus is the clown occupying most individuals of the anemone Stichodactyla mertensii, although occasionally you'll find black Amphiprion tricinctus there instead. Rarely do these two clownfish species occupy the same anemone; most of the few times we have seen this, it was a juvenile A. tricinctus with a pair of adult A. chrysopterus. At least once, however, we did see adults of both in a single anemone, a relationship that persisted for some years until a set of large swells damaged the pinnacle reef and appeared to wash anemone and clownfish away.
Who says clownfish are cute? Look at those teeth!
Created 1 September 2010
Updated 16 March 2017