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Amphiprion ocellaris, also known as the Ocellaris clownfish, False Percula clownfish or Common clownfish, is a marine fish belonging to the Pomacentridae family which includes clownfishes and damselfishes. Amphiprion ocellaris vary in color, depending on their location. For example, black Amphiprion ocellaris with white bands are usually found near northern Australia, Southeast Asia or Japan. Orange or red-brown Amphiprion ocellaris also exist with three white bands (like mentioned above) covering its body and head. Amphiprion ocellaris are known to grow about 110 mm long, however, like many other fish species, females are larger in size than males are. The life cycle of Amphiprion ocellaris varies in whether they reside at the surface or bottom of the ocean. When they initially hatch, they reside near the surface. However, when Amphiprion ocellaris enters into the juvenile stage of life, they travel down to the bottom to find shelter from a host anemone. Once they find their anemone, they form a symbiotic relationship with them.

Phylogeny
The species Amphiprion ocellaris belongs to the class Osteichthyes which contains bony fish and ray-finned fish. A. ocellaris is the most basal species in the genus Amphiprion which is closely related to the genus Premnas. The species' most closely related ancestor is Amphiprion percula, the Orange clownfish. It is thought that A. ocellaris specialized after diverging from the Premnas genus, and scientific evidence confirms that all clownfish belonging to the genus Amphiprion could withstand the stings of only one type of anemone, after further diverging the 28 different species of clownfish including A. ocellaris specialized to be able to resist the poisonous stings of many different species.

Description
The Common clownfish is a small fish which grows up to 11 cm (4.3 inches). Its body has a stocky appearance and oval shape. It is compressed laterally, with a round profile. The coloration of its body is orange to reddish-brown, but it can also be black in some particular areas such as the Northern Territory in Australia. It has three vertical white stripes outlined with a fine black line. The first passes just behind the eye, the second in the middle of the body widens forward to the head centrally and the third one circles the caudal peduncle. All the fins are also outlined with a fine black line. Amphiprion ocellaris is often confused with Amphiprion percula, which possesses exactly the same colours and patterns at first sight but distinguishes itself by the thickness of the black outlines.

Distribution and habitat
This species is found in the Eastern Indian Ocean and in the western Pacific Ocean. As mentioned earlier, they can also be found in Northern Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan.

Amphiprion ocellaris typically live in small groups on outer reef slopes or in sheltered lagoons at a maximal depth of 15 meters. It inhabits three different species of sea anemones: Heteractis magnifica, Stichodactyla gigantea and Stichodactyla mertensii and have symbiotic relationships with the anemone.



Behavior
Amphiprion ocellaris is a diurnal fish. It is a protandrous hermaphrodite, which means the male can change its gender to female during its life, and lives in a harem in which an established dominance hierarchy manages the group and keeps individuals at a specific social rank. It is aggressively territorial and is completely dependant on its sea anemone.

Shelter
Amphiprion ocellaris are reliant on sea anemone for shelter (they have a symbiotic relationship with the sea anemone). Sea anemone also provide protection for the fish and their nests with their stinging tentacles, especially when Amphiprion ocellaris are in the open waters, where they have a higher risk of predation. however, the fish’s mucus protection prevents it from being stung by the tentacles.It is postulated that the fanning behavior of the A. ocellaris fish and removal of parasites promotes the health of sea anemones. The presence of the clownfish can also be interpreted as a lure to attract potential anemone's preys close to the tentacles. And the clownfish can also defend the anemone against some reef fishes which could eat the tentacles.

Queue selection
Queue is the term for social groups of A. ocellaris; these fish form social hierarchies, or social rank, by “outliving” the more dominant members of the group. The dominant pair of each queue has a higher reproduction rate compared to the subordinate fishes. This is the reason for why these individuals should adopt various tactics in which they increase their probability of attaining social dominance. There are two types of A. ocellaris, settlers and switchers. Settlers prefer shorter queues, while switchers will usually move after settlement. However, studies show that there is no difference in the characteristics between switchers and non-switchers, and there is no data demonstrating that A. ocellaris utilize the switching tactic for dominance. Although settlement preferences increase the likelihood of gaining social dominance, switching could have the function of increasing social dominance benefits after social dominance has been acquired.

Juvenile Amphiprion ocellaris
Juvenile Amphiprion ocellaris have difficulty finding an anemone to live in (since they need anemone for survival and shelter), since there exists a hierarchy within each anemone. Thus, when a new juvenile enters an anemone, it begins at the bottom of the social ladder where it is often the victim of aggression by other clownfish. This aggression from other Amphiprion ocellaris in the anemone can cause the juvenile to be chased out of the anemone, and left to search for another anemone.

Group size and patch size
Studies have shown that there is a correlation between the size of the group and and the size of the patch; however this correlation provides no implication that subordinate group members have less resources. More likely, the effects of the patch size on the group member dominates interactions. An experiment was performed to study the mechanism responsible for the positive correlation between the group size and patch size. The scientists argued that the correlation between the group size and patch size is because of the the indirect consequence of the positive relationship between the dominant group member’s length and the anemone size. The length of the dominant group member limits the group size because the length of the dominant group member prevents the group of the subordinate group members. This data shows that the patch size and group size correlation does not necessarily imply the decrease in resources of group members subordinate to the dominant group member.

Food habits
Amphiprion ocellaris feed on plankton and algae, thus they are considered omnivores. Feeding is also affected by the hierarchy in Amphiprion ocellaris groups. Since the smaller, less dominant fish face aggression from the more aggressive fish, they have less energy to forage for food. Thus, they usually do not eat as much as the dominant fish do, because of reduced energy, but also because of the increased danger they face when they leave their anemone since they are smaller. In other words, the larger fish will usually travel farther than the smaller fish. Generally, the Amphiprion ocellaris feed on algae, copepods, and zooplankton.

Spawning
There is not much data on the reproduction of Amphiprion ocellaris. However, similar behaviors throughout all anemone fishes have been recorded. These fish have monogamous mating systems, and are territorial of their anemone. Males become more aggressive during spawning. Male behavior also changes to attract females: biting, chasing, fin extension. Before spawning, the male prepares the nest near the anemone (so that the tentacles of the anemone can protect the nest). After the male chases the female to the nest, the female begins the spawning process. She lays eggs for about one to two hours, and then leave the nest for the male to fertilize the eggs. The eggs take approximately six to eight days to hatch (this time period can be affected by the temperature of water). Because of the external fertilization, males usually care for the eggs. They also have responsibilities for eating fungi-infected or infertile eggs, and fanning the eggs.

Reproductive hierarchy
All of the individuals first develop into males and then later there is a possibility that they become females (protandrous hermaphrodites). This also can be termed as plasticity in sex differentiation. This is shown when there are males, females, and juveniles together in an anemone. In the social groups, the female is the dominant and largest member, with signs of aggression towards other members of the social group. The next rank in the social hierarchy were the fishes that will become males and other fishes that stay as non-reproductive. One experiment placed three juvenile anemonefish in a tank and their behaviors were observed over a month. Observations about social rank were made throughout this period, based on interactions with the group. There was also a noticeable correlation between aggressive behaviors and appeasing behaviors. There were many other signs of dominance in this hierarchy, such as the continuous occupation of territory in the tank by the dominant fish, and increase in body mass of the dominant fish compared to that of lower ranked fish (indicating growth suppression). In addition, a difference in certain steroid levels of the fish indicated that there was reproductive suppression also occurring. The individuals that were ranked lower were reproductively suppressed, which was apparent around the first stage of when the group was formed. Gradually, the sex differentiation and dominance were formed after social interactions occurred for awhile. Another experiment performed studied that when the female was removed from the anemone, then the next dominant male would become the female. There is also a dominance hierarchy that exists here. Females actually utilize aggressive dominance to control the males to prevent the formation of other females, and dominant males prevent juvenile males from mating.

In aquaria
In nature, the false percula clownfish will host Heteractis magnifica and Stichodactyla gigantea. However, in captivity in a reef aquarium, the false percula will host other species of anemone, including Entacmaea quadricolor. In addition, clownfish may adopt a surrogate host as opposed to an anemone, such as Euphyllia divisa, xenia coral, etc.

Human interaction
Amphiprion ocellaris are utilized as part of the tropical fish aquarium trade. However, only certain colors are in demand. In addition, Amphiprion ocellaris are used in research since they can be bred easily. This high demand in trade as been dangerous for Amphiprion ocellaris population due to overexploitation. Although this usage has not led to Amphiprion ocellaris being classified as extinct, Amphiprion ocellaris live on coral reefs, were are in danger due to global warming.