Clownfish
Of the roughly thousand species of
anemones, only ten host clownfish. What's good for the clownfish is good for the anemone,
and vice versa. Clownfish spend their entire lives with their host anemone, rarely straying
more than a few yards from it. They lay their eggs about twice a month on the nearest hard
surface concealed by the fleshy base of the anemone, and they aggressively protect the
developing embryos. If the young fish doesn't find an anemone and acclimatize to its new life
within a day or two, it will die. The female is the largest in this "family," followed by the
male and the adolescents. A Nemo look-alike species sale has jumped by 25 percent. For
years it has cost much less to catch and ship wild-caught clownfish than to raise the fish in
captivity. But the economics of wild clownfish have been changing: Rising fuel costs have
made shipping them more expensive, and populations have been declining.
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