This creature clowns around with some pretty poisonous company. Normally the common clownfish-whose thick white bands around its body look like a clown's face paint-uses its colorful appearance to help hide in coral reefs. If predators do spot it, however, this little fish rushes home to a protective fortress-it lives among the venomous tentacles of sea anemones; a special coating on the clownfish's scales keep it from being stung.
Captain Crunch: The clownfish eats fish larvae and other tiny sea creatures called zooplankton, and also munches on a bit of algae. It has teeth in the back of its throat that crunches the food into digestible mush.
Is it Funny? This fish got its name for the three thick, white stripes that circle its orange body, like the makeup of a clown. This pattern actually helps break up the clownfish's outline so predators won't notice it among brightly-colored coral.
Friend of Anemones[]
The clownfish seeks safety among a sea anemone's tentacles.
The common clownfish lives in a dangerous, predator-filled habitat, but has developed a clever way to protect itself. This small fish dwells inside the tentacles of venomous sea anemones. Its scales are thickly coated with mucus that repels the stinging cells that anemones fire at intruders. If pursued by a predator, the clownfish retreats to its host anemone, where few other fish will follow. In return, the clownfish will violently defend its host against smaller fish that try to nibble on the anemone's tentacles.
Ouch! The common clownfish isn't born with its coating of mucus. The protective layer develops only after the fish touches an anemone a few times; the clownfish feels the pain during these first contacts.
Boys & Girls: Normally, about six clownfish live together in the same anemone, with the biggest female being the leader. If the dominant female dies, the biggest male changes into a female and breeds with the other males in the area. It's not so unusual: Many reef fishes can change sexes.
Be a Clown[]
A pair of common clownfish attach their newly-hatched eggs to the base of their host anemone, and fan water over them with their fins to keep them clean.
About a week later, the eggs hatch. The tiny larvae (called fry) drift away on the currents. Unfortunately, many of the fry are gobbled up by other fish.
Two weeks after hatching, one young clownfish that survived has grown enough to look like a 3 smaller version of its parents. It swims back to the reef to search for a home.
The main illustration on the front of the card, as well as the photo on the back-left and the illustrations for the "Be a Clown" section are all shared with the Wildlife Explorer series. The latter, titled "From Egg to Adult", has an extra first image of the two clownfish sitting the same direction.
The heading “Captain Crunch” is a reference to the cereal brand and mascot of the same name.
Clownfish cameo on Monster Mania 13.
The clownfish is mentioned on several other cards:
It is, of course, mentioned on the Sea Anemones knowledge card.
The Portuguese Man-O-War knowledge card mentions how some clownfish live in their tentacles in the Did You Know? section.
The clownfish is featured on several Monster Mania cards:
While not part of the game itself, the clownfish makes an appearance in the background of Coral Confusion on Monster Mania 13.
