Ocellaris (Amphiprion ocellaris)

The Ocellaris, or False Percula Clownfish is the most popular clownfish species in the marine aquarium hobby. It is called the False Percula because it is closely related to, and easily confused with, the Percula Clownfish (A. percula).  These classic fish have brightly colored orange bodies with white stripes and thin black outlines.

Ocellaris were one of the first marine aquarium fish to be successfully bred in captivity. Early success with their captive propagation helped lead the way in the development of the commercial marine ornamental aquaculture industry. In nature, A. ocellaris occurs in a wide range of the Indo-Pacific region including: Australia, the East Indies, Melanesia, the Philippines, and the Ryukyu Islands.

Ocellaris are one of the least aggressive members of the clownfish family, and usually tolerate other members of the same species in their tank. Friendly Ocellaris are easy to maintain in aquariums, they adapt well, and will accept a wide variety of aquarium foods.

Mated pairs of Ocellaris typically spawn every 10-14 days with a nest size of approximately 350 eggs. The eggs hatch in about 7-8 days.

The female is normally the larger fish in the pair. As with some other marine fish, clownfish are protandrous hermaphrodites, meaning they exhibit sex reversal from males to females.

The medium size (1.5″) Ocellaris sold by ORA are about 6-8 months old, the large size (over 2″) are about a year old.