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Orange-fin Anemonefish
Amphiprion chrysopterus Cuvier, 1830
An Orange-fin Anemonefish at a depth of 12m, Osprey Reef, Coral Sea, November 1998. View larger image.
An Orange-fin Anemonefish at a depth of 15m, Bougainville Reef, Coral Sea, December 2000. View larger image.
The Orange-fin Anemonefish has a moderately deep, compressed (glossary) body. The body is brown to black with two white to blue bars. The dorsal fin is orange to yellow and the tail is white. There is some variation in the colouration of the anal fin across the geographic range of this species. The anal fin of Australian fish is black.
The Orange-fin Anemonefish grows to 16cm in length.
It lives among the tentacles of several species of anemones at depths from 1m to 20m. It has been seen in the tentacles of Stichodactyla mertensii, Heteractis crispa and H.aurora.
This species feeds mainly on zooplankton and algae.
It occurs in tropical marine waters of the Western Pacific.
In Australia it is known from the northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
The Orange-fin Anemonefish looks similar to the Barrier Reef Anemonefish (view fact sheet) and Clark's Anemonefish Amphiprion clarkii.
The Barrier Reef Anemonefish is a lighter colour than the Orange-fin Anemonefish and its anal fin is never black. The Barrier Reef Anemonefish is much more common than the Orange-fin Anemonefish.
Clark's Anemonefish has a wider bar on the side of the body and almost always a third bar across the tail base.
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1991. Damselfishes of the World. Mergus. Pp. 271. Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 220.
- Fautin D.G. & Allen. G.R. 1992. Anemone Fishes and their host Sea Anemones. A guide for aquarists and divers. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 160.
- Myers, R.F. 1999. Micronesian Reef Fishes. Coral Graphics. Pp. 330.
- Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Pp. 251.
