Analysis of Clownfish Mating - Essay Example

Clownfish Mating Roll No: Teacher: 13th October 2009 The clownfish has no gender when it is born. It usually takes a gender after twelve to twenty four months after its birth. The gender that a clownfish has after maturity is male. Clownfish are all males. After some time, the clownfish that gains the maximum size transforms its gender into female and is able to mate with a male clownfish. The clownfish that is the largest is the female and is dominant in character. It mates with the male who is second largest in the group in terms of its size. During mating season, the male persuades, even forces the female to mate. In this struggle, the male clownfish is quite belligerent towards the female and shows his desire by biting, chasing and extending his fins. The female clownfish mates with the male one after some struggle. After it, she lays eggs on a flat surface cleared by the male clownfish and built into a nest. The eggs that are laid by the female clownfish are fertilized and guarded by the male clownfish. He is the one who takes care of the eggs. He becomes free when the eggs get hatched and larvae come out of the hatched eggs. Clownfish Mating Clownfish is a beautiful fish that is liked all over the world because of its elegant style and appearance. People like to keep clownfish in their aquariums in order to increase the beauty of an aquarium. Clownfish, which is also called anemone fish, belongs to the order Perciformes, its family is Pomacentridae, its genus is Amphiprion and its species is ocellaris (Boyer 2009). Its scientific name is Amphiprion ocellaris (Fishlore.com 2007a). Clownfish is called anemone fish because of its symbiotic relationship with sea anemones (Hoff 1996). Symbiosis can be defined as a process in which, both the organisms are benefited because of the relationship that is formed between them. Clownfish and sea anemone forms a symbiotic association with the anemone due to which, clownfish as well as the sea anemone, both are mutually in advantage (Fishlore.com 2007b). As far as its habitat is concerned, the clownfish is found in warm waters, which are oceanic and sultry (Boyer 2009). The clownfish is usually at most 5 inches long and at least 2 inches small. The male clownfish is smaller in size than female clownfish (Randall, et. al 1997). There is a very interesting fact about clownfish and its gender. When a clownfish gives birth, all the newly born are males (Fishlore.com 2007a). In fact, the clownfish is male at its birth and remains male until it becomes dominant than other male clownfish around it. When one clownfish grows in size and gets bigger than all other clownfish in the group, it becomes a female and has a dominant status (Hoff 1996). Because of its dominancy, no other clownfish is allowed to change its gender to female until and unless the dominant one gets killed or is dead (Schultz 2009). One can differentiate between the male and female clownfish by its size and its dominating style (Hoff 1996). A female clownfish is always larger in size as compared to all the male clownfish. As soon as one female clownfish dies, the second largest one takes the role of the female clownfish and is dominating like the old one (Wilkerson 2003). This gender change takes place when the old one gets died. Clownfish are usually found in groups in which, all the clownfish follow an authoritarian chain of command in which, the fame fish acts as a leader while all other follow her as subordinates (Breeding Clownfish 2008). The female clownfish, which is the first largest among all the clownfish of the group mates with the second largest clown fish that is male (Wilkerson 2003). Reproduction in clownfish is only there when the two largest fish mate with one another. Clownfish shows belligerent attitude towards capturing the sea anemone as its own abode and when it takes over an anemone, it sticks to it and defends it against any intruders (Fishlore.com 2007b). It possesses the sea anemone and never tries to leave it for any reason. While living near the anemone, the clownfish is the only creature that is able to protect itself against the stings of the anemone (Fishlore.com 2007b). When the clownfish is born, its gender is not identifiable at the birth (Schultz 2009). It is immature even after twelve to twenty four months of its birth in terms of its gender and afterwards, it becomes a male and then with the passage of time and maturity, it transforms into female clownfish, which is always larger in size and antagonistic and dominant in behavior towards all the other clownfish (Fishlore.com 2007b). Once the sex of the clownfish is changed, it sticks to its gender and its gender is unable to be transformed into the previous one (Fishlore.com 2007b). This means that if a male clownfish has transformed into a female clownfish, it will not become a male clownfish again, it will retain its femininity. The size varies with the status of clownfish in hierarchy. As soon as the upper post is vacant, the hierarchical structure moves upward. The clownfish is hermaphrodite (Wilkerson 2003). Hermaphrodite can be defined as such animals that have both male and female genders in them. Clownfish is also called hermaphrodite because of its containing two genders, initially it is male but later on, it transforms into female (Wilkerson 1997). The male clownfish gets ready four to five days before the actual mating and initiates biting the substrate (Wilkerson 1997). The substrate is bitten by the male in order to build a nest that is made on clear surface (Wilkerson 2003). With the passage of time and with nearing of mating, the male becomes more belligerent in biting the substrate and the female clownfish comes to support him in his task as she also starts biting the substrate (Hoff 1996). Not only is the male aggressive towards chasing the female but also towards any trespassers that try to come near the newly built nest of the clownfish (Tullock 1998). The clownfish resides near a host anemone. The males usually make a nest on a rock near the host anemone (Randall 1997). The males persuade females to mate by various strategies such as biting, chasing and extending their fins (Boyer 2009). In normal days, it is noticed that females have an aggressive and dominant attitude towards males but in mating seasons, the males become insistent and antagonistic towards female clownfish and continue chasing her until she is ready to mate (Breeding Clownfish 2008). The male persuades the female clownfish to come near the nest in order to lay eggs (Schultz 2009). The fish takes many rounds around the nest in order to lay the eggs. The eggs are laid on a flat surface that is smooth and free from any kind of debris and any garbage found in water (Wilkerson 2003). The egg laying process takes averagely two hours in its completion. The clownfish lays eggs according to the lunar cycle, which means that they follow moon in laying eggs and for the mating season (Wilkerson 2003). The female clownfish lays eggs when morning is near to be there. The belly of the clownfish is swollen and she releases her eggs on the nesting place so that they can be protected from any intruders (Wilkerson 2003). The eggs that are laid by the clownfish are orange or pinkish in color and vary in length between three to four millimeters (Randall 1997). The number of the laid eggs varies between one hundred eggs to one thousand eggs and this differentiation relies on the maturity of the clownfish (Boyer 2009). After the eggs are laid by the female clownfish, the male clownfish is responsible for fertilizing the eggs. He moves over all the laid eggs and fertilizes them (Wilkerson 1997). The eggs that are laid remain fixed to the rock on which, they are laid by means of certain bonding threads (Hoff 1996). The eggs are sticky in appearance. The female clownfish is only responsible for laying the eggs, remaining all care and assistance is given by the male. The male clownfish takes care of the eggs until they are hatched (Wilkerson 2003). In taking care of the eggs, he usually airs them with his tail in order to remove any debris that becomes attached to the fertilized eggs. He usually performs this fanning action when he is free (Schultz 2009). Otherwise, he remains busy in attending to any interlopers that try to come in his assigned territory (Breeding Clownfish 2008). He is highly offensive towards the outsiders. He also eats the eggs that have fungus on them or which are unable to hatch because of their unproductiveness (Randall 1997). With the passage of time, the color of orange or pinkish eggs turns into brownish or grayish color, which is quite fainter in appearance (Hoff 1996). Near the hatching age of the eggs, the eggs that are brown or gray in color turn into silver color (Wilkerson 2003). The clownfish that have already mated and formed a pair do not consider each other as rivals and do not have to go through the first belligerent struggle by the male clownfish to persuade or even force the female clownfish to mate (Bloch 2009). They can mate in the future mating seasons as well until and unless one partner dies. The hatching age of the eggs ranges to eleven days. At least six days and at most eleven days are required for the eggs to get hatched (Fishlore.com 2007b). The clownfish usually is able to live up to five years when it is captive and its life increases to at most ten years when it lives on its own (Randall 1997). It is also kept in aquariums at home because of its beauty and colors. In aquariums, people also breed clownfish. While breeding, the clownfish founds a mate similarly as in oceanic life (Hoff 1996). However, it is said that the clownfish is able to breed better when it is in wildlife. The fact that the clownfish are only males before their enlargement into the largest size should be kept in mind. The largest most of the clownfish is the female as it changes its gender from male to female and mates with the second largest male for reproduction of clownfish. After evaluating, the mating process and gender change of clownfish, it is clear that clownfish is an amazing hermaphrodite creature that lays eggs once it is transformed into a female (Tullock 1998). The female is dominant and antagonistic while the male is persuasive and subservient (Boyer 2009). During mating season, the male clownfish becomes aggressive as it forces the female clownfish to mate. After egg laying the male pays the duty of taking care of the eggs until they are hatched. After hatching, male clownfish is free to leave the larvae. The mating of clownfish and egg laying is scientifically attractive because of its containing no sex at its birth or even after lately. It is able to lay eggs after becoming a female, which is of the largest size as compared to all other clownfish in the group. Works Cited Bloch, David. Breeding Clownfish. Accessed on 13th October 2009 from http://www.netpets.org/fish/reference/saltref/brdclown.html Boyer, Stephanie. Biological Profiles: Clown Anemone fish. Accessed on 13th October 2009 from http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/FalseClownAnemone/FalseClownAnemone.html Breeding Clownfish. 2008. Accessed on 13th October 2009 from http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/clownfish/breeding.php Fishlore.com. Clownfish, Anemone Fish. 2007a. Accessed on 13th October 2009 from http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-ClownFish.htm Fishlore.com. Clownfish Information. 2007b. Accessed on 13th October 2009 from http://www.fishlore.com/Wiki-ClownFish.htm Hoff, Frank H. Conditioning, Spawning and Rearing of Fish with Emphasis on Marine Clownfish. Florida: Florida Aqua Farms Inc, 1996. Randall, J. et. al. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst: Crawford House Publishing, 1997. Schultz, Henry C. Clownfish Spawning. Accessed on 13th October 2009 from http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/reef-films/index.php Tullock, John. Clownfish and Sea Anemones. New York: Barron’s Educational Series, 1998. Wilkerson, Joyce. Clownfishes. Neptune, NJ: T.F.H. Publications, 1997. Wilkerson, Joyce. Clown fish Guide: A Guide to their Captive Care, Breeding and Natural History. Neptune, NJ: T.F.H. 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