Have you seen the animated movie, Finding Nemo? The brilliant film is about eventful journeys of two fish, Marlin and his son Nemo, who become separated in the Great Barrier Reef when Nemo is unexpectedly taken far from home and thrust into a fish tank in a dentist’s office. Buoyed by the companionship of a friendly-but-forgetful fish named Dory, the father embarks on a dangerous trek and finds himself the unlikely hero of an epic journey to rescue his son.
Anemonefish (Nemo) or scientifically known as Premnas biaculeatus come in a family called Pomacentridae (Damselfishes). They inhabit lagoon and seaward reefs and can be found mainly in protected coastal waters and lagoons with depth range 1 - 16 m. Typically can be seen in pairs in which males are much smaller than females. Morphologically, an anemonefish has a distinctive prominent preopercular spine that extends across the head-bar - juveniles and males are in bright red, females become maroon to nearly black. Feed primarily on zooplankton and benthic algae. They are absolutely harmless. There are various types of Anemonefish but the one shown here is known as False Clown Anemonefish (can be found at large in Malaysian water).
I saw few of them when I scuba-dived at Redang Island back in May 2005. What a fantastic world I had discovered at the very bottom of South China Sea.
