The Indo-Pacific Maroon Clownfish-People

Zoologists call us Premnas biaculeatus. That leads to one of our common names: spine-cheeked anemonefish-people. Then, our most familiar tag is maroon clownfish-people. Yes. Maroon clownfish-people generally have three vertical stripes, also known as body bars, with black edges. They can be white, gray, or yellow, depending on geographic location, gender, and age. But around Sumatra, everyone is born with white stripes that develop a golden hue by the time they are 12 months old.

Researchers have labeled it “size-based dominance.” There is one female, she is larger than the males, and she is the boss. Clownfish-people like me grow up to 17 centimeters long, while most males in the group are limited to around 7 centimeters. You are bigger than them; that is why you are my number two. All clownfish-people are born as males, Dua, with dormant female cells. Scientists say we are protandrous hermaphrodites.

We clownfish characters have an exclusive relationship with certain people from the sea anemone kingdom. A procreative clownfish couple will select a single anemone-person to be their host. As pretty as sea anemone-people may be to look at, their tentacles contain venom. But for the bubble tips, we have a special adaptation.

Humans who study us say that clownfish-people have a life expectancy of 10 years in the wild. All the same, we’re affected by pollution and other changes to the environment. Warmer temperatures put our beloved coral reefs and sea anemone-people at risk of bleaching. When they are not healthy, fewer of our eggs survive.

Indeed, vegans are true environmentalists and guardians of all animal-people, including marine-persons like us. Let’s hope all humans would swiftly turn to the compassionate, plant-based way of life and help us stop ocean pollution, once and for all!