Abstract:
Amphiprion sp represent the largest complex of anemonefish with approximately 28
species distributing all over the Indo-West Pacific region. Amphiprion species is one
of the most popular marine ornamental fish among the aquarists. The high demand in
the market resulted rapid declination of Amphiprion in natural habitat. This study was
carried to investigate the association of clownfish and its sea anemone species at
Pulau Bidong; to study the host preference by captive bred A. ocel/aris and determine
the time taken for the fish to select a host in captivity in different distances. There
were three species of Amphiprion and sea anemones found in Pulau Bidong's water.
The observations supported the results of the existing studies on Amphiprion and the
symbiont anemone species. Captive bred A. ocellaris did not select all substrates as a
host (P< 0.05) and they have to ability to symbiont with E. quadricolor which is not
the natural host. The time taken for the captive bred A. ocel/aris to reach its host in
different distance were not significantly different (P>0.05). This shows that the fish
has the ability to recognize the host when relocated to a certain distance. However, the
finding is still preliminary and captive bred fish ability to survive in natural
environment which differ from the enclosed system still required further investigation.
