My Innovation Creation ~ A Mosaic Clownfish

My Innovation Creation ~ A Mosaic Clownfish

Materials • Poster Board • Construction Paper • Scissors • Glue • Paper Plate • Paint Brush

Process • Gather supplies • Drew my subject on a background of blue poster board • Cut circles and squares for the tiles • Used paper plate and paintbrush to glue tiles starting with my subject, then its surroundings

Life of the Clownfish • Appearance • Habitat • Diet • Behavior • Predators • Lifespan

Appearance • Clownfish are typically very bright, orange fish that have three white stripes, one at the head, middle and tail. The tips of their fins have a thin black rounded stripe. • Clownfish grow to be from 2-5 inches long. The males tend to be significantly smaller than the females. However, there are various types of clownfish that range in colors from blue to yellow.

Habitat • Clownfish are salt water fish also called Anemone fish. They live in the warmer waters of the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. They can also be found in Northwest Australia, Southeast Asia, Japan and the Indo Malaysian region. • They can be found at the bottom of the sea in sheltered reefs or in shallow lagoons, usually in pairs.

Habitat • Clownfish live in 10 out of more than 1,000 types of anemones. These anemones are the only ones that can host clownfish, and the clownfish are the only type of fish that do not get stung by the tentacles of the sea anemone, due to a slimy mucus covering that protects them. However, if this covering is wiped off of the fish, it will get stung and possibly be killed when it returns home to the anemone. The clownfish helps protect the anemone by chasing away polyp eating fish.

Diet • Clownfish feed on small invertebrates which otherwise potentially could harm the sea anemone, and the fecal matter from the clownfish provides nutrients to the sea anemone. • Clownfish are omnivorouse: in the wild they eat live food such as algae, plankton, mollusks, and crustacea.

Diet • In captivity they can survive on live food, fish flakes, and fish pellets. • Algae accounts for around 20 to 25 percent of its diet in the wild (and should also account for its amount of algae diet in captivity as well). • The diet of the clownfish also consists of copepods, mysids, isopods, zooplankton and undigested food from their host anemones.

Behavior • Clown fish are very active fish and are extremely aggressive. Because they are quite active, the clownfish are thought to be “clowning around”. • In addition, the sea anemones are given better water circulation because the clownfish fan their fins while swimming about.

Predators • Clownfish have a few ocean predators, such as sharks and stingrays, but their greatest threat is humans. People who catch clownfish and keep them as pets in aquariums with the wrong anemone.

Lifespan • The spawning season of the clownfish, a time when they breed, is year round in tropical waters. • Males attract the females by courting. Courting behaviors include chasing, biting and extending fins.

Lifespan • Breeding starts by the male chasing the female to the nest where the eggs are released. • One hundred to one thousand eggs are laid. • Clownfish lay their eggs in batches on coral, rock or next to the sea anemone that they call home.

Lifespan • The male clownfish will build a nest near the anemone in order to be provided with protection from predators and guards the eggs until they hatch. • The eggs will hatch in 4-5 days.

Lifespan • In a group of clownfish there is a strict hierarchy of dominance. The largest and most aggressive female is at the top. • If the female clownfish is removed from the group, such as by death, one of the largest and most dominant males would become a female. • The rest of the remaining males will then move up in rank.

Lifespan • In captivity, the clownfish can live from 3-5 years. In the wild they live 6-10 years.

References • tolweb.org • wikipedia.com • all-free-download.com

My Innovation Creation ~ A Mosaic Clownfish