Amphiprion spp.
Photo: Celia Coleman
What to look for
Look for the anemone first, a cushion of waving tentacles on the reef, then the small orange, pink or brown fish darting in and out of it. The fish coats itself in mucus that stops the anemone’s stinging cells firing. The largest fish in the anemone is the female; if she dies, the biggest male changes sex and takes over.
Watching without harming
Anemonefish make great photographs because they never leave home, but the anemone is easily damaged. Keep fins and hands off, don’t block the light for long, and never prod the fish to make it come out: it will, on its own, within seconds.
Where to see it
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef Nursery BommieMax depth 24 m.
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef The ChapelMax depth 20 m.
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef The WreckMax depth 22 m.
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef Three SistersMax depth 20 m.
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef Triggerfish CityMax depth 16 m.
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef Turtle BayMax depth 22 m.
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef Turtle BommieMax depth 30 m.
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef West EndMax depth 15 m.
Dive with us to see it
You might also see
- Giant clamMetre-wide shells with mantles of electric blue, green and purple, some of them a century old.
- SweetlipsStriped, spotted and thick-lipped, hanging in patient schools under the overhangs by day.
- Green turtleThe turtle you’ll meet most on the reef: grazing on the shallows, resting under ledges, surfacing to breathe beside the boat.
