Clownfish & Anemone

Clownfish & Anemone

The reef's most famous friendship

Clownfish coat themselves in a mucus layer that lets them live untouched among stinging anemone tentacles, safe from anything that would eat them; in exchange they chase off the anemone's predators and fan it clean. They are visitors here — Hawaiʻi's reef has no native clownfish — but few sights on earth are prettier.