Black Storm Clownfish Care

Whether you’re new to keeping an aquarium at home or you’ve got a populated fish tank, you might consider adding to the mix. Black Storm Clownfish care is very easy and they’re generally a good addition to any aquarium.

Some things you might want to know are how big they can get and what housing they’ll need, what to feed them, and how to breed them to add more of their unique complexion to the tank. Let’s dive in!

Housing a Black Storm Clownfish

When it comes to the aquarium for a Black Storm Clownfish, it’s important to know how big they can get and what you can have in the tank with them.

Sizing Up Your Clownfish

The biggest a clownfish will get is 3 inches, so they don’t take up a lot of space. Interestingly, the female is the bigger member of the species and will stake her claim on territory first.

With this in mind, the smallest aquarium you should have for your Black Storm Clownfish to be happy is 20 gallons. This will give your fish plenty of room to swim around, though they’re prone to sticking close to anemones if you have them.

Anemones

In the wild, clownfish develop a symbiotic dynamic with anemones. The clownfish will protect the anemone and keep it clean while the anemone provides shelter and a protective toxin. However, this doesn’t mean you have to put anemones in your aquarium.

This is one of the reasons that it’s best to purchase a Black Storm Clownfish that was bred in captivity, especially for someone new to keeping an aquarium. Raised in captivity, the clownfish hasn’t yet developed that need and will easily adapt to living without an anemone.

Of course you can obviously give them an anemone to live in and their instincts will kick in, but be prepared if you have other clownfish for the female to take it over.

One important thing to note is that smaller or younger clownfish won’t venture far from an anemone if there are other fish in the tank, so be sure to direct the food close by when it comes to feeding time.

The other major thing you have to know as the owner of a Black Storm Clownfish is that only a handful of anemones are safe for the clownfish habitat. Some of the most common anemones are the Sebae, Carpet, and Saddle. 

Once you’ve decided to put an anemone in there, you have to care for the anemone to keep it healthy as well. That symbiotic relationship becomes a serious bond between the anemone and the Black Storm Clownfish and they don’t do well if the anemone then dies.

How Friendly Are They?

As stated earlier, the females are dominant in the species and take over an anemone regardless of the number of males in her aquarium. Of course, if you don’t have an anemone this creates a different effect.

If your clownfish comes from an aquarium that didn’t have an anemone, that protective instinct is dulled and it will likely get along better with other fish in the tank than a wild clownfish or one that had an anemone.

This is especially true for a captivity-bred clownfish in a tank with other fish that were bred in captivity. It will more readily accept them, but Black Storm Clownfish, in general, are easy-going with other fish in the tank, specifically other clownfish regardless of species.

Feeding Time

Food is one of the most important aspects of caring for any pet in the house, so here’s what you need to know.

What to Feed Them?

Black Storm Clownfish are omnivorous, meaning they’ll eat meat and plants. This makes them one of the easiest fish to care for in an aquarium because their diet is practically anything you put in there.

They enjoy a meal of worms and algae but remember to keep in mind their proximity to an anemone if you have one. Smaller fish have a “safe zone” near the anemone and won’t travel outside of it to eat, especially if they’re not alone in the tank.

Will They Eat Other Fish?

Speaking of being alone in the tank, you might worry about other fish being in there with an omnivorous fish. The truth is that, while Black Storm Clownfish do eat meat, they’re not aggressive toward other fish and only eat the smallest of things like worms or crustaceans.

This means that they won’t pose a threat to other fish in your tank, especially if the rest were bred in captivity or placed in the aquarium at the same time as the clownfish.

Breeding

The average lifespan of a Black Storm Clownfish is between 3 and 6 years, meaning that you have time to breed them if you want. Their beautiful black and white pattern will lend itself to liven up any aquarium, so here’s what you need to know.

No matter how many clownfish you have in the tank, the female will claim her territory and the males will surround her. One of the males usually eats more and becomes the dominant male of the suitors.

Once impregnated, the female clownfish will lay her eggs either on a flat surface or as close as possible to the anemone. The males of the species will aid in protecting the eggs and caring for them. 

The eggs usually take between 6 and 11 days to hatch, at which point the baby clownfish, or fry, will need a separate tank until they’re old enough to be back into the normal aquarium.

Baby Black Storm Clownfish Care

While the water doesn’t need to be a different temperature like some fish babies, fry will need a different diet from other fish in your aquarium and it’s easiest done in a separate tank.

Start them out with rotifers until they’re more developed and have grown. Once they’ve reached a bigger size, usually around an inch or an inch and a half, you can shift their diet to baby shrimp or similar crustaceans.

Complex Biology

One of the most interesting features of clownfish that’s worth noting is that they can change genders through a massive internal shift. If the female dies after the eggs have been laid, the “dominant male” that’s the largest of the group will continue to eat more.

Once enough energy and weight is gained, the clownfish will essentially evolve and become the new dominant female of the group. It’s an intriguing phenomenon that any clownfish owner might want to know beforehand.