Finding Nemo... Will the real Nemo please stand up...

Fijiian anemone fish. Notice the single white bar as opposed to the 3 bars on Nemo

Whenever I return from an underwater photography trip, people often ask me "did you find Nemo?" Nemo, of course, is the lovable clown fish that is the star of the movie Finding Nemo. It's easy to see why they picked a clown fish to be the main character, because, what's not to love? They're small, they're cute, and they are brightly colored underwater photography subjects. They can also be territorial, and downright aggressive. I've dove with a lot of different animals, including many species of sharks, and the only animal that's ever bitten me was a Nemo. Yeah.

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Clown anemone fish. This one I believe is the inspiration for Nemo.

Let me explain. Clown fish come in lots of different shapes, sizes, colors, and temperament. Clown fish are also know as anemone fish because they all live in a symbiotic relationship with an anemone, which, believe it or not, is an animal.

Clown fish are usually orange, yellow, reddish, or even blackish, with white patches or stripes. So there's clown anemone fish, orange fin anemone fish, skunk anemone fish, spine cheek anemone fish, saddleback clown fish, etc, etc. But the one I always look out for is the Clark's anemone fish. They are territorial, and they do bite. Especially on your ear. Twice.


Some photographers get easily bored with these fish as photo subjects, but I haven't grown tired of them. Their bright colors against the color and texture of their anemone make for brilliant photos. Plus people always immediately recognize them.

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This version of Nemo is called a skunk anemone fish because of the white stripe down it's head and body. Still only one white bar, unlike the real Nemo

This is one of those evil little Clark's anemone fish. Very territorial, and they do bite. Note the 3 white bars like the clown anemone fish, but this guy is black and white.

So the next time someone mentions "Finding Nemo", you'll know that given the variety of Nemo-fish out there, it may be a difficult task...


Please click on the slideshow below to see more examples of anemone fish photos.