Reef fish

Anemonefish

Amphiprion spp.

IUCN status: Least concern

Small territorial clownfish sheltering in anemones that have colonised the shallow hulls. A reliable small-subject find on wrecks like the Fujikawa and Shinkoku Maru.

Max size
Up to about 11cm
Habitat
Lives among the tentacles of host anemones growing on the shallower wrecks and reef.

Best places to dive with Anemonefish

rareoccasionalcommonly seenpeak season
Alor
Sighting likelihood by month
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Resident in huge numbers at Clown Valley, which reportedly holds the densest sea-anemone concentration of any dive site; mainly Clark's and tomato anemonefish.

Brunei's Offshore Wrecks
Sighting likelihood by month
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Standard on the shallow fringing reef at Pelong Rocks and at Abana Reef, which are the sites used for Open Water divers and snorkellers rather than the deeper hulls.

Con Dao Archipelago
Sighting likelihood by month
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Anemonefish are on nearly every Con Dao reef dive and are one of the more dependable subjects here. Species-level identification in local reporting is not reliable.

Koh Chang
Sighting likelihood by month
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Anemonefish (clownfish) occupy anemone fields on the shallow reefs, notably at Hin Luk Bat.

Koh Rong Archipelago
Sighting likelihood by month
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Found year-round in the anemone patches at Two Tone Garden, Koh Koun and Koh Prins' Anemone Garden.

Nha Trang
Sighting likelihood by month
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Anemones with resident clownfish are scattered across the shallow sites and are one of the few reliably photogenic subjects on a training dive.

Panglao & Balicasag (Bohol)
Sighting likelihood by month
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Anemone colonies are a fixture on the Balicasag shallows and on Panglao's slopes; the Balicasag snorkelling zone is marketed on its clownfish. Year-round, no seasonality.

Perhentian Islands
Sighting likelihood by month
MonthLikelihood
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Anemonefish are resident on shallow reefs and are commonly encountered on training dives. Heat damage affected some anemone patches in 2024, so distribution varies between sites.

Redang Island
Sighting likelihood by month
MonthLikelihood
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Anemone patches on Redang's shallow reefs hold resident false clown anemonefish, including the Pasir Panjang house reefs. Anemones bleach alongside coral in heat events, so patches lost in 2024 have not all recovered.

Phu Quoc
Sighting likelihood by month
MonthLikelihood
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Anemonefish are a realistic year-round reef sighting where host anemones persist; no monthly peak is documented.

Surin Islands (Mu Ko Surin)
Sighting likelihood by month
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Resident in anemones across the shallow reefs, including the HQ Channel and Ao Mai Ngam.

Truk Lagoon
Sighting likelihood by month
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Reliable on the anemone-covered shallow wrecks.

Sources & last checked

Checked July 2026

Research is source-backed, but conditions and fees should still be confirmed locally.

View 1 source and checking notes