Amphiprion ephippium, commonly known as Saddle anemonefish, is a medium-sized anemonefish from the Tomato complex. They’re bright red without the typical anemone bands although some individuals show a small vertical spot just behind the eye. The most notable feature from ephippium is the large black patch on the side of the body.

These anemonefish can best be kept as a pair. When buying a pair you don’t need to worry about male or female because these fish are hermaphroditic. This means the most dominant fish will automatically turn into the female when there is no other female around. Food wise, these fish are easy to feed. They’re omnivores and will eat almost anything you offer. Just make sure they receive a balanced diet of live/frozen food and be sure to include some good quality pellets or flakes. These fish may have a hard time settling in an aquarium with aggressive fish, so it’s best to introduce these fish before other more aggressive fish are introduced.

As long as no predators are around (which usually isn’t the case in our aquaria), there is no need to add an anemone. They might find shelter in another large polyp coral or just hang around a certain rock. If you want to see the symbiotic relationship they’ve with their host in nature it’s best to buy a Entacmaea quadricolor or Heteractis cripsa, because those are the anemones it’s associated with in the wild.