Editing Clownfish (section)

==Distribution and habitat==
Clownfishes inhabit warm and tropical waters spanning the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific; from the [[Red Sea]] to [[French Polynesia]], and from Japan down to Australia.<ref name=Colleye304/><ref>Hayashi, K.; Riemer, J. D. "Habitat Selection of Anemonefish" in {{harvnb|Laudet|Ravasi|2023}} p. 169</ref> Some species are more widespread than others, and some live only around islands or [[archipelago]]s. Areas closer to the edges of their distribution have fewer species; both the Red Sea and French Polynesia have only one species each. By contrast, as many as six species inhabit the waters of [[Great Barrier Reef]].<ref name=Colleye304>Colleye, O.; Iwata, E.; Parmentier, E. "Clownfishes" in {{harvnb|Frédérich|Parmentier|2016}} pp. 304–305</ref> Clownfishes are limited by the distribution of their sea anemone hosts. Hence they are found mainly at the [[photic zone]]s where there is more [[photosynthetic]] [[zooxanthellae]] for their hosts to depend on. This includes [[coral reefs]] and surrounding areas.<ref name=Fautin1991>{{cite journal|last1=Fautin|first1=D. G.|year=1991|title=The anemonefish symbiosis: what is known and what is not|journal=Symbiosis|volume=10|pages=23–46|url=https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/entities/publication/ed3447a6-e5c6-4e01-a398-d22b5cbe3b19}}</ref> Within an reef, clownfish species that use the same anemone species as their main hosts will avoid competition by using individuals at different zones (nearshore, mid-[[lagoon]], and outer bank).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Elliott|first1=J. K.|last2=Mariscal|first2=R. N.|year=2001|title=Coexistence of nine anemonefish species: differential host and habitat utilization, size and recruitment|journal=Marine Biology|volume=138|pages=23–36|doi=10.1007/s002270000441}}</ref>