Clownfish can count stripes to identify other clownfish intruders. Researchers from Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology carried out experiments on clownfish.
They found that clownfish with three stripes were the most aggressive towards intruders with three bars - as many as they have. The study is a sobering reminder to protect the fragile coral reefs where fish like the anemonefish live, lead author Kina Hayashi said. The research was published in the journal “Journal of Experimental Biology”