The gold-striped maroon clownfish, or premnas biaculeatus, is one of the most common varieties seen in saltwater home aquariums. It's also one of the largest, growing to as much as six inches in length.

While young, the fish are the same maroon/red in the body, but their three vertical body stripes start out white, and gradually take on a yellow hue, turning gold around the time of maturity at one year of age.

Like other clownfish, they have a sexual dominance pattern, where they all start out as males, but in a pair of maroon clownfish, the more aggressive fish will develop into a female of larger size. In groups, there will be one large, dominant female, one smaller breeding male, and the rest will remain males that are even smaller, and not sexually active.

These are among the easiest of clownfish to breed, and are quite hardy, making them suitable for the new aquarium enthusiast. However, they are also the most aggressive of clownfish, and if you have other varieties in the tank, you can have territorial disputes.

They enjoy an aquarium kept at 72-78F, a pH of 8.1-8.4 and a diet of meaty foods.