Fish watchers will love the many types of fish that the movie, Finding Nemo, gives life to. It features the following species: clownfish, regal blue tang, Moorish idol, great white shark, spotted eagle ray, and the great barracuda among over 50 fish species that appear in the 2003 animated film by Pixar Studios.
Finding Nemo featured the amazing world of marine life in such a creative way. Each character made a mark in the minds and hearts of viewers.
And the digital rendition of each type of fish was truly mesmerizing. Let’s get to know more about these colorful fishes on screen and in real life.
Marlin: Clownfish
Albert Brooks gives his voice to Marlin. He is a clownfish and Nemo’s father in Finding Nemo. Another clownfish is Nemo, of course, and Coral, Nemo’s mom.
Alexander Gould gives his voice to Nemo, the son of Marlin while Elizabeth Perkins plays Coral, the mother of Nemo and the dead wife of Marlin.
The Clownfish has the Scientific name of Amphiprioninae. It’s carnivorous, which means it eats other fish and meat in the sea. It lives between six to 10 years in the wild. The largest size it can reach is about 4.3 inches only.
The color is bright orange with 3 white stripes. You’ll spot them in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean but never in the Mediterranean or the Atlantic Ocean.
Did you know that they can change sex? All clownfish are born as males. But they can switch to a female to become the dominant one in a group. This change is not reversible.
Dory: Regal Blue Tang
Ellen DeGeneres gives her voice to Dory, Marlin’s traveling companion and friend in Finding Nemo. She will be forever remembered as the fish that suffered from short-term memory loss.
Her constant mantra of “Just keep swimming” appears on print a lot. It’s on shirts and stationaries. It’s on mugs and bags.
The regal blue tang goes by other names such as regal tang or surgeonfish. It has a scientific name of Paracanthurus hepatus. It has a striking electric blue shade with bold black marks. It is native to the Indo-Pacific. The maximum size is one inch.
This species loves to swim. It often mixes well with other fishes. However, it tends to be semi-aggressive to its own kind. Regal blue tangs are herbivores. They feed on seaweed and algae.
Gill: Moorish Idol Fish
Willem Dafoe plays Gill, the leader of the Tank Gang. He lives in an aquarium inside the dental clinic of Philip Sherman. This is where P. Sherman also puts Nemo after catching him in the sea.
The Moorish idol fish are rare choices for tank life. They don’t do well in captivity.
It’s a picky eater that chooses to starve itself rather than eat something it dislikes. In the wild, you’ll find them in the Read Sea and eastern Pacific oceans.
Why is it called Moorish Idol? The reference seems to be towards the Moors of North Africa. The species have small mouths but tubular snouts. It’s shaped like a disk. It has small fins. One dorsal fin is larger and has spines. The scientific name for Moorish Idols is Zanclus cornutus.
Some can grow up to 9 inches. This fish type is diurnal or active during the day. At nights, they rest on the bottom of the reef.
Bruce: Great White Shark
Barry Humphries gives life to Bruce, the great white shark who turns vegetarian. This great white shark has Anchor and Chum for support in his new and alternative lifestyle of being a vegetarian.
The great white shark probably first became most popular on-screen because of Jaws, the movie. It has a torpedo shape. And its tails powerfully propel it underwater. These magnificent fish can swim up to 15 miles per hour.
It has a scientific name of Carcharodon carcharias. It is indeed a carnivore. How big do these awesome creatures grow? They grow as big as 20 feet and can weigh over 2 tons. They’re like huge buses in the sea.
The color of their upper part is gray. This lets them stay stealthy on the sea floors. The underbellies are white.
Ray: Spotted Eagle Ray
Bob Peterson plays the character of Mr. Ray, a spotted eagle ray. He is the schoolteacher of Nemo. One of the great scenes from the movie includes this character, where he smoothly glides by with school fishes on his back.
The Spotted Eagle Ray has a scientific name of Aetobatus narinari. The species is full of white spots and marks all over its dark gray or blue color. It can stretch its wingspan to over 10 feet. It’s one of the largest eagle rays. Only the manta can beat its huge size.
These are never motionless underwater. They’re always foraging the seas for prey. These have venomous spines on the tails for defense purposes.
The Killer Fish: Great Barracuda
Great Barracuda makes a brief, voiceless, but a fierce appearance on Finding Nemo. He kills Coral, Marlin’s wife, and Nemo’s mother at the beginning of the movie.
This species swims very fast in the sea. The maximum size is at least 5 feet. The body is thin but long. It is made for speeds of about 36 miles per hour. The color is shiny silver due to the scales. They have dark marks on the upper body.
They may look very fierce because of the large mouths with two sets of razor-sharp teeth. These easily rip their prey apart. They hunt by sight. You can see them stealing fish from other fishermen in the sea.
Final Thoughts
Finding Nemo is a great introduction to the world of marine life. Show them to your kids or school students for a creative lesson on fishes. And even if you don’t have kids or students to teach, just watch it anyway. It will certainly awaken or refresh your interest in fishes and marine life.
