This species lives in pairs (male and female), where the female is the biggest.

One can typically have only one pair per aquarium, as it is very territorial towards its own kind.

Sometimes one can successfully keep one female and several males.

There are two species in the subgenus Actinicola, which resemble each other closely. They have such a close link with their anemones -if there are any-, that they rarely swim far away from them.

They breed easily and homebred individuals are often seen in fish stores. These captive bred specimens have also a higher survival rate in an aquarium, than their wild cousins.

A. ocellaris has two variations in the wild, orange and black, both with white markings. The homebred, have numerous variations.

A. percula resembles ocellaris, but often has wide black stripes along the white markings. There are many variations, for example they can have large black areas where they are normally orange.