( CNN ) -- Leave it to a scientist to spoil the fun about a cartoon fish . `` Finding Nemo '' was the Oscar-winning , box office animated smash about a clownfish who goes after his young son , who 's been plucked from the sea and ends up in a fish tank in a dentist 's office . Rare is the child who has n't seen the movie . So would n't it be something if the film or its upcoming sequel accurately depicted the life of a clownfish , writes Patrick Cooney of The Fisheries Blog . Cooney knows his stuff . He 's a fish biologist at North Carolina State University with 15 years of experience . His blog post Monday wondered if it would be so bad if Disney showed how clownfish often change sex . Yes , in real life , Nemo might become a woman . Clownfish are sequential hermaphrodites , which helps keeps the species going by keeping the number of adult females and males fairly equal . All young clownfish become male . And after they pair off , the dominant dude becomes a female . ( Spoiler alert ) This means that if Nemo 's mom is killed ( as are most of the clownfish ) and Nemo hangs out with his dad after they are reunited , then one of them is going to become a woman ( likely dad ) . Or if dad gets fished , then Nemo might become a girl when he pairs off with another male . `` Although a much different storyline , it still sounds like a crazy adventure ! '' Cooney writes below the headline `` Finding Nemo lied to your kids . '' Actually it sounds like he was just trying to use `` Finding Nemo '' for a little fish education . `` We are just having some fun here pointing out the crazy life cycle of clownfish while associating it with something people are familiar with ... Finding Nemo , '' the blog says in the comments ( which correctly point out that fish do n't actually talk ) . Perhaps there 's still time the to work the lesson into the sequel , `` Finding Dory , '' which is due in 2015 .
`` Finding Nemo '' is about a clownfish 's quest to rescue his son . In real life , one clownfish changes sex when they pair up . Biologist wonders would it be so bad if kids learned that in a fun cartoon . Comment: