Identification of my clowns

magnetar68

magnetar68

Member
I bought these two clown fish two years ago. I bought them from my LFS. I was new to the hobby then, so I did not have a sense for how bad my LFS was at properly labeling the tanks. At the time, the tank was labeled "Sustainable Aquatics A. Ocellaris." As they have gotten older, their colors have matured. The first picture below is a picture of what they currently look like and the one below that is from April 2010. I am trying to figure out whether these are in fact A. Ocellaris or A. Percula. Here are some pics from SA that seem to be the closest match: SA Fancy and SA Percula. The reason I wanted to double check, however, is the description here which says A. Ocellaris : "never [has] thick black margins around its white bars," and "The spinous (anterior) part of the dorsal fin is taller." Obviously, this is not exactly a definitive source, and I am sure these designer fish will fall outside typical description, but I am thinking about adding an anemone and I was hoping to at least shoot for a species that would be compatible with my clowns on paper at least.

Feb
005.jpg

Clowns.jpg
 
jedi82knight

jedi82knight

Member
Your LFS was correct, in this case at least, those are A. ocellaris. I recommend a bubble tip anemone regardless of the species of clownfish though. Do your homework before buying an anemone. Good luck! :)
 
sk8rdn

sk8rdn

Has been struck by the ban stick
I was always under the impression the only way to definitely tell was to count the spines in the dorsal fin. Easier said than done without a close up high quality image with good contrast.

....Salt Creep Is Everywhere!....
 
jedi82knight

jedi82knight

Member
magnetar68 said:
What is the clue that these are definitely A. Ocellaris?
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Just having owned MANY clownfish over the years. The contours of the body and especially the head is where I see differences, though they are subtle. These would be considered "fancy" ocellaris on the market.

sk8rdn said:
I was always under the impression the only way to definitely tell was to count the spines in the dorsal fin. Easier said than done without a close up high quality image with good contrast.

....Salt Creep Is Everywhere!....
Click to expand...

That is usually the case, but is not a bulletproof method. As you said, easier said than done :)
 
sk8rdn

sk8rdn

Has been struck by the ban stick
immerume2 said:
Those are definitely clowns.... lol

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

Whew.. what a relief.... Lol.

....Salt Creep Is Everywhere!....
 
PIMPALA

PIMPALA

Well-Known Member
Very pretty clownfish.


I never understood people's obsessions with knowing what exact species their clownfish are. Every single requirement is exactly the same, so it's the equivalent of your fish being either "Steve" or "Charles". It's still the same clownfish either way.
 
steved13

steved13

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
I can understand it 100%. Nothing wrong with wanting to know what you have.

At least in this case it's a scientific distinction. People get all hung up on which marketing term some salesperson has labeled to a Zoa...and truth be told I can still understand that one, for the same reason
 
magnetar68

magnetar68

Member
Sustainable Aquatics responded to my inquiry and confirmed Brandon's observation that these are SA Fancy A. Ocellaris.
 
magnetar68

magnetar68

Member
PIMPALA said:
I never understood people's obsessions with knowing what exact species their clownfish are. Every single requirement is exactly the same, so it's the equivalent of your fish being either "Steve" or "Charles". It's still the same clownfish either way.
Click to expand...

There are two reasons I want to know.

1) I strive to be informed and know things. This is just the way my brain is wired. It bugs me not to know the why, how, and what. While this desire is probably a symptom of some underlying psychological condition, the side effect is that it has helped me do well in a few areas of my life. It is equally puzzling to me why someone would not want to know. But the reality is that people's brains are different. This is not a judgement on good or bad, just different. The differences between they way men and women look at the world is another example.

2) Anemone pairing: while it is not crucial or a hard rule, there are certain associations with clown species and the anemones they prefer to host. (at least is my main reason here)
 
sk8rdn

sk8rdn

Has been struck by the ban stick
magnetar68 said:
There are two reasons I want to know.

1) I strive to be informed and know things. This is just the way my brain is wired. It bugs me not to know the why, how, and what. While this desire is probably a symptom of some underlying psychological condition, the side effect is that it has helped me do well in a few areas of my life. It is equally puzzling to me why someone would not want to know. But the reality is that people's brains are different. This is not a judgement on good or bad, just different. The differences between they way men and women look at the world is another example.

2) Anemone pairing: while it is not crucial or a hard rule, there are certain associations with clown species and the anemones they prefer to host. (at least is my main reason here)
Click to expand...

+1
My brain is the same way. My interest is purely academic in nature and has no further bearing on whether I like them more/less or not.

....Salt Creep Is Everywhere!....
 
sk8rdn

sk8rdn

Has been struck by the ban stick
jedi82knight said:
Those are A. Ocellaris also. Have they spawned yet? Female looks like she's holding eggs.
Click to expand...

Thank you.
And not that I have seen, but they did just make to move from QT to DT. QT had no rockwork, just an empty baby formula container for a "cave"

....Salt Creep Is Everywhere!....
 
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