Pair of Maroons! Qustion...

[Snelly40]

hey guys, so i added a smaller maroon clown to my tank, and the two clowns dont leave each others side. They stay in their anemone all the time and the female will venture out to chase others away.
How come one is so much light or a maroon color than the other. They both have distinct gold stripes but is it bad that the maroon is so much different???
Just trying to understand more about these guys, thanks

[Snelly40]

any ideas?

[Anselth]

Snelly, you probably just have a different color variation, like the black and white percs or ocellaris. They're still the same species, and they seem to recognize each other as such. I wouldn't worry about anything with them.

[Triggerjay]

Difference in age is my opinion.. It seems smaller younger maroons are brighter, and have whiter stripes. Here is a pair we had until recently:



Jason

[George771177]

One is a sumatra gold stripe maroon clown and the other is just a maroon clown. Not sure if it will affect them being able to breed but if the bigger female has not killed the little one yet i believe thaqt you should be alright.

[Triggerjay]

Premnas biaculeatus (BLOCH, 1790)

Spine-cheek Anemonefish

Original description: As Chaetodon biaculeatus, from specimens collected in the East Indies (now Indonesia)

Colour features and size: Bright red to brownish-red with three relatively narrow white or grey bars; all fins same colour as body; cheek usually with pair of long spines. Maximum length about 160 mm. Males much smaller (usually less than 60-70 mm) and brighter red than females, with brilliant white stripes; female bars generally grey, but can be "switched" rapidly to white if fish is provoked. Fish from Sumatra possess yellow bars.

Similar species: None: the cheek spines, uniformly bright red body and fin colour, and narrow white bars separate this from all other anemonefishes.

Host anemone species: Entacmaea quadricolor (usually solitary form)

Distribution: Indo-Malayan Archipelago to northern Queensland.

According to this, they are the same species, (As there is only one species in the Premnas genus, being Premnas biaculeatus), The only difference is the geographic location they were collected. So, I would call it more of a "color morph" than anything. The two different color morphs, are of the same species, therefore able to reproduce.

Jason

[Snelly40]

great info buddy, thank you very much!

-jason