Anemones can cause color changes in onyx clowns

[EMBRYOGUY]

Im now convinced that i have a bta that causes the black in onyx clowns to fade. first pair i had hosting with it started out very very black, within several months, the black on the body slowly faded, becoming lighter away from the center of there bodies. So i removed them to another system. within 1 month, the black completely came back and is darker than ever.

Second pair went into system with this infamous bta. the exact same thing happened. its a process over a few months. very slowly but definite. i since have moved them also to a seperate system.

bottom line, for those onyx owners out there, your host can be a detrimental variable in the dev. of your clowns black.

 

[Ciarán]

Could be that the substance which clowns smear their slimy outer layer with to prevent stings from their host is either causing a pigent change via chemical changes or it could just be obscuring the vividness of the black colouration. Its interesting though, never heard of that before!

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

i considered that possibility, but when you look at the clowns closely, you can definetly see the black fading, and not a mucous covering.

the first pair now currently hosting in another bta without any problems.

 

[phender]

I have had the same thing happen twice with a tank of mine. Percs with a lot of black go in this tank with a couple BTAs and start fading. When they are taken out they get their black back. It is a very slow process(months), but it happens. I have seen plenty of pics of onyx clowns in BTAs where this hasn't happened however. It is very interesting.

 

[boyooso]

How about with the Black Ocellaris?

Or is that somehow different?

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

phender, THANK you for letting me know. i agree, ive seen many onyx in beautiful btas, but i guess we just got unlucky.

its nice to know it happens and im not simply imagining it

im contemplating moving a pair of snowflakes in with this particular bta, so ill let you know if anything odd happens booyoosoo.

i surmise nothing , since it only seems to affect the black. the white/orange remains vibrant.

 

[FFFrog]

embryo do you know what there natural anemone in the wild is?

 

[Ciarán]

Black morphs are captive bred only as far as i am aware, they don't have a natrual anemone if that is the case. (Im sure someone will argue against, but im almost positive that black Ocellaris at least are only captive bred colour morphs only).

 

[Rod Buehler]

I havent notice the change in coler when a BTA is a host, but an interesting thing I did notice is that the laregst clown (female) of the bunch has alwas had less color. When seperated from the group with a juvie or a male, the female is slower to color, but always seems to color up (if not in a group) I have taken juvies that were dark, and paired them off (in BTAs). Every time the female has always been slower to color or has even lost color then regained color again at she matures and as Huey said, "darker than ever".

Huey: did all of your onyx lose color when in the BTAs or just the female(s)?

 

[Atticus]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7748724#post7748724 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ciarán
Black morphs are captive bred only as far as i am aware, they don't have a natrual anemone if that is the case. (Im sure someone will argue against, but im almost positive that black Ocellaris at least are only captive bred colour morphs only).

Not going to argue, just tell you that you are wrong. Black ocellaris are a natural variant, they are not created by man. The only man made variant at this time is the naked clown and even they can be produced in the wild.

As for black ocellaris lossing color... Yes they can and do on a regular basis. You will notice it in their face and nose. It can be due to water conditions, stress, and food quality.

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

Rod

you are correct. i did notice it in the female first, but eventually both faded. since my addiction is with the black dev. i reluctantly removed them from there happy host.

i recently acquired a more adult wc pair that i have them in with this particular bta. they have not attempted to host the bta yet. this particular bta is unlike most ive seen. not rose. but more of a flourescent orange color.

here is a pic of the bta. pic taken a couple weeks after full hosting. 1-2 months later, even the strong dorsal fin of the rodonyx fades to a gray.

i guess time will tell. i really think its just this particular bta that causes this and not other variables, ie clowns/wc/captive/feeding. etc.. again it only begins after the clowns start to host the bta. the colors are strong for a month or so prior with no changes in feeding, water quality etc.

 

[catdoc]

When I bought my onyx, they both had lovely black markings. I bought them with their gbta they'd been hosting. I also added a rbta a few months later b/c one of mine split. I'm not sure if that's the connection or not, but the black has faded quite a bit. I was adjusting diet to see if that would help. Maybe I'll try removing the rbta's to see what effect that has.

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

catdoc,

i also tried to adjust the food but it did not seem to have any affect in my case. the fading continued until i removed them from the bta.

 

[SEAFLOWERS]

Beautiful pair, and that color strain on that nem is not like anything I've seen so far.

 

[Jovreefer]

I always look forward to something happening with your pair... it always means I get to see new pics



Lucky SOB!

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

thank you for the kind words, but even though i also think its a beautiful bta, it has delayed my onyx dev.

 

[jerehmy]

that looks like an seabae not a BTA, IMO.

 

[GSMguy]

hey embryoguy ever put any more clowns in with this nem

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

yes, i actually have a pair of wc onyx in there right now. they initially faded also but now the black is full again.

i also have a pair of snowflakes that from time to time dev. small fungus spots on another tricolor bta. but in the same tank, another pair of onyx wiht rbtas never get the fungus spots. i think its just individual clowns with diff btas have varying affects on each clownfish. in most clowns, its not an issue, but it does affect black coloring and with onyx collectors this appears more evident.

just a theory though

 

[GSMguy]

thanks i got a rodonyx that has a black dorsal but yesterday it started to fade a lil and was just wondering