"Bali" Clownfish

[CoralsAddiction]

I have seen the name "Bali" used so often nowadays that I can't tell if all of the clowns labeled as such are from the Bali Aquarich line. Has "Bali" become a generic term to describe clowns that have a similar pattern to clowns bred by Bali Aquarich?

 

[cmantis]

We should rename them AR clowns.

I think more and more people are bringing them in and his quality is all over the map even within the same grading.

 

[Lou Young]

We should rename them AR clowns.

I think more and more people are bringing them in and his quality is all over the map even within the same grading.

Was does AR stand for?

 

[phender]

I know that the country of Bali ships out a lot of WC clowns and the invoices often label them that way. Maybe that is the confusion.

 

[D-Nak]

Unfortunately, I think it's become a marketing term given the popularity of Bali Aquarich clowns. Now more than ever is it important to know the lineage of the clowns.

I've asked for clarification from a few dealers and each had a different answer: one person said that they had wild caught from Bali, another said they were direct from Bali Aquarich, and another said that there were from an importer of Bali Aquarich clowns. Therefore, when I place my order for my BA clowns I have to go with a reputable dealer (I've got one picked out).

The short story is that it's buyer beware. Also, the grading system is different for Bali Aquarich clowns, so be aware of that as well.

 

[Mattiejay6]

There are only 2 direct importer of Bali Aquarich Captive Bred clownfish in the US. Other wholesalers either transship through the two or they have their coral dealer in Bali buy direct for them.

There are two problems with grading. Wen-Ping has an arbitrary grading systems and he has said himself he has incompetent staff which sometimes send the wrong grades etc. well we also have certain wholesalers who sell BA as different grades then they actually are because they don't stay up to date on the clownfish market.

It boils down to retailers knowing what they are selling and properly labeling. If you have the ability to hand pick from the wholesaler this drastically helps with the process of selling the right grades.

It all boils down to reputable sources. It used to be hard to get BA fish and here recently there has been a serious influx of people trying to get in the business etc.. Just be careful.

Bali Aquarich does not sell wild clownfish... However You can get wild clownfish from Bali the region.

 

[CoralsAddiction]

There are only 2 direct importer of Bali Aquarich Captive Bred clownfish in the US. Other wholesalers either transship through the two or they have their coral dealer in Bali buy direct for them.

There are two problems with grading. Wen-Ping has an arbitrary grading systems and he has said himself he has incompetent staff which sometimes send the wrong grades etc. well we also have certain wholesalers who sell BA as different grades then they actually are because they don't stay up to date on the clownfish market.

It boils down to retailers knowing what they are selling and properly labeling. If you have the ability to hand pick from the wholesaler this drastically helps with the process of selling the right grades.

It all boils down to reputable sources. It used to be hard to get BA fish and here recently there has been a serious influx of people trying to get in the business etc.. Just be careful.

Bali Aquarich does not sell wild clownfish... However You can get wild clownfish from Bali the region.

Thanks for the info. I started caring more about conformation and less about patterns. I see some clowns with really nice markings but also have some major deformities. Thus I would rather have a plain captive bred true percula for $20 with nice conformation to breed standard than a deformed Nebula or Onyx clown for $100-$300. The clownfish market is getting very competitive and many breeders do not cull clownfish very well.

 

[Mattiejay6]

Flared gill is the biggest problem... Most other deformities are culled..

pinched head in the maroons is not really a genetic deformity rather juveniles fighting in grow out. Commonly seen in maroons

 

[ThRoewer]

Flared gill is the biggest problem... Most other deformities are culled..

pinched head in the maroons is not really a genetic deformity rather juveniles fighting in grow out. Commonly seen in maroons

Premnas need to be kept separated after metamorphosis is completed or they will fight constantly - usually to the death. I experienced this myself first hand when I was breeding them. Back then I didn't know this and thought it to be just the normal clownfish hacking order quarrels. By the time I realize that they need to be separated I was down to only a hand full.

 

[temper76]

The first company to have the "bali aquarich" "black picasso " was live aquaria they had p2 p for picasso 2 for B grade p1 ' are A - extreme and p3's low b grades c. Sea dwelling creatures had them but where labeled black picasso they had no idea what they had .because they get from as much as from 20-30 wholesaler from over seas bali, fiji, Philippines, indo .red sea etc...so a clownfish collector/seller from San Francisco near China town in Richmond .contacted wen pin su directly and talked and explain that he needed someone to bring it in .the "GUY" didn't have a handler in bali or a importer license. This guy was the first in the USA to bring them in from bali aquarich and he knew what he wanted to bring in.they are more expensive at cost .but he was willing to bring in becuase he thought that the United states needed knew blood in back then wen pin su would answer any email to most people that seem very intrested and sounded seriously about bring in he's clownfish that how the guy kept in contact with him.he even help naming on of wen ping su ' s fish the picasSnow.and a friend of the guy a breeder from Chicago gave the name of nebulas. So yeah this guy was the only source of getting legit bali aquarich p1 p2 p3 from or anything from bali but he mainly loved the p1 - p2 aka black picasso. So he partners up with a importer/wholesaler from Los Angeles erea. This wholesaler did not know what the heck was a "bali aquarich black picasso " until first shipment came in.so since he was paying top dollars to bring them in he had to charge premium for them.he ask the wholesaler to kept it a secret bcuz he knew alot of rats "jealous breeders/venders where going to follow him everywhere in the Internet to get his connection from bali.the the wholesaler agreed things where going great jealous ones try bashing him.that didn't work.so the Guy had health issues he had to deal with so he had to relax for 4 months .then came back . Wholesaler realized he could make more money so he started selling to anyone who had the the money.in my opinion half these guys saw a chance to make money and bam!!! They flooded the market with ugly balis.if every takes 5 minutes and search bali aquarich on youtube you with see that 2 years ago bali aquarich black picasso had a deep orange , lots of black, bright white , nice body shape.now they have flared gills , dull orange pinch heads they look so blah.i think bali sells the states all their culls just bcuz no one likes us around the world lol!!! Trust me I was very updated on balis now I lost intrest. It's a shame how they killed the name.

 

[temper76]

The first company to have the "bali aquarich" "black picasso " was live aquaria they had p2 p for picasso 2 for B grade p1 ' are A - extreme and p3's low b grades c. Sea dwelling creatures had them but where labeled black picasso they had no idea what they had .because they get from as much as from 20-30 wholesaler from over seas bali, fiji, Philippines, indo .red sea etc...so a clownfish collector/seller from San Francisco near China town in Richmond .contacted wen pin su directly and talked and explain that he needed someone to bring it in .the "GUY" didn't have a handler in bali or a importer license. This guy was the first in the USA to bring them in from bali aquarich and he knew what he wanted to bring in.they are more expensive at cost .but he was willing to bring in becuase he thought that the United states needed knew blood in back then wen pin su would answer any email to most people that seem very intrested and sounded seriously about bring in he's clownfish that how the guy kept in contact with him.he even help naming on of wen ping su ' s fish the picasSnow.and a friend of the guy a breeder from Chicago gave the name of nebulas. So yeah this guy was the only source of getting legit bali aquarich p1 p2 p3 from or anything from bali but he mainly loved the p1 - p2 aka black picasso. So he partners up with a importer/wholesaler from Los Angeles erea. This wholesaler did not know what the heck was a "bali aquarich black picasso " until first shipment came in.so since he was paying top dollars to bring them in he had to charge premium for them.he ask the wholesaler to kept it a secret bcuz he knew alot of rats "jealous breeders/venders where going to follow him everywhere in the Internet to get his connection from bali.the the wholesaler agreed things where going great jealous ones try bashing him.that didn't work.so the Guy had health issues he had to deal with so he had to relax for 4 months .then came back . Wholesaler realized he could make more money so he started selling to anyone who had the the money.in my opinion half these guys saw a chance to make money and bam!!! They flooded the market with ugly balis.if every takes 5 minutes and search bali aquarich on youtube you with see that 2 years ago bali aquarich black picasso had a deep orange , lots of black, bright white , nice body shape.now they have flared gills , dull orange pinch heads they look so blah.i think bali sells the states all their culls just bcuz no one likes us around the world lol!!! Trust me I was very updated on balis... now I lost intrest. It's a shame how they killed the name.

 

[organism]

The thing is, having worked for a few years in wholesale we used to bill clownfish from Bali as Bali Clownfish, it's pretty much an industry standard. Stores generally sell them by the name on the invoice when they show up in stores. That's usually where the cool ones come from too.

 

[Mattiejay6]

Al "temper76"

Your recollection of the Bali Aquarich market is not correct. While the one individual you are talking about was a dealer and sold until he got sick he was not the first to sell Bali Aquarich clownfish and he did try and monopolize the market.

Also as with grades some good some bad, but the beauty is in the eye of the purchaser.

 

[temper76]

At the time it was live aquaria then the dealer/collector. Sea dwelling creatures "sdc" he was the only one at the time to have what you see is what you get videos.the reason I know was because the week or 2 later that ************ came out with the article that's when I found out where live aquaria was getting it from search found the company .got their phone number hoping they spoke English .I went to the grocery store and got me a hello Asia calling card and made a few phone call but spoke no English no luck there.at the time wen pin su was not selling that amount of volume as he's doing now.so he actually used to respond quick.i ask where in the entire united states can I get his p1 p2.and other clownfish picasso from him? The nebula name wasn't out yet. He gave me 2 names and he said those 2 are the only ones for now.one the those importer was selling exclusive the the guy in cali after the guy had balis more exposed others notice wow this guy could get that much. They where very desirable 2 years ago .then in Florida hobbies got a family member to help him to bring in a shipment in with no middle like the guy from cali had to pay a nicechunk .the guy ffrom the south didn't had to pay middle man so they where able to play with the prices

 

[temper76]

Prices drop big time .then another company sold them they where out of new york, then the guy hthat's halth issues. And the wholesaler in cali started selling to who ever had the cash.but after time now the balis look like crap.its like bali aquarich is sending the left overs to the US. All the common paterns nothing crazy like before orange is dull .black is not intense like before the nebulas look plain.
example the name nebula is a cloud that is out in space (black back ground with smokey cloud) thats a nebula looks out in space.the clownfish nebula the had when first came out where full black with smudges now they are dull orange with some smudge.it kind of reminds me of oldschool ora from the ora now

 

[temper76]

Mj check out the videos from 2 years ago and now.video I see alot of more pinch heads and "flared gill then 2 years ago.b4 you might get a fuse fin or torso fin deformed here and there.but not what I'm seeing now.

 

[ExpertMarine]

I think Tempers expression of Bali Aquarich history in the USA is pretty accurate.
Mattie bae, it's funny you bring up Flared Gills. I hope you have learned to spot those defects before shipping out fish.
Pinched heads on Maroons are still considered a defect regardless of how you look at it.
You also forgot to mention the west coast Bali Aquarich retailer that gets his shipments direct without transshipping since he lives near the importer in So Cal... It doesn't surprise me that you would fail to mention that.

 

[Ginger bay]

I have seen the name "Bali" used so often nowadays that I can't tell if all of the clowns labeled as such are from the Bali Aquarich line. Has "Bali" become a generic term to describe clowns that have a similar pattern to clowns bred by Bali Aquarich?

I believe when clownfishes are imported from Bali Aquarich hatchery and the retailer knows clownfish and knows his wholesale source is credible, they will call them by Bali Aquarich designation. A lot of wholesalers don't know the difference between a Bali Aquarich clownfish and one from another Bali source. Same is true on retailers. Same could be said about their designation for PNG or Solomon Island clownfishes when wholesaler or retailer are confused.

 

[Ginger bay]

Thanks for the info. I started caring more about conformation and less about patterns. I see some clowns with really nice markings but also have some major deformities. Thus I would rather have a plain captive bred true percula for $20 with nice conformation to breed standard than a deformed Nebula or Onyx clown for $100-$300. The clownfish market is getting very competitive and many breeders do not cull clownfish very well.

Hate to say I agree that money is driving most breeders to breed clownfishes without a real vision on improving the clownfish in the next few generations. Competing to make the quick dollar, they don't cull the deformaties because of a good pattern. Hate to also agree that Bali Aquarich clownfishes 2 or 3 years ago look so much better than the ones now. Those Nebulas sold in America are some of the worst clownfishes being imported. On Bali Aquarich Facebook, it looks like all the quality Nebulas going everywhere but America.

 

[Mattiejay6]

ExpertMarine..we are talking about the past not present... Also it is not direct if the fish hit your wholesalers tanks first. Also I'm not sure you really know the history of Bali in the U.S. Since you just learned about them not to long ago ;-)

Temper there is only a couple things I don't agree on.. While yes there is crappy fish that come in we do get some really awesome ones to. The problem is there are some hardcore customers that snatch them right up before they hit the market for everyone to see. Out of all the nebulas that I received only two were awesome. However I do agree the quality could be better or at least lower wholesale pricing for the lesser grades.