black clownfish

[Lifes A Beach]

Question: Do adult black/white clownfish have an orange face? Does this always fade as they get older?

Question: Can an older black/white clownfish fade into an orange/white clownfish? Does diet influence their color?

 

[noboddi]

For clowns of the Percula complex, there are a number of factors. First there is a genetic factor. Ocellaris clowns descended from clowns near Darwin, Australia often become completely black. Percula clowns descended from Solomon Islands stock are known as onyx clowns, and have a predilection to to black coloration, aka melanism.

There are also external factors involved, the most common believed is lighting. Diet can also be a factor, as is presence of a suitable host. Absent of these factors, the melanism can fade. I have seen this personally in percula, but not ocellaris.

This is the current wisdom on the Marine Breeders Association

 

[Lifes A Beach]

Thanks for that information. Sorry, I should have been more specific: my questions are pertaining to ocellaris.

 

[wuelfman]

just depends on the clowns
mine have gotten darker with age

 

[rkelman]

"Question: Do adult black/white clownfish have an orange face? Does this always fade as they get older?"

Some retain the orange face. Many fade to brown and I would say most turn completely black.

"Question: Can an older black/white clownfish fade into an orange/white clownfish? Does diet influence their color?"

No. They are well separated genetically from regular Orange Ocellaris and have different features as well as colour. I would say no diet doesnt influence the colour as long as they are healthy. In my experience light has more influence than diet.

 

[Lifes A Beach]

Explain how lighting would affect the color...longer photo periods, type or intensity of lighting.

 

[noboddi]

I would say both photo periods and intensity, though intensity more likely. Consider that we tan in sunlight - that is melanism too after all

 

[rkelman]

I don't think it takes much to make them dark. I know a breeder that was using ambient lighting in her fish room to light the fry tanks and it was taking forever for hers to blacken. Mine only have regular fluorescent shop lights over them and mine are very black. My lights are on from 6am to 9pm daily.

 

[Lifes A Beach]

That's a very long photoperiod. Besides lighting, would there be anything in their diet that would make them darker?

 

[rkelman]

I don't think so. As long as they are healthy they should be dark. A stressed / malnourished fish will be lighter. There may be some benefit from Cyclopleeze like with Regular Ocellaris. I haven't tried to be honest.

 

[Lifes A Beach]

I always assumed that cyclopeeze was used to "orange up" the ocellaris. Does it help to darken the black ocellaris? Also, has anyone heard of using roe to darken their color?

 

[rkelman]

It does seemt o make them more orange. It seems by darkening them. That's why I was thinking it might help darken black ones. I don't know about Roe.

 

[marc price]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14799417#post14799417 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rkelman
They are well separated genetically from regular Orange Ocellaris and have different features as well as colour.

o.k. so you're saying they are more than a geographical color morph to darwin, n. austrailia, are they considered a valid subspecies?
what are the different features?
do you know if their natural host anemone(s), are different too?

 

[rkelman]

The most noticable ones are the differences in the fins. The dorsal is much lower than a Regular Ocellaris. They are typically a bit shorter / fatter as well. They swim different as well. I can't describe the difference in swimming habits.. I just really noticed it not long ago. It may have to do with their shorter stature. I believe the host anemone's are the same although I'm sure region specific animals are more likely to play host.

 

[traveller7]

Most if not all of us are dealing with captive bred specimens vs what is actually swimming out there in Darwin. It would not be advisable to attempt to classify a subspecies when growout, diet, water quality, etc., have such a tremendous impact on the final result.

 

[rkelman]

Every picture I've ever seen of Darwin's shows those traits. Except some stock from a large US breeder. They are long gangly looking things at times. Water quality isn't going to make the dorsal taller or shorter in length. You can get Australian WC fish and they display the same traits.

 

[Dragonlady]

Re: black clownfish

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14798457#post14798457 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Lifes A Beach
Question: Do adult black/white clownfish have an orange face? Does this always fade as they get older?

Question: Can an older black/white clownfish fade into an orange/white clownfish? Does diet influence their color?

The juveniles generally take years to develop their full adult colors....especially if you have a very young tank raised clown. The final bit of orange on the face to fade to black usually happens very gradually. At night, the adult Darwin clown that is normally all black during the day still takes on a grayish coloring on the snout at night. It took about 9 years before the final bit of orange faded to black on my Darwin A. ocellaris clown!