Black Onyx Percula
- Thread starter quest4JC
- Start date
elegance coral
They call me EC
Yes. They are both captive bred A. percula.
quest4JC
New member
The pair was sold to me as captive bred which from what I understand have a better chance of survival then wild caught. I was curious if the different patterns represent male or female but now I'm also wondering how to tell the difference between captive bred or wild :hmm5:
D-Nak
Active member
A few clarifications:
1. Onyx clowns are not a separate species, as EC pointed out. They are simply a color morph of A. percula. Wild caught Onyx clowns typically come from the Solomon Islands.
2. You can't tell the sex by looking at the pattern. However, if you are looking at a pair that's been together for a while, the female is typically bigger, but the size difference varies (we're not talking a huge size difference like maroon clowns, for example).
3. You usually can't tell the difference between wild or CB, but when the clown has patterns typically found with CB clowns, one can assume it's captive bred. There are also other deformities (such as a blunt head) that are found with CB clowns.
4. Clowns have the ability to change sex. When you have a pair of clowns (not meaning two of them, but that they've accepted each other as a pair and don't fight), one will become a female and the other will stay a male.
1. Onyx clowns are not a separate species, as EC pointed out. They are simply a color morph of A. percula. Wild caught Onyx clowns typically come from the Solomon Islands.
2. You can't tell the sex by looking at the pattern. However, if you are looking at a pair that's been together for a while, the female is typically bigger, but the size difference varies (we're not talking a huge size difference like maroon clowns, for example).
3. You usually can't tell the difference between wild or CB, but when the clown has patterns typically found with CB clowns, one can assume it's captive bred. There are also other deformities (such as a blunt head) that are found with CB clowns.
4. Clowns have the ability to change sex. When you have a pair of clowns (not meaning two of them, but that they've accepted each other as a pair and don't fight), one will become a female and the other will stay a male.
D-Nak
Active member
A few clarifications:
1. Onyx clowns are not a separate species, as EC pointed out. They are simply a color morph of A. percula. Wild caught Onyx clowns typically come from the Solomon Islands.
2. You can't tell the sex by looking at the pattern. However, if you are looking at a pair that's been together for a while, the female is typically bigger, but the size difference varies (we're not talking a huge size difference like maroon clowns, for example).
3. You usually can't tell the difference between wild or CB, but when the clown has patterns typically found with CB clowns, one can assume it's captive bred. There are also other deformities (such as a blunt head) that are found with CB clowns.
4. Clowns have the ability to change sex. When you have a pair of clowns (not meaning two of them, but that they've accepted each other as a pair and don't fight), one will become a female and the other will stay a male.
1. Onyx clowns are not a separate species, as EC pointed out. They are simply a color morph of A. percula. Wild caught Onyx clowns typically come from the Solomon Islands.
2. You can't tell the sex by looking at the pattern. However, if you are looking at a pair that's been together for a while, the female is typically bigger, but the size difference varies (we're not talking a huge size difference like maroon clowns, for example).
3. You usually can't tell the difference between wild or CB, but when the clown has patterns typically found with CB clowns, one can assume it's captive bred. There are also other deformities (such as a blunt head) that are found with CB clowns.
4. Clowns have the ability to change sex. When you have a pair of clowns (not meaning two of them, but that they've accepted each other as a pair and don't fight), one will become a female and the other will stay a male.
These clowns are mis bar onyx clowns. with that being said misbars are only found in CB clownfish. From what I understand mis bar clowns is a result of less the perfect water quality when they were fry. Most people would say that there doesn't seem to be any long term health risks as a result of the less then perfect water quality as the fry were growing up.
nice fish by the way
nice fish by the way
captive bred clowns dont stripe up that good, you will see misbars and funny stripes. stripes have nothing to do with gender. clownfish are nuetral, then one turns female and the other male, if female dies then male turns female. but female cant turn back. nice onyx pair! they look great, and you can tell wild caught from tank raised, cuz wild caught true percs have better body conformation, and a nicer bite/mouth like zoolander! lol. captive bred clowns have less parasites/illness and are hardier. nice pair!!
quest4JC
New member
Thanks EC, D-Nak and Jay Pilot, gg111, seems like there are a lot more color variations then I expected. It appears I have to do more reading on the topic. I've googled it but little to no hits on morphs and such. This is my first pair of clowns and just wanted to be sure there aren't any special needs. Next I'll have to chose an anemone for them to host.
quest4JC
New member
Thanks! I was gonna get the black occelaris but I found these at the same store. I think they look nice also.
I am a bit confused though, from your first sentence I understood that they're wild because of the stripes but then you were talking about the body conformation which leads me to believe you meant they were tank bred :fun5:
2Addicted
New member
This is not true.
quest4JC
New member
It doesn't seem like there's a definite answer with all the different responses. Maybe the only true determination is knowing where it actually came from whether breeder or wild?
On the other hand I think it's interesting how the one with the full white center stripe has a broke tail stripe and the one with the broken center stripe has a full tail stripe.
jt_milstead
New member
There is a lot of information in this thread, some true some not.....
-The Black Onyx True Percula Clownfish are mostly found along the reefs off New Guinea.
-Yours look like they are tank bred, probably from Sustainable Aquatics. I say they are tank bred because their nose is a little shorter than wild caught. Here is a picture of a wild caught clown that is also a misbar.
-I personally have had both wild caught and tank bred. I will never again have wild caught, because there is a high chance of them having brookynella, and there just isnt any reason to take them from the wild when so many people are breeding clowns.
-The Black Onyx True Percula Clownfish are mostly found along the reefs off New Guinea.
-Yours look like they are tank bred, probably from Sustainable Aquatics. I say they are tank bred because their nose is a little shorter than wild caught. Here is a picture of a wild caught clown that is also a misbar.
-I personally have had both wild caught and tank bred. I will never again have wild caught, because there is a high chance of them having brookynella, and there just isnt any reason to take them from the wild when so many people are breeding clowns.
quest4JC
New member
I hope they turn out to be tank bred jt. That's how they were sold to me as and believe its a reputable seller. It was my first purchase from Coral island in orange and they have pretty good reviews.
What kind of anomone do you recommend since you have the same fish which is very cool btw.
What kind of anomone do you recommend since you have the same fish which is very cool btw.
HurricaneSystem
Member
This is a female wild True Onyx Perc in my tank. Paired with a snowflake male.
D-Nak
Active member
There seems to be a lot of generalization on this thread, so I thought I'd further clarify.
Correct. Ask your retailer where they were ordered from. Then you'll know for sure if they are wild or CB. I think they are CB based on the size and appearance.
The tail stripe may still come in. When my pair arrived, they both had broken tail stripes but have since grown in. That said, the patterns of your clowns may continue to change.
If you're looking for their natural host, you have three choices: Stitchodactyla gigantea, Heteractis magnifica, and Heteractic crispa. Of the three S. gigantea and H. magnifica have terrible track records with long term survival (most deaths happen during the acclimation process, which can take about a month) The failure rate is probably about 90%. There have also been reports of Onyx clowns kept with H. magnifica losing their distinctive black coloration, but this is based on anecdotal evidence.
If you're looking for a hardy anemone, then BTAs are the way to go. However, your clowns may or may not interact with the nem.
Misbars are not only found in CB clowns. I have seen wild misbar clowns, thought it's much more common to see CB misbars.
CB clowns can be bred with good stripes, the quality depends on the care given and experience of the breeder. Clownfish are not neutral, they are actually all born males, then the dominant one out of the pair becomes female.
Correct. Ask your retailer where they were ordered from. Then you'll know for sure if they are wild or CB. I think they are CB based on the size and appearance.
The tail stripe may still come in. When my pair arrived, they both had broken tail stripes but have since grown in. That said, the patterns of your clowns may continue to change.
If you're looking for their natural host, you have three choices: Stitchodactyla gigantea, Heteractis magnifica, and Heteractic crispa. Of the three S. gigantea and H. magnifica have terrible track records with long term survival (most deaths happen during the acclimation process, which can take about a month) The failure rate is probably about 90%. There have also been reports of Onyx clowns kept with H. magnifica losing their distinctive black coloration, but this is based on anecdotal evidence.
If you're looking for a hardy anemone, then BTAs are the way to go. However, your clowns may or may not interact with the nem.
D-Nak
Active member
Here's my pair of Rod's Onyx clowns, with their S. gigantea host:
I personally think Rod's clowns look pretty good for CB clowns, in terms of shape (their snouts definitely aren't blunt) and coloration. You can see in the photo that the tail bars have come in, but the dorsal on the larger clown (looks smaller since it's father away in the photo but it's actually larger) has not filled in yet.
I personally think Rod's clowns look pretty good for CB clowns, in terms of shape (their snouts definitely aren't blunt) and coloration. You can see in the photo that the tail bars have come in, but the dorsal on the larger clown (looks smaller since it's father away in the photo but it's actually larger) has not filled in yet.
Sport507
~Just a Farm Boy~
I don't know my clowns like you guys do but here is my pair. What would you call these?
<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid1143.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fn634%2Fsport507%2FFry%2520Project%2Fspawn4.mp4">
<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid1143.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fn634%2Fsport507%2FFry%2520Project%2Fspawn4.mp4">
AZcoralsAZ
New member
Very pretty fish!! Im jealous
