Blue Stripe Tomato?

[xxpipedreamxx]

I have been resisting the urge to buy a lovely clown that I have been eyeing for a month. She is an absolute beauty and is rather large already at about 4 to 5 inches. She is said to be a blue stripe tomato? I do not know very much about tomato clowns but I am tempted to get her this evening. She is a light orange color with black ventral fins and of course her one white band that has a bluish tint to it. They want 60 dollars for her with no guarantee of course.

She is close to this color but add black ventral fins and a lighter patch on her midsection.

http://www.seasky.org/reeflife/assets/images/clownfish_tomato.jpg

Would she be considered A. melanopus, A. ephippium, A. frenatus, A. mccullochi, or A. rubrocinctus?

I would like to know if it is a rip off or if I should just suck it up and grab her as soon as my husband comes home today?

 

[reefman13]

The blue stripe sounds a little strange to me. In all the research on clowns I have done (not a whole lot) I have never come across a "blue stripe tomato"

Thats all I can say...

 

[dc]

Well if you think it's worth it then it is. If you've been eyeing it for a month, it's obviously eating and healthy.

 

[xxpipedreamxx]

I have not either which is why I am here She does inded appear to have a bluish tint to her white stripe but that may be due to age. The only reason why I would pay for her at the amount they are asking is because she IS an absolute beauty. Maybe she is not a tomato at all and they just do not know it. If I had of thought about it, I would have taken a photo of her when I went to see if she was there yesterday. She is now crammed into a 30 gallon tank with several sailfin tang and powder blue tang juveniles and is starting to get a tad roughed up. I am only familiar with perculas in my care as I have never owned another type of clown. I have been on a list for other clown pairs for quite some time but they have barely been trickling into the US.

 

[xxpipedreamxx]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10757294#post10757294 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dc
Well if you think it's worth it then it is. If you've been eyeing it for a month, it's obviously eating and healthy.

I just may depending on if the husband will agree to it



Can some clown pro's chime in here please. Let me know what you think of this

 

[xxpipedreamxx]

Ok I am searching through pictures online trying to find a clown that is light orange, has one band behind the eye, has black ventral fins and is around 5 inches in length and coming up with absolutely nothing. Maybe she is a hybrid.

 

[xxpipedreamxx]

http://nhm.ku.edu/inverts/ebooks/img0059.jpg

If the midsection of this fish were not as dark, it looks just like her.

Original description: As Amphiprion melanopus, from specimens collected at Ambon (Molucca Islands, Indonesia)

"Colour features and size: Adults usually black on sides with reddish snout, belly, dorsal fin, and tail (sometimes pale yellow); pelvic and anal fins usually black; a single relatively broad white bar on head. Some individuals from the Coral Sea lack head bar; fish from the Fiji Islands and southeastern Polynesia entirely red except for white head bar; those from the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia have reduced black patch on the side."

I am asuming if she is indeed a tomato, and this is her (from Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia) is 60 dollars overpriced?

 

[dc]

LOL, go get a picture for everyone.

 

[xxpipedreamxx]

Husband is taking his second class exam today and he has the car. He said he had no idea what time he would be home

 

[xxpipedreamxx]

Well now it is nice to know that it is just a different color variation of a Cinnamon clownfish that runs 10- 30 dollars if she is indeed Amphiprion melanopus.

 

[phender]

From your description it sounds like she is probably A. melanopus. It is not unusual for this species to have a bluish tint to their stripe as they get older. Nice adult A. melanopus (cinnamon clowns) are not seen as often as A. frenatus (tomato clowns).

Whether or not it is worth $60 is totally up to you. You might not see another like it for a while. You might see a whole truckload next week (although not likely). Since its been there a month, offer them $40 for it. I'm sure that is probably still twice what it cost them.

They are no harder to keep than ocellaris. They may even be hardier. They can also be a bit more aggressive.

 

[MarinaP]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10757756#post10757756 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by phender
From your description it sounds like she is probably A. melanopus.

^^^

What Phil said. They are melanopus from Vanuatu.

 

[criccio]

Here's one I had through two failed pairing attempts, and out she went (also killed an akindynos). Like Marina and Phil said they're a beautiful A. melanopus, but very aggressive.

 

[xxpipedreamxx]

Well I bought her. She is drip acclimating to a black quarantine tank at one drip per second or a tad slower than that. I printed off information on that particular type of clown and prices that are generally paid for them and asked to speak to the general manager. Needless to say, I got her at a nice discount and she has a nice healthy home now. I usually get my way, as I can wheel and deal with the best of them I do know that they are agressive and she will be housed alone. Once we get moved and she settles in, I will attepmt to pair her. I will keep trying until she decides that a male is "suitable" for her Once she is comfy in quarantine, I will take a few pictures of her but today will be lights out completely. Pics will come tomorrow I believe that she is A. melanopus, but you guys can give me a final say so tomorrow.

Thanks guys for all of the information that you have given me. Are they prone to any diseases that I should be on the lookout for? The place where I got her is known to have very sickly fish, but as stated before she had been there a month and I have been constantly going to check her out. She has no injuries, spots, or any other general signs of illness. I knew that they treated the system with copper so I requested that a test be performed in front of me and it was less than .25ppm so she should not be sterile correct?