Clown ID
- Thread starter fishman72
- Start date
Chupacabras
New member
Well, four possible but probably one of those two 
.
.
Chupacabras
New member
It's either:
A. Polymnus Black and white percula
A. Ocellaris Onyx Clown
A. Latezonatus Wide banded clown
A. Mccullochi Mcculloch's clownfish
More likely than not, it's one of the first three since it's in the stores show tank (the last you never see in the hobby due to its collection location).
A. Polymnus Black and white percula
A. Ocellaris Onyx Clown
A. Latezonatus Wide banded clown
A. Mccullochi Mcculloch's clownfish
More likely than not, it's one of the first three since it's in the stores show tank (the last you never see in the hobby due to its collection location).
I've seen them for sale on livequaria.com, but couldn't give you a recommendation since I have no experience with them - sorry!
Once you have a list of possible vendors, you can check the vendor experience forum and ask others about their experiences with the vendors.
FWIW - if it was completely black with white stripes (no orange except maybe a little in the face) it's probably not an onyx - they're not usually completely black and white.
HTH
Once you have a list of possible vendors, you can check the vendor experience forum and ask others about their experiences with the vendors.
FWIW - if it was completely black with white stripes (no orange except maybe a little in the face) it's probably not an onyx - they're not usually completely black and white.
HTH
criccio
Premium Member
Black variant A. ocellaris. Brown as juvy's, and mature into the black, sometimes retaining an orange nose... http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1114
And LiveAquaria is a top notch vendor.
And LiveAquaria is a top notch vendor.
AquaReeferMan
Got Reef?
My turn. Pictures speak a 1,000 words. Hopefully you can pick one out of this line-up.
Black A. Polymnus -
juv
adult
Black A. Ocellaris -
juv
adult
Onyx A. Percula -
juv
adult
A. Latezonatus -
A. Mccullochi -
Chupacabras
New member
^^Exactly.
Let's not be so eager to criticize, just because you've never heard of something referred to by another name doesn't mean it doesn't go by them.
Let's not be so eager to criticize, just because you've never heard of something referred to by another name doesn't mean it doesn't go by them.
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cschweitzer
New member
Hey AquaReefer, now all you have to do is find me one of the bottom two listed through your pictures and I'll be quite content. Until then, it is just playing the waiting game...
For everyone else, A. polymnus and A. ocellaris should never be called Black perc. I hate that people have decided that any clownfish is a perc. They are not. Perc is short for percula, which is its own species. Nicknames should not be allowed to use another species' name unless clearly defining that it is not that(i.e. calling an ocellaris a FALSE perc). When you call a B&W ocellaris a B&W perc, you have lost the most important part of an ocellaris common name: the FLASE. B&W ocellaris should be called B&W ocellaris or B&W FALSE percula. Only onyx perculas(SI, PNG, etc) should be called black percs. Saddlebacks should never be called black perc, nor have I heard any true avid clownfish person(or LFS, for that matter) ever call them that without truely believing they had it marked correctly.
We really need to get out of the habit of using scientific names as common names for other species. It's like calling a horny toad a Bufo americana, when we all know(sarcasm here) that this is the scientific name for the American bullfrog.
Really no offense meant to anyone who has posted before, but as a clownfish enthusiast, this really gets to me, especially when online vendors are selling them incorrectly posted. If I ever ordered latezonatus online and they showed up at my doorstep as saddlebacks(polymnus), a refund would be the least the company would hear from me...I would literally go ape$#!+ on the company.
For everyone else, A. polymnus and A. ocellaris should never be called Black perc. I hate that people have decided that any clownfish is a perc. They are not. Perc is short for percula, which is its own species. Nicknames should not be allowed to use another species' name unless clearly defining that it is not that(i.e. calling an ocellaris a FALSE perc). When you call a B&W ocellaris a B&W perc, you have lost the most important part of an ocellaris common name: the FLASE. B&W ocellaris should be called B&W ocellaris or B&W FALSE percula. Only onyx perculas(SI, PNG, etc) should be called black percs. Saddlebacks should never be called black perc, nor have I heard any true avid clownfish person(or LFS, for that matter) ever call them that without truely believing they had it marked correctly.
We really need to get out of the habit of using scientific names as common names for other species. It's like calling a horny toad a Bufo americana, when we all know(sarcasm here) that this is the scientific name for the American bullfrog.
Really no offense meant to anyone who has posted before, but as a clownfish enthusiast, this really gets to me, especially when online vendors are selling them incorrectly posted. If I ever ordered latezonatus online and they showed up at my doorstep as saddlebacks(polymnus), a refund would be the least the company would hear from me...I would literally go ape$#!+ on the company.
Chupacabras
New member
That "black percula" title is very pervasive, so much so that Wilkerson mentions it in her book and stores still label them as such.
You're preaching to the choir when you insist on scientific names, which is why they're listed, but the fact remains that distributors and dealers do use all of those names interchangeably and why you should know your clowns and/or buy using scientific names.
You're preaching to the choir when you insist on scientific names, which is why they're listed, but the fact remains that distributors and dealers do use all of those names interchangeably and why you should know your clowns and/or buy using scientific names.
GSMguy
New member
i started this controversy so i will end it you can call polymnus "Black Percula"all day long that is a perfectly acceptable common name. IMO
what i had issue with is the ocellaris-onyx thing what is that? we all know, even you chupa that onyx are A. percula. right?
sorry to be a jerk once again
what i had issue with is the ocellaris-onyx thing what is that? we all know, even you chupa that onyx are A. percula. right?
sorry to be a jerk once again
Chupacabras
New member
Common names are just marketing, I don't think it really matters what you call them.
Slakker
Premium Member
I wholeheartedly disagree...common names are the only thing that most people know.
I see this as a huge problem in the marine fishkeeping hobby...aquarists are supplied with inadequate information on the specimens they're trying to keep, including a lack of proper identification. Using the common name "Black Percula" for A. Polymnus is just unacceptable. It's not a Percula clownfish, and labelling it as such gives amateur hobbyists poor information.
cschweitzer's post wasn't a call for you to use scientific names...it was a plea for you to use common names that accurately represent the species. A. Polymnus has other common names, Saddleback Clown for instance, that don't wrongly label it as a variation of A. Percula. GSMguy has a great point about the distinction between onyx and black ocellaris, also. While Percula and Ocellaris are very, VERY closely related, they are different species, and the only way to keep it that way is to recognize the differences and accurately identify them.
You may not think that common names are important, but think of how absurd it would be if your German Shepherd was commonly referred to as a Chihuahua, even though the Chihuahua is a completely separate species of dog.
I see this as a huge problem in the marine fishkeeping hobby...aquarists are supplied with inadequate information on the specimens they're trying to keep, including a lack of proper identification. Using the common name "Black Percula" for A. Polymnus is just unacceptable. It's not a Percula clownfish, and labelling it as such gives amateur hobbyists poor information.
cschweitzer's post wasn't a call for you to use scientific names...it was a plea for you to use common names that accurately represent the species. A. Polymnus has other common names, Saddleback Clown for instance, that don't wrongly label it as a variation of A. Percula. GSMguy has a great point about the distinction between onyx and black ocellaris, also. While Percula and Ocellaris are very, VERY closely related, they are different species, and the only way to keep it that way is to recognize the differences and accurately identify them.
You may not think that common names are important, but think of how absurd it would be if your German Shepherd was commonly referred to as a Chihuahua, even though the Chihuahua is a completely separate species of dog.
Chupacabras
New member
Then take it up with the distribution houses, they're the ones that make up those common names, not me.
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