Help me decide.........

[Mark75]

I would like to add a pair of clowns to my newly setup 30 gallon long reef and have a few questions. I would like to have either true perculas or ocellaris. Here are my questions:

1.) True Perculas or Ocellaris?
2.) Captive raised or wild caught?
3.) Buy an established pair or pair them myself?

Please list the pro's and con's of each. Thank you very much!
(P.S. The tank is 7 weeks old and through cycling. It will have lps and zoa's)

 

[gemini aquarius(t)]

true percs, tank raised (captive raised isnt as good), and establish them yourself

 

[reefer1024]

^ I agree

 

[ahullsb]

black and white ocellaris. Pair them yourself. True percs are cool too though.

 

[Mark75]

Why Percula over Ocellaris??? Are there vast differences?? I have heard the color is brighter on Perculas but have not seen it to be true at lfs.

 

[reefer1024]

I think true percs look nicer. The orange is richer looking and they tend to have more black on them (but not always)

 

[littlefish72]

1) either one.....it's personal preferance
2) captive raised......already used to captive life and less shipping stress
3) pair them yourself........more expensive to buy an established pair.......plus you get to watch them grow and witness the pairing behavior

 

[pammy]

Hi Mark. I had a hard time deciding on True Percs or Ocellaris too, because I had never seen them side by side. I was leaning towards the Ocellaris. The Ocellaris looked plenty bright and colorful to me, but I hadn't even seen a True Perc in person. 3 weeks ago, a LFS had both True Percs and Ocellaris, and I liked the True Perculas much better than the Ocellaris. They definitely were brighter. The male didn't make it (eaten by coral but the female just started hosting in a Frogspawn coral that I bought two days ago!! I'm so excited because I know it's hit or miss if they'll host in a tank!
Pam

 

[Mark75]

Thanks for all the great info guys! One last thought, if I buy from lfs how do I know I am getting true Percula and not Ocellaris?