How can I tell if the clownfish is wildcaught?

[Been_There8]

So I went to my lfs, and asked them if they had clownfish, they said yes, they have a 50 gallon tank dedicated to them. I said great, do you have wild caught ones, he says yes, they are in that tank. So i go to the tank ,I look at them, but i notice that on the glass, it says wild caught, and tank bred on it. I ask him which ones the wild caught ones are, but he tells me i just have to pick out which one i want...

So im wondering if you guys can give me some tips, maybe pictures, on how i can tell the difference if a clown is wildcaught or not.

 

[clowns101]

Well #1 not to sound rude but someone who put ALL of there clowns together you should not but from as WC clowns can give health proplems to the CR clowns.You can never tell which is which because they are all mixed together.You really couldnt tell any way even if they werent mixed together!

 

[clayw]

why not look for captive bred and help the natural populations a bit?

 

[dalston]

Is there any reason you would prefer wild caught clowns?

 

[JamesJR]

wild clowns would be preferable if one was interested in breeding clownfish.

 

[jt_milstead]

Well #1 not to sound rude but someone who put ALL of there clowns together you should not but from as WC clowns can give health proplems to the CR clowns.You can never tell which is which because they are all mixed together.You really couldnt tell any way even if they werent mixed together!

Agree, wild caught could introduce brook to the tank bread clowns. The only way to tell at times is color, but in young fish its VERY hard to tell.

 

[velvetelvis]

I'd go someplace else that knows its livestock better AND keeps them better. IMO, there's absolutely no reason to stock WC clownfish (unless they're a rare species, for breeding purposes, and then only if they've been collected and handled very carefully). The mortality and disease rates are very high. And as has been pointed out, it's a really bad idea to combine WC and CB stock in the same tank...not a good sign, I'd say.

Additionally, if the store is this unhelpful when they're actually trying to make a sale, I doubt they'll do much better if you run into questions or problems along the way. I'd go somewhere else, or if there isn't a better LFS where you live, to a reputable online vendor. You can find healthy, high-quality CB clowns almost anywhere.

 

[reefstew]

Velvetelis couldn't say it any better. Go to another fish store.