Ocellaris vs Percula?

[panic]

I'm sure this is an elementary question, but are they one in the same? We have a local breeder who breeds Ocellaris clownfish, I asked about percs and he answered about Ocellaris. I thought they were 2 different clownfish. Can someone fill me in?

I have a couple of RBTAs that split like crazy and have a new 270 ready for them and a clutch of (insert which clownfish here) to host them. I was set on 30 captive raised false percs, but want to solidify my plan here with some with experience here in the forum. TIA!

 

[bwest]

Though they look very similar, they are classified into different species. One is Amphiprion ocellaris and the other is Amphiprion percula. Here's is a link to a thread that discussed it, it was a couple pages buried:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1561832

I hope this helps.

 

[panic]

It does help, thanks:

Percula Clownfish, Clown Anemonefish
(Amphiprion percula)
* Because of its name, Amphiprion percula, it is the True Percula Clownfish.
* Typically orange in color with three white bars, with the middle bar having a forward-projecting bulge.
* Has 10 (rarely 9) dorsal spines.
* Usually has jet black margins of varied widths around its white bars, often of which can be rather thick.
* Distribution of this species in nature: Northern Queensland and Melanesia (New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu).

False Percula, Ocellaris Clownfish
(Amphiprion ocellaris)
# Typically orange in color with three white bars, with the middle bar having a forward-projecting bulge.
# Has 11 (rarely 10) dorsal spines.
# The spinous (anterior) part of the dorsal fin is taller.
# May have no black margins present, but most often has thin, never thick black margins around its white bars.
# Distribution of this species in nature: Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Andaman Sea), Indo-Malayan Archipelago, Philippines, northwestern Australia; coast of Southeast Asia northwards to the Ryukyu Islands.

ref: http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/clownfishcare/l/blpercula.htm

 

[ssick92]

Any behavioral or caretaking differences between the 2? Sorry to bring a thread back from the middle ages

 

[elegance coral]

No. For all intents and purposes, we can consider them to be the same species. They can even cross breed and produce healthy, viable, offspring. Individual fish may have individual personalities, but we can't separate these behaviors down the species line.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I think many folks view the ocellaris clowns as somewhat more peaceful than the percs, but I do not personally have a big enough data set of experiences to make that claim. I've always elected ocellaris clowns and have been very happy with them.

 

[burnah]

i found occellaris more hardy, the perculas where more prone to be sick when bought and also later in the tank. but this could be limited to my available sources...