perc vs ocel why did you choose what your clown?

[mfp4073]

I have been working toward a clown pair (trading away from my marroons) and have been trying to figure a good reason to go one way or another. So I figured I would ask yall why you chose one or the other (and pics would be nice if you have them)

 

[2OceanLovers]

I have 2 pairs of clowns. One is black ocellaris and the other looks to be a perc x ocell cross or just a pretty cool ocellaris. I picked the blacks because I have always wanted a pair and they look really cool. The other pair I bought from the lfs and they paired in my aquarium. They were the best looking and most personable in the whole bunch. I really like them both.

 

[2OceanLovers]

Not the best picture but they wouldn't pose for me. LOL

 

[Tron87]

I find that Percs have deeper orange colors than Oc and the Black colorations are very cool as well. The black OC are a very close second IMO to True Percs

 

[mfp4073]

just realized my grammer was "good, not so much" in the title of this!

Sounds almost like coloration is more of a reason as any for the 2 versions and not behavior. I am actually more prone to pick a fish due to behavior and needs than pretty, but if I am getting it they have about the same behavioral needs.

 

[raoul]

We have occell's because that's what the LFS had that day I knew I wanted one or the other and that's what was available. I'm still in the market for a pair of black occell's, they've been on my wish list for quite a while now

 

[Tron87]

From what I hear their behavior and environmental needs are relatively equal. It is harder to find True Percs and they are always wild caught so that is something to consider. All the LFS in my area have tank raised false percs coming out the WAZOO. So you'll never be short on selection.

 

[dc]

I had ocellaris first because that's all I ever saw. Then I got the percs because she gave them to me. They were so small and didn't look like they'd last the night. Over a year later I still have them.

 

[sonofgaladriel]

Tank raised ocellaris are hardier and know nothing but life in captivity, therefore they will of course, most often, do better in most home aquariums. They'll be more tolerant to your tank.
I do agree that wild caught true perculas are most of the time richer in coloration.
Both have the same personality traits.
I have heard however, that tank raised ocellaris are more finicky when it comes to hosting in actual anemones and may actually never go to one, choosing other corals instead. Wild caught percs typically go straight towards them if it is a natural host species for them in the wild.

 

[AquaReeferMan]

If you cant decide just get one of each.

 

[Slakker]

I love my Ocellaris pair. My male may be a bit deformed (gill plates...his dorsal fin is a little weird...pretty standard), but they've got amazing personality and were eating from my hand within a day. They're a little quirky, not to mention their coloration is wonderful.

If there's one piece of advice I can give you, it's "No matter how sad the worker at the LFS looks when you ask for one of two clowns in a tank, don't let him talk you into it if you don't actually want the other one." When I went to buy mine, I only wanted the female (they're both Juvi's, really, but the size difference gets bigger every day) because I did notice the developmental issues, but I let him talk me into taking both.

As much as I love them, I do wish I had more ideal broodstock, as I'd like to raise the fry were they ever to spawn.

 

[jwd]

I have a pair of true percs.... I used to have an occelaris pair but they got the brook and passed on..... To me the true percs are a lot more aggressive than the occ. pair were.... But that's why I enjoy them, all the finger biting when I go to clean the glass or rearrange some coral or live rock..... Although both have a lot of personality, my true percs seem to have more..

 

[Doni]

I have tried many types of clownfish. I like the rich colors of the true O. percula but the black/white ocellaris are very nice too.

Just recently, I purchased two pair of clowns from my LFS. One pair is tank bred black/white ocellaris; the other pair is tank raised A. percula. All four are very small @ 1 inch.

Since both were tank bred, I was amazed how quickly they found my anemones. The A. perculas were in my RBTA within a few hours and the blk/wht A. ocellaris were in the haddoni carpet anemone the next morning.

Now there is some 'bickering' going on so I'll need to decide which pair to keep... darn it.

 

[ArgonDreams]

Personality wise they are nearly identical. The issue is wild caught versus tank bred. Tank bred tend to be docile, and more intolerant of hosting.

Wild Caught tends to host much much faster and tends to be more aggressive if not as hardy.

I have always thought Percula had a much more rich color. However, I would NEVER give up my Black Missbarred Occ. They are flat out the best of my collection.

 

[AquaReeferMan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10127161#post10127161 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Doni
the blk/wht A. ocellaris were in the haddoni carpet anemone the next morning.

Wow my haddoni ate my tank raised clowns. Only wild clowns can handle it. That why I have saddlebacks and not my Perc/Ocellaris pair.

 

[marc price]

details please ?

 

[marc price]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10130662#post10130662 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AquaReeferMan
Wow my haddoni ate my tank raised clowns. Only wild clowns can handle it. That why I have saddlebacks and not my Perc/Ocellaris pair.

that's unusual , i've heard of it happening with wild caught non natural host as well . how long were they hosting it ?

my tank raised polymnus did as well in the haddoni as the wild caught one . the two would go into the mouth as well .

and my 5 year old tank raised nigripes has been fine in a 15" rbta and a large h. crispa however they don't pose the same threat as haddoni . i wouldn't hesitate to let it host a red haddoni if i weren't concerned about the copperb.bf and p.tang but i am so it's stuck with a new crispa .

 

[AquaReeferMan]

My haddoni ate 2 different sets of tank raised clowns.

(1) A. percula/A. ocellaris
(2) 2 Black A. Ocellaris

It took both pairs a while to show interest in the haddoni, Once they did they would hang out right around it for a couple of days and then try to go in. As soon as they would hit it was like they were any other fish. They got stuck so bad. Then they panic and get all wrapped up in it. I didnt know what to do. I seen it happen with both pairs. So I ended up finding a pair of polymnus clowns.

 

[marc price]

thats interesting .

i observed similar behavior with my w.c. and t.r. polymnus except that they would initially slap themselves onto the tentacles , remain motionless then spring up and repeat it a few times before settling in .
but the one big difference from other fish that i watched get eaten was that the carpet didn't immediately engulf them and draw them to its oral cavity .

 

[ahullsb]

Well I chose my black and white ocellaris because I wanted b & w clowns and the true percs aren't completely black from my understanding. (Plus I couldn't find them!) Aren't they called onyx clowns or something?...