Percula color

[Apercula]

Since Minh is interested in percula color change as time and hosts change, I thought I would put together a history of my percula pair from my 75g reef that ran from October 2007 until sometime in 2011.

The female clown was purchased around December 2007, and the first anemone in the tank was a plain long tentacle that disappeared into the rockwork for so long I thought it had died. 4 months later it crawled out of where ever it was hiding, very small and faded to a light brown. In the mean time I had purchased a green haddoni, which the clown ignored, and a large amplexidiscus mushroom which she also (fortunately) ignored. During this time she actually used a large feather duster as a host.
Early spring 2008


Probably April or May 2008, after it returned from the dead.


I am guessing March 2008, before the LTA returned from hiding in the rocks.


2 host species anemones in the tank.


End of tank shot, clown in LTA, feather duster barely visible in front of her on end rock stack, the haddoni is on the near edge of the main rocks at sand rock interface, and the Amplexidiscus is top center. This picture was mid to late July 2008, based on the mushroom coming in in bad shape and dated pictures for possible claim in early July.


At or near same time, front shot left 3/4 of tank.


August 5, the Amplexidiscus is 16 inches across, NOT a good purchase, though a cool 'shroom.


Aug. 24, 2008
Somewhere around here I removed, the haddoni, and near this time the LTA finally decided to move down to the sandbed.



Fall 2008


More to come reached image limit. This is turning into more of a tank history than I intended.

 

[Apercula]

Sometime 2009


And fts from same time, the amplexidiscus never really recovered from being moved, I ended up with 3 or 4 babies from pedal laceration when I pulled it off the rocks, to move it off the top of the stack.


Sometime in 2009 Papua New Guinea began sending us stuff like lightning maroons. I picked up 5 PNG wild perculas with the intention of breeding them. The one I liked best went in with my established clown, and I made 2 other pairs.

PNG percs, the day they came in from Live Aquaria.




Both of the two with injuries, chin in first pic and fin damage in third recovered during quarantine.

The pair in display. Has to be late summer or fall 2009. I put him in the tank, she swam up to him, he shimmied with excitement, and she took him to the anemone, all of 30 seconds to bond.


Still getting healthier December 2009 (it was around May 2008 that it was the size of a 50 cent piece, tan, with almost no tentacles left.)


January 2010, the best my tank ever looked, and the beginning of its downfall. The red LTA.


The red never was happy, and in messing with flow to make it happy, the green got upset, then they both took to wandering.

Female, winter/spring 2010


Male spring/summer 2010, using baby amplexidiscus as host.

 

[Apercula]

Summer 2010


First spawn, fall 2010


In the act.


and again


Winter/spring 2011, I had some frags bring in multiple varieties of pest algae, and looking at color of the tank, the spectrum must have been bad on the bulbs.


Memorial Day weekend 2011 temperature here got near 100 degrees. The tank was in an unairconditioned building, and my office was in a cooler section of the building and I just didnt realize how hot it was. The tank temperature went over 90 and I lost almost all of my corals, and the more sensitive fish outright. The fish that survived the heat spike developed velvet and I was unable to save them.

 

[Apercula]

To my eyes, I dont see a lot of variation in the colors of the clowns, just a general trend toward darkening of the black, and a slight expansion of coverage as they mature.

No host, first month or so in the tank.


In the LTA for a couple months.


Matured, paired and hosted by LTA.


After first spawn, using mushroom host.


I chose those pictures because they all have the female left side showing so there isnt pattern variation. The first picture with the anemone has the least black, I think, but later picture still with the anemone she has darkened a little again.