QT: A. Nigripes aka-Blackfooted Clowns

[chgries]

I was wondering why I don't see a lot of reefers with Blackfooted Clowns? I know they are a little hard to come by, but they are not expensive. I have a pair of them and feel they are really unique looking, especially complared to Skunks or Tomatoes. They host about anything; they have hosted an GBTA, Chalice and are currently hosting a Haddoni. I was also wondering why they are not captive bred? Any knowledge would be appreciated.

 

[Pinkskunk]

wild caught they are extremly delicate to ship and to get them to survive in aquarium. FORTUNATELY though they have been captive breed recently by (maybe) ORA. i have a pair. and lastly once established they are very very agressive so if you plan on getting more than 1 specie of clown these are the last to be introduced.

you can even find them at petco for less than $20.

 

[JustinGr]

Yes, the local Petco has several in now, and Inland Aquatics has them in as well. Very neat fish!

 

[phender]

I believe SA is producing CB A. nigripes.

IMO, there are several reason that they are not very popular.
1. They are found only in Sri Lanka and a couple other remote islands. There is not a lot of collecting there anymore. In the past the government has not been very stable. I don't know what it is like currently.
2. They are very poor shippers, so (like chrysopterus) wholesalers and retailers are not apt to bring them in because they are just throwing their money away.
3. Unlike you and I, most marine aquarium hobbyists don't find them that attractive and they stay in dealers tanks for a long time. Percs and ocellaris sell pretty easily (even the normal colored ones), other non-Nemo looking clowns don't generate as much interest.

I have a feeling that SA and whoever else might be producing them, likely won't be doing it for very long. It is pretty easy to flood the market with a fish like that. So, if you want them, you should probably get them now. I pretty much flooded my local market with only 2 batches of orange skunk clowns.

 

[chgries]

Very interesting... I really like mine. I have had them for about six months and I am very happy with them. I think their color is unique and I like the contrast of the black belly with the orange and yellow tails. I think because of poor collection and shipping, they are not seen much in LFS's. I also have not seen many good pics of this species. I guess I'm bias but I think the majority of the "designer" clowns look freakish. I would be interested in some pics of yours and I will take some of mine and post them.

 

[82ndengineer]

Mine hosting in my H. Mag.

 

[cichlidconvert]

At one point I wanted to have black foots due to watching a harem of of blackfoots on a huge H. mag. I've liked them ever since. But I've only seen them at petco.

 

[Winwood]

Mine hosting in my H. Mag.

That's an interesting second stripe on the one clown.

 

[HumbleFish]

Nice looking clowns!

 

[velvetelvis]

I had a pair bred by SA. I loved them. They're definitely not one you'll see in every other tank. I just had really bad luck with mine; the female killed the first male I tried to pair her with, and then I lost her and the male she finally accepted about a month later--for no apparent reason.

I still would like to try them again someday. I think it would be a real shame to see nigripes and other less common species disappear from breeding programs just because everybody's fixated on "Nemo" or the latest designer morph.

 

[82ndengineer]

Yeah she's got a weird mis bar pattern.

 

[phender]

Winwood is thinking it looks like an Oman clown!

Some people put nigripes in the skunk group, but I have also seen them placed in the tomato clown group (where I think they belong). That would explain the mid-body bar if the fish is young. Tomatoes develop three bars and then lose them as they get older. Some keep the bars longer than others.

 

[82ndengineer]

She's a full on breeding female and the guy I got them from had them for a year plus my year with them. I think its there to stay.

 

[MikeInToronto]

I have 3 A. nigripes; two color forms. I think there are only two forms, not sure. One is the orange and the other two are the more "rose" colored.

We have a local shop that brings the rose ones in pretty regularly and they either die or sit around for a long time. It took me a really long time to find these. When I did, they would die in my quarantine. For the rose ones, since they aren't popular, I waited a week so that any that were left would be the healthiest. I've had these ones for over a year. For the orange one, this one lived in the vendor's display tank for a long time and after I had lost so many, he felt bad and sold it to me. It's a very nice fish but the meanest thing ever. One tiny damsel lives with it; I think they have an understanding. I'd love to find another but it would probably get killed.

This is the only species I wanted for my tank which is the only reason I kept buying them. They are a nice fish but even I concede that there are nicer looking clowns out there. Not the "freakish" designer clowns but the real wildform clowns of every species.

 

[Ron Popeil]

why are the browner "rose" colored nigripes more available than the brilliant orange ones?

 

[phender]

why are the browner "rose" colored nigripes more available than the brilliant orange ones?

I think the orange ones are from the Maldive Islands and the rose ones are from Sri Lanka.

 

[Winwood]

I've seen wild photos of both color forms living together in groups so I'm not necessarily convinced it's strictly a locational thing. That being said, I imagine that the brown ones are more prevalent in the places they do most of the collecting.

Phil, that makes a lot of sense placing them in the tomato complex. It could very well be their similarities to the skunk complex are a product of convergent evolution.

Also, on a side note, that IS the best photo of an Oman clown I've seen in captivity!

 

[Winwood]

Here's a relatively good example of both color forms sharing the same anemone in the wild. Not my photo.

 

[Pacific Reefs]

I had a wild caught, spawning pair in my 92G corner tank. They are very cool and rare to see in the LFS here. They had a shipment a few years back and I picked them up. Unfortunately the female jumped one night and I ended up selling my system and the remaining clown. They were very protective and would often bite me and draw blood as I cleaned around them. If you want a kinder temperament go with pink skunks. Oh and the other clown pair that you see on the left stayed on that side and there wasn't any problems unless they swam to the right lol.

 

[Pacific Reefs]