Rare clown?
- Thread starter endlessblue
- Start date
elegance coral
They call me EC
Unfortunately, I have to agree. The average person that just wants Nemo for their kid, doesn't care about the quality of the fish, so breeders produce huge numbers of low quality fish, at cheap prices. WC fish are generally perfect, and it shows.
reefstew
New member
You take a bigger chance introducting wild clowns in your system than captive breed. My cb ocellaris have more black than a lot of wild percs.
you do, but if the place does a proper QT and meds them, or you QT and do it. WC are are nicer than CB.
8220
New member
Sorry just gotta ask, what is it about WC you like better than CB? If you buy a good quality of CB doesn't that match the WC?
I must agree I have seen some poor Cb Speciments here in EU we do not get a lot of top class CB....
elegance coral
They call me EC
Most CB clowns are purchased from a LFS. At the LFS, these fish are typically kept in the same system with wild fish from around the world. They are exposed to many different contagious ailments/parasites in these systems. At this point, they are no safer than the wild fish in the cubical next to them. It's important to QT all fish before they go into the display. WC, or CB.
IMHO, breeders can't invest in the food, and water quality, necessary to produce high quality fish, and still remain competitive. Because of this, CB fish are typically malnourished, and deformed. Until this changes, breeders simply won't be able to compete with the quality that mother nature produces.
deangelr
Clown Whisperererer
Im not sure I agree with this statement.. I for sure don't think that most CB fish are malnourished and deformed.. They are just not ALWAYS the perfect specimen..
I know that for myself, I certainly can afford the investment it takes to put together a top quality system.. IMO, most of the people out there breeding clowns are doing it has as a hobby or for recognition, not for profit and so money isn't the issue as we have have real jobs... I have never had any intention of selling clowns commercially (at least not yet).
To profitably breed clowns you need a very large system 1000+ and it is extensive work.. The hobbyist breeder like myself only breeds a batch every know and then..It is the pursuit of the exceptional offspring that is so exciting and fun. It takes practice to get high quality fish.
reefstew
New member
You got to be kidding? In my 400+ gal. grow out system I change out 50-100 gals a week of water. I enrich my foods with 6 different suppliments, & use over 10 brands of food. Frozen Cyclopeeze is expensive even at wholesale cost. This is a part time business with full time hours. And like any business you only get quality results if you put time & money into it. Their is an old thread which has pictures of my fish room, (reef stews fish room) check it out & tell me cb don't look as nice as wild.
As far as being competitive, we have a hard time trying to sell are fish when overseas markets sell their clownfish for less than a buck each.
elegance coral
They call me EC
I visit LFS's all over central Florida, and beyond. Most of them get their CB clowns from large companies. (That shall remain nameless) Most of these fish I see are malnourished. They're skinny with bones sticking out everywhere. They simply look sickly.IMHO
There's a thread, in this forum, taking place right now, where someone is showing off their new CB clowns. Both clowns are deformed. This isn't the exception. It's common place with CB clowns. You will have a very hard time trying to find a deformed WC clown.
There's a huge difference between people like yourself, the "not for profit" breeder, and the big companies. Sure, you can put out high quality fish, because you don't have to worry about the bottom line.
Practice and money. Large systems, man power, high quality foods, and water changes, all cost money. If you're in this for the money, the less money you spend on these things, the higher your bottom line will be. Unfortunately most hobbyists don't know a deformed clown when they see one, or they simply don't care. IDK????
I understand that what I'm saying isn't the politically correct thing to be saying, but it's the truth.
elegance coral
They call me EC
I would gladly pay more for CB fish, if I was getting quality livestock. I'm just much pickier than the average hobbyist that's just looking for a Nemo fish.
elegance coral
They call me EC
No. I'm not kidding. Your post confirms what I was saying. You list what you do, and how expensive it is, then state how cheap wild fish are. How are you to produce fish of the same quality as Mother Nature, and still be competitive?
I applaud what you're doing. Every fish you sell is one left on the reef. That's a great thing, and I really hope you make some good money doing it.
I did as you suggested, and it confirms my position. What I saw in your other thread was a tank full of Orchid Dottybacks, with their tails chewed off. This is the result of packing to many aggressive fish into one small tank. What are you to do though????? It's not like you can invest in a large air conditioned warehouse, and stock it with huge numbers of tanks, just so each fish has one of its own. You would never be able to sell them and recoup the money invested. So...... You put multiple fish in one tank and they chew each others tails off. It's the nature of the beast. I'm sure if there was some affordable way to avoid this, you would.
The big companies are producing low quality fish, at low prices. High quality Wild fish are entering the country at low prices. How can you compete with this if it costs you more to produce the fish, than it does them??????
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