snowflake clowns. whats the prob?

[achillesheel]

so ive seen a lot of objections to these lately. can anybody explain why there is such a distaste for this variation besides the price? i dont see nearly as many objections to other variations.

btw i did just purchase a pair and they arrive tomorrow. surprise for the girlfriend who loves them.

 

[Jamie1210]

haha. Well, speaking for myself, I personally don't like them b/c to me, they're not clowns!! They don't have stripes! lol. They just look so freakishly unnatural, almost diseased! lol. But, hey, to each their own, right? In any case, hope your girlfriend enjoys them!

~jamie

 

[SDguy]

I don't think snowflakes are disliked any more than any other fish. There are plenty of fish I find extremely unattractive, that others find beautiful. The difference is that people are always starting threads about said clownfish, asking what they think of them, so you hear more about them. Case in point

 

[OrionN]

As long as you like them. Who care what other people think. I do think they look ugly.

 

[boyooso]

Re: snowflake clowns. whats the prob?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7940444#post7940444 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by achillesheel
so ive seen a lot of objections to these lately. can anybody explain why there is such a distaste for this variation besides the price? i dont see nearly as many objections to other variations.

I think people dislike them so much because they have a preconcieved notion of what clowns look like. The snowflakes are pretty out there and have a kind of deccomposing sort of look to them...

I'm a little undecided upon their look... but they are very interesting, somepeoples trash is gold and vice versa. Their price doesn't help their appeal either.

Good Luck with the fish and your girl

 

[achillesheel]

my question is less about why people dont like them asthetically, but why there seems to be a moral issue with them.

 

[phender]

I haven't seen any discussions about moral issues. Snowflakes weren't selectively bred or genetically engineered or anything. They are just a strange aberation that occur in some of the offspring of two wildcaught parents. At least that is the story I have heard as to their origin.

 

[ek9vboi]

I like them, but for the price... I'm ok. lol

 

[BonsaiNut]

I think the moral issue comes from captive breeding. As a breeder, you should always strive to produce the best quality offspring possible. Anything less than perfect should be culled. The science of breeding clownfish has now become so developed and widely disseminated that many hoddyists have the abilities to breed clowns. Sometimes these hobbyists use poor quality broodstock, and pass on poor quality fish. The end result is a very quick deterioration in the genetic line. We have all seen the results - stunted jaws, humped backs, deformed heads, poor fins, crooked spines, etc. Snowflakes are of themselves not necessarily poor quality fish, they just LOOK poor quality to many people.

Interestingly, koi have been captive bred for 100's of years. If you show koi competitively, the first thing they judge you on is "conformation" - that is, how closely your koi fits with a "perfect" holotype. It doesn't matter how beautiful your koi's coloration or pattern might be - if it doesn't have perfect conformation it might as well not go to the show. Perfect koi are worth $1,000's. Imperfect koi might be good for a meal

 

[OrionN]

I agree with BonsaiNut. My clowns have to have perfect shape first, coloration is secondary.