No worries. I bought him cause I loved the way he looked. :dance:
Before I delve into the can of worms opened up below, I want to to take a second to reinforce that this statement is the best way to pick out a clown. It doesn't really matter if it's onyx, true perc, ocellaris, etc, as long as you like what you've got....
Just curious...what makes it not an onyx?
Thanks!
There have been many heated debates about this exact topic. Usually, it seems as though someone paid "Onyx" prices for a "true perc" and is defending their position and trying to justify to themselves why they paid such a price for a fish that others are claiming is just another "true perc". Again to clarify, as long as you like it, that's what matters. I'll admit I've seen some true percs that are in my opinion, as good, if not better looking than some onyx.
Now, onyx or not....... While all Onyx are true percs, not all true percs are onyx. Think about Labrador retrievers, all yellow labs are labs, but not all labs are yellow, get it? Onyx refers to a genetic strain of true percs that have significantly more black than a true perc. A true perc can have a great range of black on the body. From just thin lines on either side of the bars, to a lot of black like yours has. For the fish to be "Onyx"
generally the idea is that the first dorsal fin is black, and the large expanses of black coloring extends into the space between the second and third bar such that minimal amounts of orange are left between bars. A "Super Onyx" is an onyx that has almost no orange left at all saved for areas on the fins and face. (second picture down on this link:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1525244&page=4) Whereas a standard Onyx looks more like this:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14380930&postcount=41
As with any color variation, there is a wide range of colorations. Another variable that needs to be brought up is the anemone the clown hosts in. It is thought (though I'm not quite on this bandwagon fully) that BTA's tend to "pull out" the black coloration from the Onyx clownfish. A fish can be fully onyx, then be put in a BTA and loose much color. Same goes for going from high intensity light to low intensity light. So, a fish could potentially loose their onyx coloration.
What then makes the fish dark? A few things....First, nutrition. A fish being fed better food will be able to more fully develop their full coloration (think of how people look when their getting bad nutrition, crappy right?) Second, Sun Tan!! Put an onyx under a 400W MH in a 10 gallon and you can almost watch it turn! Under next to no lighting, the same fish can loose much coloration. Third (and IMO the most important) - genetics. A "Super Onyx" as mentioned above can and will maintain much, if not most, of their coloration no matter what the food or lighting is. Much of this is very analogous to humans. There are some who are naturally darker and no matter what will stay dark. Others, can artificially make themselves darker, but when the environmental cause is removed so does the coloration.
A True perc will cost about half the price of Onyx. So, because of this, many retailers like to put the Onyx "buzz-word" next to a true perc that is very dark because it grabs the customers attention and commands a higher price due to being more rare. If your perc is still relatively young and it is now under better lights and nutrition, there's a chance for more black to develop. If not, I'd say you have a fantastic looking fish no matter if you paid onyx pricing or true perc pricing. Be happy with another one of God's beautiful creatures in your tank!