Super ORANGE Wild Caught Ocellaris - Why?

[AD87]

Stronger and better lighting can intensify clownfish colors in addition to diet.

Lighting has nothing to do with the true color of the fish. Lighting plays a part on how the fish appear to our eyes.

Well time will tell I switched to spectrum red and I will keep the other clowns (same batch of wild caught) on the regular diet to see if I notice any changes.

 

[CoralsAddiction]

Lighting has nothing to do with the true color of the fish. Lighting plays a part on how the fish appear to our eyes.

Well time will tell I switched to spectrum red and I will keep the other clowns (same batch of wild caught) on the regular diet to see if I notice any changes.

I’ve been fascinated by wild Onyx clowns for some time now and went as far as talking to professors who studied, and teach marine animals. Some of them theorize that darker true Percula clowns occur in the wild not only based on their host anemone choice (A. Gigantea) but also by virtue of being in shallower reefs that receive more intense sunlight.
Thus, I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the theory.

 

[CoralsAddiction]

There’s a fish store in Culver City, CA that gets wild Occy clowns on a weekly basis from Indonesia and Phiipinnes..or at least they used to. Some of the clowns they get are bright orange.
This is one of the Occy clowns I had gotten from them before...nice thick black lines

 

[CoralsAddiction]

S. Gigantea

 

[D-Nak]

I've been fascinated by wild Onyx clowns for some time now and went as far as talking to professors who studied, and teach marine animals. Some of them theorize that darker true Percula clowns occur in the wild not only based on their host anemone choice (A. Gigantea) but also by virtue of being in shallower reefs that receive more intense sunlight.
Thus, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the theory.

I concur. I also read somewhere that Rod of Rod's Onyx had his juveniles under bright lights (halides) and attributed the black getting blacker sooner to the use of the lights. Of course, the gene that C-Quest focused on is primarily responsible for the amount of black but a little "help" along the way doesn't hurt.

To further support this theory, aren't Darwin ocellaris found in shallow water as well?

 

[AD87]

That’s interesting because this is contrary to what I have seen in the wild while diving. I have not witnessed any difference in color. I there has been documented color difference in the black marking while clowns in non native anemones.

I will still document my process and see if there is a difference with using a “color” enhancing food.

 

[D-Nak]

That's interesting because this is contrary to what I have seen in the wild while diving. I have not witnessed any difference in color. I there has been documented color difference in the black marking while clowns in non native anemones.

I will still document my process and see if there is a difference with using a "œcolor" enhancing food.

My recommendation would be to start with TDO Chroma Boost (new formula launched in 2017). It contains 400 ppm astaxanthin which is apparently the optimal amount. I asked the rep at RAP last year why that amount and he said that anything over that made no difference, and he assumed it was just excreted as waste. Prior to the new formula, I was adding astaxanthin to the food I was feeding my fry.

 

[D-Nak]

I just re-read the thread and to answer your question about Spectrum Ultra Red, I've been feeding it to one of my Onyx pairs for a few months and I don't see a difference. There's still a night and day difference between my captive bred and wild onyx pair, so I still think nature does the best job and can't be beat.

 

[davocean]

I've been fascinated by wild Onyx clowns for some time now and went as far as talking to professors who studied, and teach marine animals. Some of them theorize that darker true Percula clowns occur in the wild not only based on their host anemone choice (A. Gigantea) but also by virtue of being in shallower reefs that receive more intense sunlight.
Thus, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the theory.

Agree on both counts, lighting and anemone hosted by.
In fact I've had clowns actually lose black color while hosted by BTA's(unnatural match) and then regain black once back in a natural host.

As for tank bred, it's no different from choosing a quality breeder for puppies/cats, there will be those that care and those that inbreed for a buck, gotta be selective is all.
It took me about a year of searching(and w/ help looking ) to find what I believe to be a perfect pair.

 

[BonsaiNut]

Lots of things influence fish color:

(1) Genetics
(2) Diet
(3) Environment
(a) Lighting

 

[BonsaiNut]

I apologize... I wrote a long post about color in fish... and then something happening and only the first 3% or so posted.

Sadly I am too tired to re-type what I wrote Perhaps another night

 

[CoralsAddiction]

Recently I came across a Phillipines shipment with these SUPER Orange bright looking ocellaris, there are other shades and less orange and also some more darker and fading colour, the ones shown the picture are the brightest of them all.

I just had the same experience. Went to a fish store in LA who got Ocellaris clowns from the Philippines. Some were bright orange while others were darker. I picked up a jumbo bright orange mama clown and got her the smallest male. You can see below the wild caught male isn't as bright orange as her. There were smaller bright orange Occy clowns too but they were still big enough to be females so I played it safe.