Sustainable Aquatics releases new Ocellaris and Percula Clownfish Crosses

zef004

New member
Tennessee-based Sustainable Aquatics has been busy with their clownfish. Recently announced, SA is now producing both the Snowflake variety of A. ocellaris (marketed as the SA Snowflake Clownfish "“ pictured at right) and the Platinum variant of A. percula (marketed as SA Platinum Clownfish) as well as some unique new crosses of their own like the SA Black Ice, SA Fancy White and the SA Snow Onyx.

While these first two varieties (the Snowflake and Platinum) are not new, the breeders at Sustainable have been hacking away at the guppification of the Percula and Ocellaris species complex, mixing and matching newer varieties with other well established forms to create ever more varieties. If you love the man-made clowns, you're in for a treat. If you dislike "˜em, well, commercial producers have to make money to stay in business, and it seems that over the past several years, this is what your fellow hobbyists are willing to spend a premium for. The popularity of Designer Clownfish and their prevalence is classic example of producers responding to a perceived market demand. For the species enthusiasts, might we also remind you that Sustainable Aquatics is also producing captive bred Blackfoot Clownfish (Amphiprion nigripes) and Red Sea Two Stripe Clownfish (Amphiprion bicinctus). A full rundown of the new clownfish strains from Sustainable Aquatics are after the break.

Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a big fan of designer clownfish, but credit where credit is due, Sustainable Aquatics is fully disclosing the parentage of these new crosses, a move seldom seen in the freshwater ornamental trade. In this regard, SA continues to show a responsible, forward thinking attitude towards the future of marine fish breeding. We applaud Matt Carberry and Sustainable Aquatics for this "œopen source" approach to their breeding, and encourage them to stick with it.

Here's the rundown on Sustainable Aquatic's new releases, including some insights on what is likely the best way to fully label these fish based on precedents from other breeding arenas (such as Orchids, Hostas and Cichlids) :

SA Snow Onyx (left) "“ a crossing of Amphiprion percula "œOnxy" with A. ocellaris "œSnowflake". So, the "œSnow Onyx" is a "œPercularis", a form properly denoted as Amphiprion Percularis "œSnow Onyx", Percularis being the general term used for the hybrid of A. percula X A. ocellaris.

SA Fancy White (right) "“ a crossing of Sustainable Aquatic's selectively bred "œFancy" form of A. ocellaris with the A. ocellaris "œWyoming White". Thus, the "œFancy White" is Amphiprion ocellaris "œFancy White".

SA Black Ice (left)- a crossing of Amphiprion ocellaris "œDarwin Black" and A. ocellaris "œSnowflake". For the time being, we'll think of these as Amphiprion ocellaris "œBlack Ice", but if the Darwin Black Ocellaris ever gets designated as a distinct species, we'll have to rethink this proper name of the cross, as well as the "œMocha" ocellaris (A. ocellaris "œDarwin Black " X A. ocellaris) and Sanjay's "œBlack Photon" Percularis (A. ocellaris "œDarwin/Black" X A. percula "œOnyx").

It should be mentioned that ORA first introduced this cross as the "œBlack Ice" around June 1st, 2010. Less than 2 weeks later, Fish Eye Services added the product "œS'more Clownfish" to their online catalog. This may be a case of convergent developments, and it seems both names are in use (Fish Eye Services even acknowledges the "œBlack Ice" name on their website). While the marine fish breeding community currently lacks any governing body for the proper registration of hybrid names, the rules of precedence are well established in the taxonomic / scientific community, and should be followed here. Thus, "œfirst to originate", or in this case "œfirst to publish" since technical origination dates are unknown, is the first and appropriate name. That points to all fish of this parentage technically properly being called A. ocellaris "œBlack Ice", and Sustainable Aquatics is playing by those rules and utilizing the name bestowed on the cross by ORA (as I believe it should be). Of course, we are dealing with a "œwild west" situation where I can only point to well-established protocols in other interest groups and hope that all marine breeders rise up to meet, or exceed, such standards of practice. These practices, some centuries old, exist for the mutual benefit of everyone who participates.


thought you ya'll would like to know what matt and his grew been up too. got the info from.

/2010/12/06/sustainable-aquatics-released-ocellarispercula-clownfish-crosses/

just put reefbulders dot com in front
 
Last edited:
They do have Onyx but I'm not sure about the mix Mikey. I can ask for ya, if you want.
 
Back
Top