True percula, identification?

[Maxi]

I am going to buy a true percula pair, and I need to know before I buy it. How can I tell the difference between a true percula, a false percula, and an ocellaris?

 

[traveller7]

Best bet would be to buy from a knowledgeable source.
Second best bet would be take a few clear pictures and post it for ID.

Is there any reason in particular it needs to be A. percula or A. ocellaris(the False Percula)?

There are more then one color variety of each species.

Actual pairs are rarely available. Many folks are just selling 2 fish that don't happen to fight much in store tanks.

 

[elegance coral]

Check out these two threads. They may help you out.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1469979

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1357282


It can be hard to tell the difference between percula and ocellaris. With hybrids of the two species becoming more and more common, it will only become more difficult. In general, perculas tend to have more black on them, but this is a very poor tool for identification. Ocellaris USUALLY has 11 hard spines in the dorsal fin. Perculs USUALLY has 10. Experience is probably the best tool for identifying these species, so if you want to be able to tell them apart you will need to start looking at a bunch of pics. Even this can be problematic because many of the pic's online are labeled incorrectly.
"false percula" is just a poor nickname for A. ocellaris. They are one in the same.

 

[Maxi]

Thanks for the info, and the links.

The reason why I want 2 true perculas, is because I like the black that they get. I'm going to let them pair off in the tank themselves, just buying 2 small ones.

 

[elegance coral]

If you get two small ones, make sure they are captive bred juveniles. If your not sure if they are wild or captive bred, you will want to get two of different sizes. IME, two wild clowns of the same size, even small ones, will fight.