Whats with designer clowns

[buffalo123]

Trying to understand the fascination with designer clown fish. Especially since i find the normal varieties of clown fish to be fascinating enough.
. I guess it may show our desire to manipulate because we can. Hopefully it don't end up as dyed clown fish next.

 

[NewAcreReef]

Somebody wants something and has the money to buy said thing. It has to do with supply as well, if it were as common then it would be as cheap.

 

[aandfsoccr04]

They are prettier than normal clowns?

 

[SaltwaterSensei]

They are prettier than normal clowns?

i dont think so, theres nothing more beatiful then a perfectly formed clown (or any species). I find the designer clowns off putting theyre like genetic oddballs

 

[J2T]

So long as someone will pay it they will charge it. Honestly the better for you if you enjoy normal clowns, all the cheaper

 

[chopper320]

I'm not a fan of the designer clowns either. I think it all boils down to that collector aspect of this hobby. Some people like the more rare or highly sought after specimens and that's what brings them joy. Nothing wrong with that. Just not my cup of tea.

 

[iClown]

There are some truly beautiful designer clowns out there. But, not all designer clowns look nice. Majority of all designer clowns look ugly lol. MarvinsReef has some great ones, for example

 

[iClown]

I find it hilarious when I walk into a lfs and they have "designer" clowns for 300 bucks a pair or even 150 per pair. Screw that lol. Even the beautiful ones at the price of 600 plus? I don't think so buddy haha

 

[mikem101]

Trying to understand the fascination with designer clown fish. Especially since i find the normal varieties of clown fish to be fascinating enough.
. I guess it may show our desire to manipulate because we can. Hopefully it don't end up as dyed clown fish next.

alot of the "designer" clowns that are out there are found in the wild. The only reason they are different is a breeder has 2 of the same "defect" to breed and in the wild these 2 fish would probably never find eachother to reproduce. So really all these clown designer clowns are just 2 clowns with a genetic defect bred together. IMO snowflake clowns are gorgeous, same with some others (all of which are wild caught). just my 2 cents.

 

[jhaimes]

give me a pair of GBMs any day!

 

[cody6766]

What's the deal with designer dogs? Why doesn't everyone just own a wolf? Why a Dalmation or a Wiener Dog?

Basically because someone wanted it, we can an people will buy them.

 

[l8_apex_it]

Trying to understand the fascination with designer clown fish. Especially since i find the normal varieties of clown fish to be fascinating enough.
. I guess it may show our desire to manipulate because we can. Hopefully it don't end up as dyed clown fish next.

Wow... I've been keeping it in for so long. I thought there was something wrong with me. Figured I was just getting old and not able to adjust to new things. Thank you guys for sharing. Now I know that I am not the only one. To each their own but I really don't care for them. I keep trying to convince myself that they must be cool since they are so expensive. But to me it looks like they have some disease...

 

[socal_48]

The gold stripe maroon clown for me is the best looking clownfish

 

[Cloudburst2000]

It's just a matter of personal opinion. I am sure there are some 'designer' clownfish in the wild. They just haven't been captured. Look at the lightening maroon. That is one of the coolest looking clowns ever, and it was totally wild caught. It is basically a designer clown that was captured in the wild. And I do think some designer clowns are very pretty and some not so much. It's just a matter of personal preference. There's nothing wrong with someone liking a 'designer' clown more than a regular clown just as there is nothing wrong with someone liking a regular clown more than a 'designer' clown.

 

[alexander_ktn]

I prefer "natural" colors and have also done so when I was in the freshwater hobby but I understand that some people prefer designer animals. You can't argue taste after all...

Where the fun ends for me is where you can see deformities or functional problems in the fish due to inbreeding and in some(few) cases you can already see it in designer clowns - changed body shape, gill defects etc. It's like with some goldfish varieties that can't even swim normally anymore - and I hope our breeders don't let such things happen to marine fish.

 

[HUNTER1]

I look at these designer clownfish and just wonder what so special about their look, for me, they look sickly. Well, that's just me.

 

[d2mini]

Clownfish are so played, especially after the whole nemo fascination.
Anything that looks more unique than a standard Percula is fine by me. I'd much rather have a tank full of unique fish than "perfect" looking standard fish. But that's just me.
For instance, I chose a desjardini sailfin over a regular sailfin. These are much prettier IMHO. But again, that might just be me. Same goes for wrasses. There's some beautiful specimens out their but the prices are insane. And anthias... you could get the plain old bartletts (i did) or you can get the borbonius. Eeek!

 

[Railcar79]

I am more concerned with health. Inbreeding dogs for particular traits leads to hip displaysia, retardation and other health issues. Breeding for traits seems to me like you would get genetically broken fish that might lead to serious issues down the road. I don't think there is a test for mental capacity in clownfish, but anything designer seems to be asking for trouble

 

[Adamw327]

Because everyone and their mother has a pair of clownfish in their tank. They are hardy, friendly, and awesome to watch. Its not so much about being rare, its unique and different. "I dont want to put ANOTHER pair of clowns in my next tank, but snowflakes, or black clowns, or misbars, that'd be something different"

 

[Nina51]

don't even get me started on designer dogs!

when i was stocking my 14g cube, i got 2 snowflake clowns. i love the irregular color patterns and how each is unique...same reason i always had american paint horses.

when i was at the lfs to start stocking my 29g cube, they had another pair of snowflakes. boring, i know, but i went ahead and got them. love their little personalities and how bold they are.