All about ClownFish

[Just a Wrasse.]

This thread is for the general discussion of the Article All about ClownFish. Please add to the discussion here.

 

[blaxsun]

I think most clownfish available for sale in North American are pretty much captive bred at this point.

 

[i cant think]

I think most clownfish available for sale in North American are pretty much captive bred at this point.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s the same over here in the UK. Maybe not with the things like clarkiis but with the more common ones like Occelaris, percula and maroons.

 

[Zionas]

Clarkiis are still frequently wild caught? Wow didn’t know that.

 

[i cant think]

Clarkiis are still frequently wild caught? Wow didn’t know that.

Yeah, we don’t get many captive bred fish over here and if we do their price tag is in the hundreds

 

[Zionas]

Ouch, that really stinks.

 

[i cant think]

Ouch, that really stinks.

It really does but we work with what we’ve got - I usually get a fish that’s small and then grow it out from there instead of get a large fish and I have no clue how long is left in it

 

[Zionas]

Exactly. Spot on. I refuse to buy fish I think are too large and have no interest whatsoever in “show size” fish. Can you import stuff from De Jong or MasterFisch?

 

[i cant think]

Exactly. Spot on. I refuse to buy fish I think are too large and have no interest whatsoever in “show size” fish. Can you import stuff from De Jong or MasterFisch?

I think we can get stuff imported from De Jong and MasterFisch but, our main importer is TMC (Tropical Marine Center). I agree with the “show size” fish, if you get a small fish you can always grow it and get that show size but also have it for Atleast 5 years.

 

[Zionas]

We’re completely on the same page. What do you think of stocking levels? Any pros and cons to a lightly versus heavily stocked tank?

 

[i cant think]

We’re completely on the same page. What do you think of stocking levels? Any pros and cons to a lightly versus heavily stocked tank?

I think lighter stocked tanks are more calming and have more room for coral growth whereas heavily stocked tanks are chaotic and better for FOWLR or Fish lovers more than Coral lovers
The heavily stocked tanks that I love are when all the fish in there stay at around 2” then there’s a show piece fish that can get 4”+

 

[Zionas]

I really agree and have made adjustments to what I really want, the kind of look and all that. I’m much more inclined to not stock heavily on bigger fish, to only have two or three and the rest will be smaller fish. Much more natural looking, as you said, and I would rather have healthy and happy fish.

The tanks crammed with every Tang, Angel and Butterfly one can find are not an accurate representation of the reef. IMO. The tanks that are filled with rainbow colored corals, especially meaty LPS and SPS are also very unnatural IMO. I think some wavy stuff and allowing the frags to really grow is much better.

But yeah as for Clownfish I think A. Sandaracinos and A. Milli (“West Australian Clarkii”) are really nice and something different.

Very heavily stocked tanks make me wonder whether any of the fish have enough space to sleep, find a territory, and exhibit natural behaviors. Of course they also place a lot more pressure on filtration and managing waste because to put it crudely, it’s a lot of fish swimming in their own waste and the waste of other fish.

I’ll always have a good skimmer regardless, but yeah for me in terms of both biology and aesthetics I’ve shifted towards social behaviors over breadth of species, and natural looking reef systems over “collections” of corals.