Deformed clownfish

[Ocellaris123]

Have breeders stopped culling the clowns they sell? I went to go pick up a pair of picassos from my LFS but 100% of the 20 or so they had in stock had grotesque deformities, whether it be misshapen heads/mouths, under developed pelvic/dorsal fins, and long elongated bodies. A lot of the ocellaris exhibited poor head quality or under bites. Ended up picked up a wild caught pair of tomatos instead.

I have noticed this in most of the LFS i frequent nowadays/ even online retailers

 

[James M]

I’ve never seen any deformed clowns at several of my lfs....

 

[Scotty Buttons]

That's what selective inbreeding gets ya..

 

[Katrina71]

Mine is a defect. Actually picked for that reason. Ours here are about 50/50.

 

[davocean]

I don't think it's an issue of selective breeding as much as just poor breeding in general in many clowns lately.
Clowns are fairly easy to breed and make money, and a lot care more about money than the overall health and well being of the animals.
It's a bummer, it took me nearly a year to find what I liked w/out deformities.

But I still think captive breeding can be a good option still, we just need to see more people breeding responsibly and recognizing and teaching others what to look for, and support the quality breeders.