What are all the naturally occurring designer morphs for different Clownfish species?

Zionas · Jan 17, 2021

As the title says, what are the naturally occurring designer mutations for different Clownfish species? And which ones are only found in captivity? I’ve slightly changed my stance to the point where I’m willing to consider Clowns that are “designer” varieties but only if they’re derived from naturally occurring patterns in the wild.

What’s the science behind these patterns? Are they like recessive genes found in humans? Is it possible for say, two typical Ocellaris or Percula Clowns or Maroon Clowns to produce designer patterned offspring because one or both parents carry these recessive genes tracing back to their wild ancestors?

Bepis · Jan 17, 2021

I think the lightning maroon was a natural morph. All designer clownfish are breeds derived from natural abnormalities. They found a clown fish with a blotch with another with a blotch and got a even bigger blotch (snowflake).
We select all those abnormalities because they are rare, and we reefers love rare and special

TriggerFinger · Jan 17, 2021

The “lightning maroon” clown is a wild collected clown from Papua New Guinea, first one was found around 2008. It’s a “normal” white stripe maroon but the white stripe variation was unique. They were bred with typical white stripe maroons to select the lightning pattern.

Zionas · Jan 17, 2021

That’s interesting. How breeding with normal ones somehow made the lightning pattern genes dominant. Are the ones on the market the exact same as the originals from PNG?

TriggerFinger · Jan 17, 2021

I’m not sure. I never found if the two originals found in Papua New Guinea are the only two ever found. If they were plentiful, I imagine that more divers went looking for them to sell/breed. Mine came from ORA through divers den. Mine has a lot more white compared to the original lightnings that were being produced. I would love to find a small one that matches my girl.