When you buy a clownfish pair...

gaki · Dec 3, 2020

I know clownfish are very common in the hobby, and there is much debate about designer clowns and whether or not they are taking natural mutations too far (not in my opinion, except for zombie clownfish, which I've heard are half blind). When you buy a pair of designer clownfish from a store or online, are they usually... siblings? For example, if I buy a frostbite clownfish pair from my LFS or Liveaquaria, are they from the same batch of eggs? If they were to breed, would it work out or would the babies be deformed? Its just something I've been wondering a bit about and thought might make a good discussion.

EvanDeVita · Dec 3, 2020

gaki said:
I know clownfish are very common in the hobby, and there is much debate about designer clowns and whether or not they are taking natural mutations too far (not in my opinion, except for zombie clownfish, which I've heard are half blind). When you buy a pair of designer clownfish from a store or online, are they usually... siblings? For example, if I buy a frostbite clownfish pair from my LFS or Liveaquaria, are they from the same batch of eggs? If they were to breed, would it work out or would the babies be deformed? Its just something I've been wondering a bit about and thought might make a good discussion.

I personally love clownfish! And if you are going to buy a pair, don't bother looking around. Cultivated Reef is by far the best online seller of clowns. Low prices, amazing customer service, and a wide assortment of captive-bred fish are there. I believe that when you buy a pair they are siblings. I'm not totally sure how the fish are held and stored, but it makes sense that two siblings will generally get along better than two clowns that grew up in different tanks with different parents.