# black clownfish



## Guest (Mar 29, 2007)

I went to my lfs last weekend and as always, i look at their SW section. They had two black percula clowns. all the orange was gone and replaced with black. I'm not sure how much they cost cause some guy named Jason had already bought them and they were on hold for him. I have never heard of these before and was wondering if they were a relativily new in the fish trade. Also, are they a new color variety or is it a whole new spieces of fish? I'll try to get a few photos from the net. 
thanks,
Andrew


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## Guest (Mar 29, 2007)

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11_03/product_info.php?products_id=223&parent_category=4&category_search=61&root_parent_id=4

there ya go. except the ones i saw were PURE black with the white stripes. curtasey of liveaquaria.com


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## CollegeReefer (Sep 1, 2006)

They have been around a while, but a lot of lfs stick with fish that are more commone. Give the customers what they want, an nemo. I for one love the black clown fish. They are really sharp, but about double the price. I think they go for about 30 at our local petco.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

They are NOT perculas (despite what the lfs may say). At best they are Ocellaris and depending on the size polyneus.


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## CollegeReefer (Sep 1, 2006)

I think they are often called black and white perculas but there real name are Amphiprion ocellaris as the link states


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

the blacks are super cool, but even better are the snowflakes. these are all basically comming along with comercial breeding, kinda like the albino trait, it wouldnt last in the wild, but with selective breeding, people can bring out the strange traits and make them more dominant. 

here is a pic of the snowflake.


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## ivanpres (Oct 3, 2006)

I have one black clownfish, it cost me $23. He is very cool, basically they are the same as the orange, except of course for the color.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

You should know that many black clowns are fakes.

Ordinary clowns will turn black if you keep them 24/7 under very bright lights. It's their version of a suntan. Once returned to normal tank conditions, they turn orange again, or sometimes yellow with an insufficient diet. This is an old trick still too-commonly used worldwide, so watch out!


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## Guest (Apr 2, 2007)

so is it possible for a clown to turn black and not lose it's colors when it is put back under normal lighting?


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Some species are black. Rumor has it there is a strain of black percs but normally if they are truly black, they are saddlebacks. I had 2. Even the black ocellaris have orange on them. With anything, breeding the desired traits long enough will yield the results you want but I dont think we are that far yet with clowns. Not in the mainstream anyway.


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

Damon said:


> Some species are black. Rumor has it there is a strain of black percs but normally if they are truly black, they are saddlebacks. I had 2. Even the black ocellaris have orange on them. With anything, breeding the desired traits long enough will yield the results you want but I dont think we are that far yet with clowns. Not in the mainstream anyway.


there are solid black percs, (or occelaris, hard to tell) some do have a orange tip, but the saddle backs look different, you can see it a mile away, it doenst look anything like the others.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

I agree. And even the solid black ocellaris are solid. They still have some orange (usually around the mouth). Yes there is a huge difference between saddlebacks and ocellaris (size being the easiest identifier). Just letting the poster know you can get your "black" clowns that arent necessarily false percs.


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

Damon said:


> I agree. And even the solid black ocellaris are solid. They still have some orange (usually around the mouth). Yes there is a huge difference between saddlebacks and ocellaris (size being the easiest identifier). Just letting the poster know you can get your "black" clowns that arent necessarily false percs.


i got ya! i thought you were saying that they are mistakable in a store, i guess they kinda are to someone who doesnt know, but saddle backs just look different in everyway to me, shape, the face, they just look weird. and especially the stripes. lol


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

I have seen Onyx Clownfish as well. So how are they bred ? I've always thought b&w clowns, Onyx clowns etc ... are all hybrids.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

There are two black clown species besides polymnus, by the way.
One is latezonatus, and other is mccullochi. You won't be mistaking either one of these for anything else, either, so distinctive are their appearances.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

TheOldSalt said:


> There are two black clown species besides polymnus, by the way.
> One is latezonatus, and other is mccullochi. You won't be mistaking either one of these for anything else, either, so distinctive are their appearances.


True, but not common even online let alone a lfs.


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## Courtney (Jan 18, 2005)

http://www.marinecenter.com/fish/clownfish/ocellarisclownblackwhiteaustrali/
Thats the one i want actually i want two....

went to petco yesterday and got two black clownfish for $40 each..


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