Ocellaris or Percula poll

[dizzy]

John,
That's not one of the choices. Read the poll questions again.

 

[John_Brandt]

John,
That's not one of the choices. Read the poll questions again.

Mitch, I understand the poll and have already voted (see a previous message by me). All that stuff about the wild hybrid was an aside. The fish in the photo looks nothing like the "hybrids" I have seen.

 

[DustinDorton]

That sounds like a pretty cool fish John. I would think its certainly possible. Frank Hoff's book talked about having sebae x tomato pairs. They never spawned before the hatchery closed down though.

 

[Anonymous]

Only a DNA test could tell the difference..or if the fish could talk?Ummm? I don't know. I voted True but if you had a answer for Don't Know.....I would have picked that instead.

 

[monkeyboy]

So it's not a yellow tang? :?

I guessed ocellaris because it doesn't seem to have black bands, only patches like the australian black ocellaris. But, since the colors on these guys are pretty variable, isn't this like trying to identify an acro by it's color?

 

[klingsa]

I guessed A. percula for the reasons already mentioned. Thick black around the white stripes, a more prominently forward-bulging middle white bar. I've done a lot of researc on these guys, but it is highly possible that I'm wrong! :lol:

I would add, however, that (although it is NOT a choice in the poll) it is very hard to get a fish from someone and know for sure that it is not a hybrid. Since I have heard there are programs out there that are mixing the species, I am dubious when stores claim to have "true" percs, especially when they are more expensive! 8O They could call them anything, I guess. Mine all seem to be a mix to me.

When do we get the answer?

Sara

 

[DustinDorton]

I think I set the poll for 7 days. As soon as its up I will tell you guys what it is.

That fish is not a hybird between the two species. To my knowledge, there arent any farms that are currently crossing the two species, and putting them on the market. That, in addtition to the fact that these fish don't run into each other in the wild makes the possibility of finding a hybrid slim to none.

 

[Cirrhilabrus]

Looks like a grandpa Amphiprion ocellaris. I have seen these fish darken to a brown, black and orange coloration as they grow old. The body shape usually changes slightly above the eyes and around the head, as do most older fish. How thick the black stripes are as well as how thick the white bars appear are not the best method to identify percs or ocellaris.

 

[Purpleclown]

You took the fish out of the water for a picture! Ugg.

 

[DustinDorton]

Don't worry, the fish is fine.

 

[Expos Forever]

Alright DD, your 7 days are up. Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[DustinDorton]

Its an ocellaris!

 

[Anonymous]

So the 12 folks that voted correctly get a free mated pair, right?

 

[DustinDorton]

Knowing that they guessed right is reward enough, lol

 

[Anonymous]

No it's not.

Seems simple though, why else would you ask the question if it WASN'T an ocellaris? I guess I'm just a good test taker....

 

[monkeyboy]

I win, I win!

So, how exactly can you tell that it's an ocellaris besides knowing what the parents were?

 

[DustinDorton]

Thats a good question monkey boy, but hard to explain. The body shape between the two is a bit different, the eye color is a little different, stripe shape, the way they swim. . .
Its one of those things where you need to see lots and lots and lots of the fish first hand, and you start to get a pretty good feel for it.

 

[John_Brandt]

Ugh, I was wrong. I should have known it would be a trick. The fish looks so much like a percula clown.

Dustin, please don't leave us hanging on this one. I want to be educated about this fish. Where did it come from? Can you post photos of its parents, if it was raised at your facility? How do you know it's an ocellaris? Etc, etc etc.

Please lavish us with details.

 

[DustinDorton]

That fish was raised here. There is no way to get pictures of its parents, I never kept a record of where it came from.
That guy is in my coral greenhouse at work, hes in full sunlight, perhaps part of the reason it has such dark color. Clowns change color depending on what they are hosting in and what kind of lighting they get. Clarkiis for example always turn very dark to black under metal halide lights. Clownfish, when hosting in zoanthids develop polka-dots. The clownfish in the picture I posted was hosting in some xenia.

time for lunch!

 

[Anonymous]

So Dustin, do you rear the fish as well now, or just work with the corals at ORA?