Clarkii vs. Sebae opinions

clarkiiboi

clarkiiboi

Active Member
I like Clarkii's hince the name, but my LFS cant get any in, but have Sebae's. Now I know the difference, as in appearance, and I know each fish has its on personality, be it one clarkii to another or the sebae to another. Just curious as to any input on the Sebae's, I had a Clarkii that was readily waiting for me to go by and chase me, feed my anenomes, and just all around great. Are Sebae's just the same or different personaily. I know it depends on 1 sebae to another sebae--one may, one may not. Just wanted it a broader opinion. Thanks all. :)
 
ijeh99

ijeh99

Member
I thought one was darker than the other (or am I being silly- as it depends on the age). The Sabae is also more aggressive . . . and perfers anemone.
 
clarkiiboi

clarkiiboi

Active Member
They are two different fish, almost look the same. Sebae have only 2 white bands and the body band tilts diagonally back, where as the clarkii has 3 white bands. I believe that is in the mature state, does anyone know if the same holds true in the juv. state? Thanks. :)
 
finland

finland

Member
I have a sebae and it is hilarious to watch. It hosts a long tentacled anemone and it never goes far from it. When I feed the fish, it shoots out from the anemone, grabs a piece and shoots back to feed the anemone then shoots back out for another. It definately has personality.
 
clarkiiboi

clarkiiboi

Active Member
Thank you finland---thats what I wanted to know, my Clarkii did that too and was "the life of the party" so to say. Anyone else have opinions on the sebae? thanks
 
stupid_naso

stupid_naso

Member
Ah... another clarkii vs sebae discussion, my favorite :D.
Well the MAJOR difference, hosting anemones. Clarkii lives in any anemones even condi, but if the condi doesn't like it, then it'll eat it :eek:. Anyway, any anemones you have, clarkii will live in it. I am not suggesting any anemones keeping, ok?! :) Let me put it this way, they're the type of thing that you can see but you cannot keep. It belongs to the sea.
Sebae, is somewhat picky. I had one that lived in a bubble tip, other than that, less hardier anemones, such as carpet, saddleback.
The bands are also another difference. Clarkii has three, sebae has two. The middle band of sebae is tilted back a little and extended to the back dorsal fin.
The coloring is different too. IMO, Clarkii tends to be darker. And the anal fins stay yellow. Sebae, everything turns dark brown or black. I am not 100% sure about this difference. It's merely my observation.
The adult size is also different. Clarkii grows big. Its adult size is about 6 inches. Sebae stays a bit smaller. Its adult size is about 4 inches.
If you want more info, here's one website that I use to find info on clownfishes...
Clownfishes and Their Host Anemones
Hope it helps...
stupid_naso
 
broomer5

broomer5

Active Member
I was going to reply to this, and remembered your last description on a post several weeks/month ago stupid_naso.
Was and is one of the better descriptions I've seen describing the differences between these two fish.
Still wondering why you chose stupid as part of your screen name
;)
 
clarkiiboi

clarkiiboi

Active Member
Do you know about the juvenilles? The LFS have ones (sebae) about an inch long. do the two look the same at first, meaning there is one there that seems to not have the 2nd stripe extending back, but I cant see a 3rd band (well I see a very thin line, but I think I am wishful thinking). Was just curiuos if one clarkii may of got mixed in with the shipment if sebae. May it be safe to assume that without the extending 2nd stripe it is a Clarkii, these fish are so small that its just harder to tell. Thanks for your help.
 
B

bcarp

Guest
Will a Clarki go into a Long tenacle plate coral? Or will the plate coral kill it? I just bought one today. My plate coral is pretty big. Would be cool if the clarki goes in it. Thanks
 
stupid_naso

stupid_naso

Member
broomer5, how I ended up with this screen name is a long story. Basically first fish I bought (for my friend) was a naso, a stupid one :D. Thanks for the compliment. I did some research on this subject because I was confuse of what I had a sebae or clarkii.
Now about the plate coral. Your clarkii will most likely live in it. Now the question is not whether your clarkii will be killed by it, but instead whether your clarkii will kill your coral. Let me put it this way, clownfishes are not desired by corals to live in them. They hate it. I have heard many people that had corals killed by their clownfishes, merely because they try to live in it.
Now about juveniles, well my only tip for you is if the middle band or the second from the front band is not extended to the back dorsal fin, and all the bands look vertically straight. And you can see a thin third line near the tail. It's 85% clarkii, IMO.
stupid_naso
 
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