clown question

inkmates

inkmates

Member
how can I tell the difference between a false perc and a true perc? I bought the small one from 1 lfs and the larger one from a different one, they have been getting along but if one is a false and the other a true I don't want to have problems in the future. Any help would be great, thanks in advance.
 
spiderwoman

spiderwoman

Active Member
arod... that is not completely true. False can have black in the middle stripe too
Some facts:
True Percula
# Because of its name, Amphiprion percula, it is the True Percula Clownfish.
# Typically orange in color with three white bars, with the middle bar having a forward-projecting bulge.
# Has 10 (rarely 9) dorsal spines.
# Usually has jet black margins of varied widths around its white bars, often of which can be rather thick.
# Distribution of this species in nature: Northern Queensland and Melanesia (New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu)

False Percula
# Typically orange in color with three white bars, with the middle bar having a forward-projecting bulge.
# Has 11 (rarely 10) dorsal spines.
# The spinous (anterior) part of the dorsal fin is taller.
# May have no black margins present, but most often has thin, never thick black margins around its white bars.
# Distribution of this species in nature: Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Andaman Sea), Indo-Malayan Archipelago, Philippines, northwestern Australia; coast of Southeast Asia northwards to the Ryukyu Islands.
 
inkmates

inkmates

Member
thanks guys but my clowns won't hold still long enough for me to count or take a pic to count spines The main reason I was concerned was the massive coloration difference between the two the smaller is much darker orange than the larger one I guess i'll just have to keep trying to count (lol not like i'm not already looking at the tank for hours on end any ways) Thanks again
 
spiderwoman

spiderwoman

Active Member
:) they are hard to count. I have a female False and a male True and they look almost the same. My female has very clear black borders. What's really interesting about my male is that it has only 2 white stripes, it's missing the last one in the base of the tail fin. The other males in the same bunch all had 3 stripes :)
 
inkmates

inkmates

Member
are your two in the same tank? If so how do they get along? My larger one is a mis-bar the last strip doesn't completly close at the top. thanks for all the help
 
spiderwoman

spiderwoman

Active Member
Yes, they are in the same tank.
Mine paired up as soon as I put in the male. My female Ocellaris is 5yr old and just had lost her mate prior to me purchasing her and a few days later I purchased a 6mo old True male. Their size difference is huge and the female is constantly *protecting* the male and they are just ab out all the time side by side. The female does let our Yellow Tang spend time with the male.
 
inkmates

inkmates

Member
when i brought my larger one home and was floating the bag the small one went right to the bag and started nuzzling against it they have been side n side since rarely being more than a couple of inches apart i'm just over concerned about the issue i guess i would just hate to lose one or the other thanks for all the help happy reefing
 
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