New To Clowns

pixiefish

Member
Hey, everyone. I'm new to clowns and to this board. Currently, I have two clowns in my tank which I purchased at two different LFS within days of each other.
Stupid me didn't pay enough attention to their markings because they both look like the 'Nemo' type clowns. I'm assuming false percula's? Forgive me for not having a camera to post pictures with but I am noticing some sublte difference now that they are together.
The one false percula that I have looks very much like in the pictures here but the other one is a much more vibrant orange by comparison. The white/black band around his head doesn't circle under the chin like on the other one. The white at the base of the tail is more like a horseshoe then completely circling it like with the false percula. Also, the top fin is notched.
I don't know if these are wild caught or captive raised fish but the brighter orange one that I brought home first is more territorial but not excessively. At one point, I thought the two of them were bonding until I started messing with the lay out of the tank and moved some things around and now it appears I've broke the bond.
I know it's harder without the pictures but can someone help me determine if I have two different species of clowns. Both are the same size and both are juveniles(1 1/2 inches).
Thankyou
 

kaingers

Member
Without a picture its hard to tell. What size tank are they in and what other fish do you have in that tank?
 

gmann1139

Active Member
I've always found that ocellaris clowns are are brighter orange, where percula's are more drab.
Also, if they're that small, I would assume both are TR.
But yeah, for real ID, we're going to need pictures.
 

pixiefish

Member
Again, I'm sorry I don't have a camera for pictures. But yeah, I guess you could say the second one I bought was drab by comparison to the first one. If the first one is a ocellaris then it's gotten meaner towards the percula so I moved it to the green spotted puffers tank and now it's terrorizing them. The ocellaris won't even let them eat in peace.
I went back to the same pet store where I got the second one(percula)and bought three more of his tankmates. The difference in their behavior is incredible. They're so peaceful toward one another in comparison to the behavior of the ocellaris towards the percula. It's like night and day. Oh, there are some minor disagreements but nobodies being chased all over the tank. They're just peacefully swimming together as a group.
I do have one question. I never noticed till today but one clown has a dent over one eye and I can see his vertical line better then the others. His color is also a little faded out. Now there isn't any red on the vertical line. I can just see it better. I don't know if this is a sign of illness or being underfed or if that's his way of being submissive(I've seen the least dominant FW angelfish fade out). The tank I got him and the others out of had about a dozen clowns in it so who knows if they all were getting fed enough or at all.

I'm not going to named the chain store I got them from but from my experience with FW fish I've purchased in various pet stores that they don't take good enough care of them. I've done alot of fish rescues. In fact, all my goldfish are fish rescues from some deplorable tank conditions and some were under-norished and I had to treat them for parasites. Now they're big, strong and happy. So if I've got to treat my clowns let me know because this is new territory for me.
Another question is this. How long does it takes clowns to bond to an anemone? There were two anemones in the tank at the pet store with the clowns but none of clowns were even going near the anemones. Just was wondering why.
 
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