Percula Clownfish- aquacultured or wild a better choice?

[msd2]

I am simply looking for the one that is more likely to host in my carpet. I am inclined to think the wild variety, but want to run it by some of you more knowledgable fish ppl first

 

[viper_930]

Go with the aquacultured, since they weren't taken from the ocean. There's a lot of aquacultureds that won't want a host, but then again there are some wilds that won't either. The perc in my avatar was aquacultured, and still had a RBTA host.

 

[msd2]

The word a lot makes me shy away from aquacultured, I want to play the odds and get one that will host.

 

[bang guy]

Aquacultured Clownfish are far superior in my opinion.

 

[msd2]

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
Aquacultured Clownfish are far superior in my opinion.
why?

 

[viper_930]

Better adapted to home aquariums and not taken from the wild.

 

[speg]

If you want a basic pro/con to wild and tank raised clowns... here ya go.
Wild:
pros -
1) Most of the time will take to a anemone or something.. maybe a coral or a plastic anemone.. who knows.
2) Beautiful full lines acrossed the body
cons -
1) Not as hardy as tank raised clowns
2) Not used to living in a tank so it may take a while to get them to feed.
3) May get diseases slightly easier.
4) Has a chance to make you feel bad for the fish.. taking him/her away from his home and possibly a cute boyfriend/girlfriend which it was mated/paired with. Also a wonderful anemone in which it housed and brought food to.. possibly killing the anemone since it no longer has something to bring it food.
Tank raised
pros -
1) Much hardier than wild caught.
2) More disease resistant.
3) No guilty feeling.
4) Already used to tank life so its easier to get to feed.
5) Usually a little cheaper than wild caught.
cons -
1) Usually tank raised clowns do not have middle stripes that go all the way around the body.. not looking quite as attractive as wild caught.
2) Sometimes will not host a anemone at all, though thats not saying they never will... just may not.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
If I left something out.. feel free to add :happy:
Also for the record, I have a wild caught true percula and a tank raised true percula. Wild takes to a BTA and the tank raised takes to a fox coral (only at night). Both seem to get along fine. The tank raised seems more interested in the stories the wild caught one has to tell... rather than the other way around.

 

[msd2]

Thanks for the input

 

[bang guy]

SPEG's list looks right to me except the bars. Some breeders will sell the mis-bars but most don't.

 

[speg]

I see tons of tank raised clowns with bars not going all the way around for sale around here. :notsure: heck.. thats how mine is.

 

[bang guy]

I personally think mis-bars are kinda cool but most breeders that I know won't sell them. In my opinion they are still good clownfish but had some type of deficiency during the larval stage. If someone doesn't want a mis-bar then it should be pretty easy to find one that's not.

 

[flamehawk]

My tank raised hosts w/ RBTA. Ty to aquaculture when possible. These little guys deseve to be left in the sea if we can get them otherwise. In this case we can! good luck.