Sebae, clarkii, or allardi?

[stupid_naso]

OK clown experts out there, I need you help. When I bought him, he was identified as Amphiprion clarkii. He does have yellow pelvic and swimming fins just like clarkii. However, as I watch him for the past couple of months I am not sure that it is clarkii.
Clarkii has three white bands, and mine only has two and if you really look at it there is the third band but it is really obscure. So there's a possibility that it is a clarkii. However, the middle band is slanted and extended to the back dorsal fin, just like sebae.
Before, I thought the only other possibility of species similar to clarkii was sebae. Now I think differently. On the tail of my fish there is a white spot. I have only seen this in allard's clownfish or Amphiprion allardi. This brings me back to a year ago when I had a sebae clown, and purchased a BTA with it, and it went in it. According to several clownfish directories that I know, sebae only lives in Haddoni anemone. After some research I found out that Amphiprion allardi live in BTA.
Another thing that makes me think that mine is an allardi clownfish is sometimes the white band is kind of blueish, just like allardi.
So yeah, those are my arguments those of you who have read more than I, please help me figure this out.
Thanks,
stupid_naso

 

[p_apac]

both my clarkii have the 3rd stipe very slightly also.

 

[eelfreakrobi]

looks like a sebae to me.

 

[stupid_naso]

p_apac, mine looks just like yours. Are you sure yours is clarkii??

 

[p_apac]

hummmm.... well i have thought that for about a year but i have always wondered, i have another that i suppose is female because of its size and they came from different places, but i was told both were clarkii and they swim together and hang out in the same cave. the pic is of the oldest, or atleast i have had it the longest 1 year and it is the smallest by far. but it has a dark tail which i was told is just a morph.
here is the best pic i can get of the female and the (male?) id really like to know how to distinguish the difference between male and female

 

[marcandkelly]

I know that when I got my clowns the shop sold them as Clarkiis but I have been told that I have sebaes by others. I am also open to suggestions to what I have...

 

[stupid_naso]

p_apac, the easiest and the best way IMO to tell the gender of clownfish is by looking at the size. The bigger one is always the female. Unless there's a new study that has shown otherwise, that's what I have learned. The largest clown in the school is always the female.
marcandKelly, yours look just like mine. For some reason I don't think it's clarkii. It might be sebae but I'm not sure.
One way to find out the species of clownfish is through its anemone home. If you don't have any, we're pretty much stuck. I am still not sure which species of clown I have.
Anyone else can help???
stupid_naso

 

[bigeyedfish]

Mine is definitely a Sebae. Look at the slanted first stripe.
http://community.webshots.com/script...ecurity=ZOKCxV
I would say stupid_naso and p_apac have sebae's. marcandkelly yours looks to be a clarkii.

 

[jpribelin]

When I bought my clownfish at the LFS they had it labled as a Sebae. Here is a pic of mine and he plays in the Sebae Anemone.

 

[clarkiiboi]

MarcandKelly thats definately a sebae. One of the differences, appearance wise, is the sebae's white body band slants diagonally(sp) up to its upper fin. The clarkii wont have that white band extending to the upper fin. HTH

 

[p_apac]

i thought that clarkii and sebea would take any anemone as there host. mine was in a long tentacle for awhile untill the anemone died

 

[stupid_naso]

p_apac,
Clarkii pretty much goes to any anemones available. They're not picky about their host anemones.
Sebae, on the other hand, is relatively harder to please. Many believe that they only go into Haddoni anemone. Some say that they will live in BTA and also sebae.