Out here price is a good indicator; $15 for wild, $22-$25 for captive.

Some LFS do mark their Oscellaris as Percula. I rarely see true Percula in the LFS. Also, most captive bred I've seen don't look very well. It may be that by the time I see them they have been picked over but they can have odd shapes and markings.

Bob, I would suspect that it's a hobbiest or a basement operation. But this talk about colours and misshapes and runty looking fish makes me wonder, then, how many of these hobbiest-raised clownfish are in fact offspring of siblings. Inbreeding issues can't be much different for fish than it is for any other species ...

I agree with Delphinus,
I think inbreeding is an issue, plus as hobbyists are so happy to succeed, they don't have the heart to cull. A local hobbyist may not have perfected their techniques and feeding as much as say ORA or CQuest. This may lead to coloration and health issues. The uneven banding can be due to the fact that they reach the market at an earlier age. I also believe that captive diets may have a slightly slower growth than their wild "cousins".
I sometimes see mis-shaped jaws on captive. It doesn't seem to affect feeding and may balance out as they grow and mature.

The reason may be that the person doesn't want the attention. I've met many breeders that keep them and their techniques to themselves.

Remember that inbreeding has as much chance of creating a superior individual as it does an inferior individual. However I agree that is it highly doubtful that the breeder in Edmonton is keeping lineage records, which is truly essential if he wishes to maintain gene integrity.

I wonder if ORA keeps records. I've heard not.

ok..so i guess ocean's aquariums clownfish ARE wild caught, i am assuming this because of their price, 10.99 each..

Likely. Mine were about double that from Wais a couple years ago.... :rolleyes: Of course, I never saw perculas there that I remember.

I did buy a true percula once, early on in the hobby. It was noticeably different, far more black and behaved quite differently in my case. It was expensive as well.

I believe mine are wild caught ocellaris.

http://www.members.shaw.ca/beans666/...SC00039_rs.jpg

P.S. for anyone interested, while laying, the female bites the tentacles of the anemone that come close to the site.

I bought a small Maroon and a False Percula at my LFS as they were returned by a local who wanted to change to a aggressive FO. I watched them for three weeks as they interested me, most local Clowns are of poor health( ones that are for sale). The two have been great together and seem to be doing some pre-mating behaviours??? Would be neat if they do, but I'm not ready for that. I have been told that they could mate and that the offspring would NOT be sterile. My Maroon does not have any gill spines. What would the offspring look like with these two?

Marcus