LF: black clown fish

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by TaioneReefer

title says it all, looking for some black clowns, not brown or black with some orange,
Looking for full black clowns

Thanks

Juveniles will have the orange face and maybe a little hint of orange between the face and middle band. these fish are born orange then turn black and the more dominant turn black first.

That being said I remember seeing a guy in Kamloops who was captive breeding clowns and might have blacks.

Mine came from Kevin at Red Coral and he got them from Australia. I couldnt ask for a nicer quality specimen. I had 2 but the female committed suicide on the carpet so I bought a Wyoming White to replace her.

When I first got into it I bought blacks from Aquarium Illusions and I believe they were from ORA so you might want to try them as well.

[TaioneReefer]

Thanks Ryan, I will take a look.

is there different grades of Black clowns?

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by TaioneReefer

Thanks Ryan, I will take a look.

is there different grades of Black clowns?

Yes and no. IMO if your buying 3/4-1.25" fish then just try to pick the blackest ones even if they have an orange face.

If they are full size and they are brown or still have alot of orange on the body these are poor quality.

Always try to buy black with orange never buy Brown and orange these will grow up to be a dark brown and never really get black.

[TaioneReefer]

Thanks Ryan, thats exactly what I ve been looking for.

At my LFS there is a few in seperated tanks Small incher that are slightly dark and orange overall body colour

and its tagged as black clowns. so is it worth giving those a shot?

[Ryan]

If you have any doubt I would pass on them. There will be more through the door or just wait it out and see.

Check out this thread and you can see how they mature into their color. It is 42 pages but I am confident it will help you make your own decision.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1333809

[TaioneReefer]

Time to Read ! LOL

may i ask how much did you get your blacks for?
and what is reasonable price range for them

Thanks

[Ryan]

I think I payed $50 a fish from Kevin @ RC and from AI I paid $80/fish.

AI was 3 years ago now and RC was just over 14 months now.

I would pay $50-$60/fish for nice solid black babies. I dont think I would buy anything over 1.5".

[Acipenser]

PM sent !

[Reefie]

PM "sick lid"
He's from Kamloops and usually has pairs of black clowns for about $80, and he comes into Vancouver every few months.

I bought mine from Barrier Reef Aquariums in Renton for $50 USD each.

Most black ocellaris will have an orange mouth as juvi's then as they mature they turn all black as Ryan said.

If you're not buying them already paired, I would suggest buying one larger than the other. This will increase your chances of them pairing up, as for breeding it may take weeks to months if ever at all.

Here are some pics of mine, they paired up instantly.

They were kissing, but I just missed it.




This is the smaller one that still kind of has the orange mouth.

[Ryan]

Here they were when I first got them


This is when I started exclusive feeding on the New Era. You can see the orange poking through as the food brought out the original color in the fish.


Here they are now