ID Clown Fish

[leoslizards]

I got this Clown Fish a little over 2 months ago. He or she was giving to me and someone told me it's a Percula but I'm not 100% certain. When I got him/her, he was almost completely orange with no black on his tail, fins, etc.. Only some very thin black lines around the white lines. Similar to an Ocellaris clown.

Since then he has gotten a lot of black on his fins, tail, etc.. but the lines are still thin. His body coloration also got a bit darker. It's hard to capture his true color on camera but he's a dark orange. I have included two pictures. The first one is untouched and the second was color corrected in photoshop but made him look a bit redder then he really is.

I noticed that the strip in the middle is almost completely straight unlike all the other pics of clowns I've seen online. Most of the ones I've seen have a "T" shaped line down the middle. Will his strips change as he grows? I also counted eight lines/spikes on his dorsal fin if that helps.

Any info will be appreciated. Thanks.

[CHARLIE AGUILAR]

Marron clown hard to pair w/ mate

[Bmgrocks]

No mistaking that guy, its a White Striped Maroon Clown

[adtravels]

Originally posted by Bmgrocks
No mistaking that guy, its a White Striped Maroon Clown

could be a gsm as they develop the gold as they mature

[garygb]

Very nice maroon (Latin name is Premnas biaculeatus, in case you want to google). Somewhat aggressive, especially to other species of clowns. If you do decide you want a pair, you will want to get a much smaller one. The smaller one will stay male and yours will become female. If you are new to clowns, that might sound strange, but all clowns are male when they are very small and then the larger, more dominant ones become female.

[leoslizards]

Originally posted by garygb
Very nice maroon (Latin name is Premnas biaculeatus, in case you want to google). Somewhat aggressive, especially to other species of clowns. If you do decide you want a pair, you will want to get a much smaller one. The smaller one will stay male and yours will become female. If you are new to clowns, that might sound strange, but all clowns are male when they are very small and then the larger, more dominant ones become female.

Yeah I read that not to long ago.

Are you guys sure it's a maroon clown? What gives it away? The non "T" shaped strip? Like I said, he is a bit lighter then in the pictures but he sure looks like the brownish redish colored maroons I've seen at the LFS. Will he turn that really dark maroon color or will he stay this color?
These guys get bigger also, about 5" right? They are also worth more then the regular Perculas and false percs right? I wanted to breed clowns but now I think these guys will be too aggressive for the tank. Will they breed with only other maroons (even gold strip) or with any other type of clowns?

I also have a Royal Gramma and a Firefish and wanted to get either a six line wrasse, 1-3 blue or the blue with yellow tailed chromis, a Mandarin fish, a purple Firefish, or a Dwarf Flame Angel. Are there any compatibility issues with these fish?
I wanted to avoid aggressive fish in my tank because I wanted to add a Dwarf Flame Angelfish last. Will having more then one semi-aggressive fish in a 29g tank be a big problem?

The funny thing is that I got this fish for free (all my other fish also) from my uncle who got it from a lady he knows from his job who's a manager at a SW fish distributor company and he said she told him it was a Percula. I don't think she knows much about fish, she just runs the company. lol. I asked her for community fish and she gave me a Velvet Damsel fish last time which I had to sell because he was attacking my Royal Gramma and Firefish. She's giving me another clown soon so I want to make sure it's the same as this one, or better yet I prefer a GSM.

[garygb]

Don't put a mandarin in a 29 gallon tank, it will starve to death.

You would have to get another maroon if you want to breed yours, a gold stripped is fine, they are the same species. Maroon clowns are actually in a different genus (Premnas) than all the other clowns (Amphiprion). In a 29 gallon, you have 3 fish already, you might want to get a bigger tank if you want to add more.

Research anything you are thinking about adding to your tank, as you are your maroon.

[cl2ysta1]

It is definetly not a percula. percs are orange maroons are maroon. if you google pictures on the internet you should get good at tellingg the difference. marroons also have larger more flowy fins, and the red eyes. The is also an occelaris. which is a false perc. between the perc and occelarris those are a little harder to tell apart. you have to count dorsal fins. Just go to google.com and type in Percula clownfish click on images and look at pictures of those, than do the same with maroon clownfish, than the same with false percula clownfish =)

[cl2ysta1]

and like what has said maroons are harder to pair. yours looks smaller. your best bet is getting the smallest you can get to pair it up at this point. I wouldnt put any other species of clownfish with your maroon as they will more than likely not get along. also damsels are quite agressive.

[Cheebs]

That's the truth, I tried pairing mine up with a larger one and he practically murdered him. But it's definitely a maroon

[leoslizards]

Well he definitely looks like a maroon except with more black. All the pics I saw online didn't barely have any black at all. Will he turn that dark maroon color or will he stay this brownish reddish color?

He's just under 2". I'll tell my uncle to get me a really small GSM then. Thanks guys for all your help.

[dc]

Maroons come in a variety of shades ranging from oranges to maroon. Mine was quite orange when it was little and is now maroon. My friend's maroon is a real dark color. I believe they are also called spinecheeks. That has that. Not to say it couldn't be a cross.

[dc]

Except for the dirty glass here's what mine looks like today

[leoslizards]

Beautiful clown dc.

I noticed the spine on the cheek today.
When do GSM's start to get the yellow colors?

[dc]

Mine were always yellow so I have no idea.

[cl2ysta1]

here are my gold stripes

[cl2ysta1]

[leoslizards]

cl2ysta1 at what age/size did yours start getting the yellow stripes or did they always have it?

I already called my uncle today and I told him to get me a 1" GSM instead of a Percula.

[cl2ysta1]

I had them over a year before they ever got the gold tint. thhey are about 5 now