perc or ocellaris

[president89]

I picked up two clowns at my LFS. The tank was marked Percula, and I thought they were Ocellaris. Now for once i wasn't dealing with the owner, but the guy that helped me has been there for atleast 3 years. He said they came in as perculas. The photo isn't that great. If you look at the pair in person they have black seperating the bars. The pic makes them look invisible. Let me know what you think. Yes, i know my tank glass is dirty. http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/54300newclowns.JPG

[aaronpentz]

They are False Percs

My False Percs have a very small line seperating the orange and white.

But my True Perc is black and white with orange fins.

Heres my True Perc:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f197/aaronpentz/PB300999.jpg

[president89]

so, isn't a false perc an ocellaris? or is that another type all together.

[aaronpentz]

Yeah but everybody calles them something different.

Check this out
http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/clownfishcare/l/blpercula.htm

[phender]

Actually not all A. percula have a thick black border around their white bands. Some have almost no black at all. It is very possible that they are A. percula. The bright orange iris on the smaller fish would make it seem to be a true percula. Better pics of the overall fish and the eyes would be needed for a more precise ID.

FWIW: Tanks raised percs tend to start off with much less black than their ocellaris counterparts. The black takes a while to develop if it develops at all.

[president89]

well better pics are impossible right now.. a stupid powerhead fell and went straight down into sand and made a nice huge cloud.. powerhead junk, and now i have to wait for the dust to settle. does anyone else think clownfish look like puppies. If i lean right into the tank they will come right to the glass and say hello. I love them already.

[conefree]

another way to check is to count the dorsal spines. While not a hard and fast rule (just like the black borders), it may be another way to check. It is in the article linked above. Good luck!

[president89]

Here is a better pic, sorry about the algae, my snails are being lazy and i odn't have an algae scraper yet.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/54300clown1.JPG

[ReefObsessor805]

I've had my Ocellaris Clown for 3 years plus now and he's a gangsta...

[ChunksInClemson]

President, I wouldn't call that a better pic lol. The smaller is definitely A. percula aka true percula. I'm thinking the larger one is A. ocellaris aka false percula but need a better pic of the eye to see. If there is an obvious orange ring around the pupil, its a true percula.

Hope this helps...
Chris

[president89]

Yeah, that algae shows up pretty well in the pic. They are both true percs then I think. They both have an orange ring around their eyes. It shows up especially well in flash photos.. and i'm not talking about red eye.

[ChunksInClemson]

cool! I've got a mixed pair and hopefully they'll spawn sometime in the near future. They're both tank raised so I dont know the difference in spawning percentages between the TR and WC but I guess we'll find out.

Chris

[Atticus]

100% A. Ocellaris No doubt in my little mind.

It is true that perculas can have thin black. It is also true that you can normally tell by the iris.

In this case I can tell by the body shape and 10 years of staring at ocellaris. Ocellaris are typically taller in the body as perculas are smaller and more torpedo shaped. The eyes in this pair also show the tea cloudiness in the iris that is indicitive of Ocellaris. The iris of A. Percula are brilliant orange and crystal clear. There is no tea clouding. Aaron's picture kind of shows this, the iris matches the bright orange of the head. The ocellaris pictures show a green brown tint that would be more appearant in person and without the use of a flash.

[Jovreefer]

agree with Atticus! 100% Ocellaris.

Pupil color in pics can be deciving! spine count cant be trusted because they can both have 10.

Body shape screams Ocellaris & so does the shape of the middle stripe.

If they came in together they are the same kind of fish, you dont have one perc and one Ocellaris.

[bencozzy]

looks like a perc to me best way to tell is by looking at dorsal ray hight, always taller on ocellaris.(the hard rays in front will be taller then the soft rays for the back part of dorsal fin on percs they are about the same hight)

[president89]

Once I get an Algae float mag cleaner, i'll clean the front glass and then I'll try to get better pics.