tank bred or wild caught?

[lbear]

Hi!

I'd like to having two ocellaris clowns as 1st and 2nd fish of my new tank. Is it better to get tank bred or wild caught clown? What's the pros and cons. Any suggestions? Any good articles to read? What's the chance for them to pair up?

Thanks for your help!

[JRFowler]

I would say, tank bred, easier to keep but less likely to host an anenome, some dont even know what one is..

opposite for wild caught..

Id go for wild caught everytime because they tend to have better colours, etc.

[dantodd]

Captive bred fish are NOT less likely to host an anemone. You should always buy captive bred if possible. They will be healthier, less likely to bring disease into the tank. (QT anyway, even if they are the only fish in the tank.) They are more likely to survive in your tank because they are brought up on the same foods you can get for them at home. Captive Bred fish are no harder to pair than wild caught fish.

As far as color goes, that's a good reason to buy them in person rather than online.

[TOURKID]

i agree tank bred are the way to go.
My tank bred hosted the bta i added within 5 minutes
On the down side.. she did nothing but swim by my powerhead before that. shes never ever ventured into the rockwork
and wont let a cleaner shrimp near her

I added a wild caught, and it took off thru the rock work and acted like it was home.
but.. it hosted the bta and it doesent venture at all either lol

havent noted any color diff. between wild and tank bred..

[Hunter21]

I have a tank bred and I've never had anemone for him but he has a little patch of algae that he hosts in and wiggles through like as if it were an anemone. so I do think they still have some kind of instinct to host something, they just choose what it is! lol

Erin

[stykthyn]

go tank bred, you wont regret it. aside from the pros already listed it also diminishes the ecological impact of taking fish from the wild

[BonsaiNut]

If you have to ask the question, you should go captive-bred and raised.