Amphiprion Percula - Facts On The Percula Clownfish

Scientific Name : Amphiprion Percula

Origin : Solomon Islands, Queensland, Vanuatu

DIfficulty : Easy

Minimum Size Tank : 20 gallons

Temperament : Peaceful

Temperature : 72 - 82°F

Reef Safe : Yes

Maximum Size : 3 Inches

Diet : Omnivore

Both the Amphiprion Percula and its close cousin Amphiprion Ocellaris share the distinction of being the most popular fish in the hobby bar none. You may be thinking,"well yeah...thats because of Finding Nemo". Truth is, they were popular even before the film.

Percula clownfish are a common offering in the hobby, though never as cheap or as common as the ocellaris clownfish. They are entirely orange with three white bands (outlined with black) around their body, head and near their caudal fin. Meaning, they look almost exactly like ocellaris clowns do. To the casual viewer, they look entirely the same.

Physically however, they are both different. Ocellaris clowns have 11 dorsal spines while percula's have 10. I don't expect anyone to go counting dorsal spines (Not easy to do), thankfully there's a much easier way. The black outlines around their white bands are thicker and more pronounced on the percula clownfish than they are on ocellaris clownfish.

They generally cost more than ocellaris, with small specimens going for about $20 while larger percula's can fetch up to $30. A few dollars more can buy a tank-raised specimen. Given a choice, you should always go for tank-bred clownfish as they're generally better suited to captive life.

They also known as anemonefish because they share a symbiosis with anemones. They have learned the art of avoidance with certain anemones in the wild. They produce a mucus on their bodies that are believed to render these fishes invisible to their anemone hosts.

Generally peaceful, these clownfish get along well with a wide variety of tank mates. However, they can be hostile towards other clownfish from within or outside their species. Three general ways to get an ocellaris pair are :-

• Buy a mated pair
  
• Get a large one and a small one, put them together and wait a month or two
  
• Put two small ones together and let them work it out, you should end up with a pair

Options 2 and 3 don't guarantee 100% success, but they do work most of the time.

These fishes are a small, reaching only 3 inches in length. This makes them excellent candidates for smaller tanks.

All clownfish are site attached, which means they are usually around their territory (a small area) most of the time.

Their territory can be anything from an anemone to a few pieces of live rock.

They may even take up residency in a coral like the frogspawn and the elegance coral. Generally, anything that has long flowing tentacles are fair game for them.

Because of this behaviour they can be kept in aquariums no larger than 20 gallons.

Percula clowns are very easy to feed in captivity. Once they get used to their surroundings they will take almost anything you offer.

In the wild their mainly carnivores but they become omnivores in our aquariums as they're not too choosy about what they're fed.

Some pretty good flake and pellet foods are produced by Ocean Nutrition. Formula One, Formula Two and Prime Reef are good choices. Formula Two has extra algae added to it while Prime Reef is mostly a blend of seafoods.

But if you want the best, you have to go with New Life Spectrum. All my fishes get some new life spectrum daily.

Mix it up a bit with some frozen foods like mysis shrimp and krill.

Despite their widespread use as a food, most frozen brine shrimp are nutritionally poor. They are mostly roughage, which is nothing more than fiber. Many superior foods on the market offer just as much fiber and much much more.

If you must feed your percula brine shrimp then go for enriched artemia like "spirulina enriched brine shrimp" by Hikari. Enriched brine shrimp are simply artemia that were stuffed with a nutritious food (like spirulina) and then frozen. So they are mainly carriers of nutrition.

Newly hatched artemia can also be offered, as long as their yolk sacs are not too depleted, they remain nutritious (within 24 hours after hatching). They become nutritionally poor yet again once their yolk sacs are used up.

Percula clownfish are one of the few marine fishes that are bred on a large scale. One of the easiest saltwater fish to breed, they are the first choice for novice breeders. But before you can start breeding them, you need a mated pair.

All clownfish start off unsexed, turn into males, and may or may not become a female depending on social status. Only the highest ranked clownfish in a group turns into a female. If she dies, the alpha male (queen in waiting) will begin turning into a female to take her place. Females are always the largest, most aggressive clownfish in any group. So to recap :-

Sexless ----------> Male ---------> Strongest in the group ---------> Female

Females cannot revert back into males, which is a great reason for not trying pairing up two large percula clownfish. If they are both female, the pairing will fail.

They lay their eggs on a variety of places. Flower pots, live rock, even plastic sheets are used as a substrate to lay their eggs on. Breeders usually use empty 20 gallon aquariums with either a flower pot or an acrylic sheet for them to lay their eggs on.

Their larvae need a small food for the first few days, rotifers fit the bill perfectly. After that they can be fed exclusively on baby brine shrimp.

For further information on the topic of breeding, i'd like to recommend two good books.

The best book on breeding marine fish to date, the Breeders Guide to Marine Aquarium Fishes by Matt Wittenrich. It covers a large variety of popular fish including clownfish.

The second book is Clownfishes by Joyce Wilkerson. Although published in 1997 it is still the best book on the clownfish by far.