Clownfish personalities, which is your fav & why

[corkyGramma]

I have had maroon clowns, clarkii clowns, ocellaris clowns, and I feel that when it comes to clownfish the common ocellaris has the best personality. I was wondering about the personalities of

PICASSO CLOWNS

SADDLE BACK CLOWNS

TRUE PERCULA CLOWNS

BLK & WT PERCULAS

PINK/ORANGE STRIPE

did I miss any?

[justahobby]

I love my Pink Skunks. They have a reputation for being less aggressive and IME its true. Occassionally I get a tail slap from the momma if I am too close to their anemone, but never the annoying biting. If another fish gets too close the female will use her nose to push them away... no chasing or biting. However, they haven't spawned yet so that may change.

[allan]

I've had the percs and now the pink skunks. I like the variety and color of the perc clowns but I couldn't get mine to host. My skunks took to rbta1 like a pig to mud. I enjoy the interaction of the clowns with their host so that was important to me.

[kkiel02]

Some on your list would be the same as they are just color variants. I love the percula/ occelaris look. I have had both and they seem to act about the same with the percula being slightly more territorial with their nems.

[Third Coast Tropical]

did I miss any?

Yes, there are at least triple that amount....and as mentioned by kkeil...some of yours are repeats,...but I understand what you are getting at...

It is hard for me to pick a favorite....I currently have 2 pairs of tomatoes, 2 pairs of GSMs, and a pair of Onyx percs...I have had ocellarris and saddlebacks in the past...

Ill elaborate later on behaviors, being rushed out the door by the kids to go to pool....

[allan]

If you have established skunk pair, can you introduce a lone perc?

[Kristy]

You just cannot beat the gold-stripe maroon because:
1. Sometimes my arm just itches to be bitten (and was asking for it anyway by going into the tank for any reason except to feed her highness, Big Mama).
2. Those little pesky frags that I wedge into the rocks with gobs of superglue really DO look so much better in the back of the tank and covered in sand where the mama maroon clown prefers to put them. You just have to have her sense of redecorating.
3. My maroon clowns are so thoughtful... They are really worried that I will have a reaction to the sting of any of our three anemones in the tank, so they work very hard to keep me away from them with head butts, tail slaps, and love nips.

[kkiel02]

Kristy that was hilarious.

[neogenix]

lol @ Kristy...

I've got ocellaris clowns, and they don't seem to have much of a personality one way or the other... but they're nice to look at. They seem to school together with my yellow tang, which i thought was odd, but hey ;)

[Third Coast Tropical]

Okay....It's so hard to say one type is my favorite over any others, but I suppose if I had to...it would be my maroons, even with the bad rep that has been bestowed upon them, they are great fish. I dont think any are more personable. I too love the bites I get every time I stick my hand in the tank, but more than that, its the powerful tail swats. My 2 GSM pairs are like night and day...one pair is constantly rearranging and are highly defensive of their tank. The other pair does minimal housekeeping, and also exhibits less aggression. With both pairs, the female can be hand fed and always wait for me at feeding time. Both pairs have spawning history.

My tomato pairs are pretty cool, I will definitely admit that. They are also very aggressive, and do alot of rearranging also. The males exhibit the most vibrant red of any of my clowns....absolutely beautiful. One pair is constantly dancing. One pair are definitely biters. And in contrast to the GSMs, the male tomatoes are usually the ones greeting me at feeding time.

My onyx percs are awesome....They are just over a year old (raised by me)....very beautiful fish. Probably nearing sexually maturity, as there is definitely some size difference and increased dominance display...they dance and shutter alot! And they defintely bite.....Of all my pairs, these are the most sociable, as they will stay out the entire time I work in the tank....not sure if that is a species trait or due to the fact they are tank raised and just used to me in their all of the time....


When I had my occellaris, they were great fish...very sociable and very pretty....They had a BTA they loved, always playing and hiding in it...They were also biters (in fact, I have been biten by every adult clown I have had).. I sold them to Sinner as I needed space....

At one time, I had a pair of saddlebacks...these fish were awesome,..the female was almost 6 inches, the male being about 2 inches...They were the most active of any clowns I have had....always swimming, chasing, and playing....I unfortunately lost both of this during my move from Port A to SA,...I took them to UTMSI (my former employer) to a holding tank with the intent of housing them there until I had their system set up in SA....They had other ideas, and the female jumped out of the holding system after about 3 days....the male a coupe of days later (he jumped with enough force to push the netting from the top of the tank)....Sad...these were awesome fish....I will definitely get more one day...They need a large tank though as they are swimmers


I suppose the one constant from this is...they all bite!....In general, I think fish have different personalities, but common behaviors.....

[Third Coast Tropical]

If you have established skunk pair, can you introduce a lone perc?

Personally, I wouldn't. Probably depends on your tank size...if it is huge then yes, maybe. I still wouldn't. Never had skunks. Want some.

[Europhyllia]

For a few years I had a pair of ocellaris clowns in a 30g tank. For some reason they stayed kind of small and docile. (they were tank raised and started out pretty tiny).
Then I moved them from a 30g to a 125g and they exploded into huge ocellaris clowns seemingly overnight.
I always kind of thought people being bitten by their lovely clowns must be somewhat a reflection of the owner's shortcomings because mine were sweet!
:)
Then they started spawning and they have been a pair of bitey little critters ever since.
They even charge at the Kent sea squirt (feeding tool) which seems kind of dumb.

Can't blame them though: all of the other fish make a feast out of their babies and the mandarin seems to harvest the eggs even before they hatch no matter how the clowns pose. Mandarins seem completely oblivious to threats like that.

The anthias at least will dash away before coming back.

The ocellaris have earned their keep through years of neglect in the 30g so even though they're no longer my favorites I wouldn't pass them on to another home.

The pink skunks sound sweet.

[allan]

Personally, I wouldn't. Probably depends on your tank size...if it is huge then yes, maybe. I still wouldn't. Never had skunks. Want some.

I have a 190, but I'm also full of fish.

My experience with the pinkie is very docile and the best way to catch them is by pulling their bta out of the water as they will stay in it even to the point of laying on top playing dead until resubmerging them.

[Third Coast Tropical]

the best way to catch them is by pulling their bta out of the water as they will stay in it even to the point of laying on top playing dead until resubmerging them.

thats pretty cool

[CoryDude]

Agree with Third Coast Tropical, maroons are my favorite. But, the ocellaris I have now reminds me of this:

9KV2M-SbMEA

[corkyGramma]

Oh, crap... I've had tomatoes. Well while some percs are a variation in color, false pers and blk & wt's for example dont resemble eachother in personality. That oppinion is based on my observation and the observation of a lfs owner- that's why I wanted to hear from people that have owned them, since fish will become more personable as you take them home and interact with them.



I've got ocellaris clowns, and they don't seem to have much of a personality one way or the other... but they're nice to look at. They seem to school together with my yellow tang, which i thought was odd, but hey ;)

:eek: Patrick, I can play with mine. I tease them when it is time to eat because them have been known to lie about being feed or not. They are so tame I could catch them with my bare hand.