the poor quality of captive-bred clownfish

[jeffyang]

I haven't tried any captive-bred clownfish for a while. This week I ordered two captive-bred clownfish(wild type) from a reputable breeder. One looks ok but the other has a pinched forehead and very clear underbite. Quite disappointed.
It is not that I don't support aquaculture. The wild-caught clownfish has a much better body shape and vigor.
Don't get me started on the designer clownfish. To me, they are just ugly.

 

[Joe462]

I haven't tried any captive-bred clownfish for a while. This week I ordered two captive-bred clownfish(wild type) from a reputable breeder. One looks ok but the other has a pinched forehead and very clear underbite. Quite disappointed.
It is not that I don't support aquaculture. The wild-caught clownfish has a much better body shape and vigor.
Don't get me started on the designer clownfish. To me, they are just

I haven’t had any trouble with captive bred clowns. All mine are tank raised and they are healthy and hardy. I prefer them to the wild caught clowns I have had in the past.

 

[zukihara]

I want to see this dude with the pinched head and underbite.

 

[MaxTremors]

I haven’t had any trouble with captive bred clowns. All mine are tank raised and they are healthy and hardy. I prefer them to the wild caught clowns I have had in the past.

I think there is a problem with inbreeding. And I agree, I think most ‘designer’ clownfish are abominations. Half of them literally look they’re being erased and the other half are just plain ugly, they look like bastardized goldfish. There are a couple variants that I like, but they’re all the ones that are closest to the wild type.

 

[CMMorgan]

I have two regular clowns - a "nemo" and a Saddleback Occy. The Saddleback went through a bout of ick and we almost lost it.
I also have an Ora Snowstorm. It's a beautiful fish. It's also the only one of my three that swims in the wiggle way that clowns are supposed to. I have another captive bred clown coming Tuesday from Sustained Aquatics by way of Oceans Garden. It's a long finned DaVinci. Honestly, it just looks like a long finned clown to me, which while designer is just stunning.
Just like "designer" dogs, there is always a risk of inbreeding and poor husbandry. We can never judge a whole group by a select few specimens.

 

[jeffyang]

Well, different tastes. Some people like the fancy patterns and colors.
I think the body and color designed by the nature are the best.

 

[jeffyang]

Some of the captive-bred fish are supposed to be culled , such as pinched forehead and under bite( a lot captive-bred maroons are those types and I see a lot clarkii and tomato at LFS are those types too).
Instead, they are still sold to customers.

 

[MaxTremors]

Some of the captive-bred fish are supposed to be culled , such as pinched forehead and under bite( a lot captive-bred maroons are those types and I see a lot clarkii and tomato at LFS are those types too).
Instead, they are still sold to customers.

I think if the fish is otherwise healthy and thriving, a few physical defects are not justification for culling. That’s venturing into living things as a disposable product territory, they’ve essentially become like all of the imperfect and unsold stock that luxury clothing brands burn each year (literally hundreds of millions of dollars worth of stock, we can’t have people with a Gucci purse with imperfect stitching or devaluing the brand by selling it at discount/outlet stores, now can we?).

 

[D-Nak]

Defects are not due to inbreeding. It mostly has to do with poor environmental conditions, sometimes combined with improper nutrition. Breeders just need to do a better job at perfecting their craft.

It‘s very rare for me to see a captive bred clownfish that looks like its wild counterpart. I feel that all breeders should breed clownfish that are as close to perfect as possible, free of physical defects. But since breeding is very easy these days and some people see making a quick buck as better than high quality, and buyers either not caring or not seeing these defects, it’ll continue to happen.

And no, we can’t have Gucci purses sold at outlet stores because it does devalue the brand. Just rip off the label and sell it as Guchi. Unfortunately, we can’t do that with clownfish, thus culling (as would happen in nature). And let’s try not to get into the ethical debate because then we’d have to discuss entire hobby as a whole.

 

[ca1ore]

Not surprising really. Nature will cull those individuals that cannot compete; breeders will not. Probably lack of genetic diversity has a role also. I’ve been playing around with clown breeding - no success yet LOL. Tried removing the tile right after eggs were layed - very poor hatch rate. Left tile in tank with the parents - Dad culled a number of the eggs. Less left to hatch, but a much better hatch rate.

Also, think about the foods that wild clown larvae have available to them versus just rotifer. Kinda surprising the fry don’t all have a third eye.