Common names are arbitrarily given based on coloration and like the freshwater Guppy, new color variants are being developed all the time, but how can we know for sure whether our clownfish is A. Ocellaris or A. Percula?
What does it matter?
Who cares?
There are hobbyists that claim they can tell the difference between Ocellaris and Percula and their
arguments may seem very convincing. In the last post, now edited, I placed a link to a website that, after further reading, was clearly one of those. I believe it's more accurate to say that the only way we can be sure is to know 2 facts, but even that is open for debate.
- What part of the ocean did the clownfish or it's ancestors originate?
- How many dorsal spines?
Unfortunately the number of dorsal spines alone cannot be a positive determination because they overlap. Percula can have either 9 or 10 and Ocellaris can have either 10 or 11. To make the matter even more confusing, it appears there is also a slight overlap in the ranges where these two fishes are found.
Aloha
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Reefboy4life wrote:
