SECTION 3: Purchasing/Buying Clownfish(es)
SECTION 3: PURCHASING/BUYING CLOWNFISH(ES)
Okay, so you've got a reef tank, or you are starting a tank and have been reading and practicing how to keep the salinity constant...temperature constant...pH at correct range levels...etc. Now you decide you want to purchase a clownfish or two to begin with. In the other spectrum, you're an experienced 'reefer'...and are keeping a reef tank or several reef tanks, and would like to add a clownfish or two.
What are your options? There are many species that are easily attainable from the local fish store, local breeder, or online retailers. I will give some information on what to look for in each situation.
Buying from Local Fish Store
I cannot stress this enough, but they are the most obvious choices to get your clownfishes. I would suggest to support your LFS or breeder, as like other specialty stores, none would be around if we do not support them. You've got your mind on a certain species of clownfish--which you decided upon from your tank size (i.e. a Gold Stripe Maroon adult pair should not be in a 10 gallon tank, etc). More specifically, if you have a predator tank, it is just obvious to not place a clown in there, unless it is large and not in the presence of 'clown-eaters' (i.e. lionfish, large eels, etc).
What do I look for?
Many times, local fish stores (LFS, from now) will just stock recent arrivals directly into their display tanks, and while I cringe at their methods, I will tell you now to be patient when picking your clownfishes. The first question I would pose is, "How long has this clownfish/these clownfishes been here?" Shipping is stressful for all animals, and you do NOT want to purchase one that has just been emptied from a shipping bag, into a store's tank water, and then have it packed again for you to put it in totally different water back home. My rule is at least 2 weeks++ before even taking one home from a local fish store. I will discuss tank-raised/captive-bred clownfishes later, but you may ask why wait such a long time if you decide to purchase tank-raised/captive-bred (TR and CB from now on, I will use these two terms interchangeably). The reason is that depending on your LFS, they may stock TR/CB fish together with Wild-Caught (WC from now on) specimens. This means that whilst the TR/CB specimens did not have parasites/diseases upon arrival, they may have, and probably are prone to diseases brought in by WC fishes. Patience is number 1. Better to take home a specimen or specimens that will live rather than die the next day or two.
Next look for physical problems. I am very picky on this, and would suggest you scrutinize your clownfishes before purchasing them (although hopefully...not to the extent that I do.....:lol: ). Physical problems that are obvious are shredded fins (dorsals, pelvic, etc), including the caudal fin (i.e. tail fin). Shredded fins are signs of deteriorating water quality--high in nitrates, ammonia, and can also mean they have been attacked by another specimen or another fish species, and furthermore they are probably malnourished. Either way, clownfishes with missing parts are more prone to succumb to diseases and especially during the critical period of adjusting to your home tank. Then look at the gill flaps. Are they much more extended, as if they are respirating(breathing) rapidly. Again, deteriorating water quality and clownfishes at this stage are prone to diseases, and while they may not show signs, it may still harbor them. Look for lesions on the surface of their body, cloudy eyes, enlarged eye (one larger than the other). Avoid those with the previous descriptions. Doing your work at the store keeps less work and stress for you at home. Lastly, look for obvious diseases, such as ich, and any distracting surface coloration as it may be signs of disease such as brooklynella (which will be covered in a later section).
The last thing that people often avoid doing is actually asking the LFS associate/helper to actually feed the fishes before buying. Healthy clowns, even when full, will take a bite of food morsels. If it is full, it will spit it out, which is obvious. Otherwise, they will take it in. I would advise you to avoid clownfishes that do not attempt to grasp food when available. Again, this may carry over to fishes that recently have come in, which will not feed or may not feed until a couple days later of being in the store tank.
....let's now look at another option...buying from an online-retailer.
Best,
Ilham
(post 5)
