Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board - distinguishing black ocellaris and black percula..not the same??

A. ocellaris = False Percula
A. percula = True Percula

Most times people drop the "false" part when advertising the fish. If you actually want A. percula, then you need to specify "TRUE Percula". True Percs have more dorsal fin rays, and usually have thicker black lines. Some "crappier" True Percs look just like False Percs in coloring.

The black and white clowns are ALL Ocellaris, but are usually called "Black and white Percula clown". The ones that are jet black are the same species as the ones that have some orange shining through. They do darken with age, but it doesn't take 2 1/2 years, and some will never be jet black. OPs clown will never be jet black. If possible, look at the parents, and if the parents are jet black the chances that the young ones will be jet black is likely. :)

Apparently some people have had Perculas and Ocellaris interbreed, and many are questioning whether they are truely a different species. Personally, I think it's like humans and monkeys. They used to be the same, but some evolved into a different species due to environment, but still share much of the same DNA. Obviously, in the case of these fish the relation is much closer.