First timer with a clarkii (odd behav.?)
 

So I just traded in my two tank-raised Ocellaris yesterday for a beautiful clarkii. I seen him in the display the day before, and knew I had to have him , so I put him on hold The LFS said it was some different type of clarkii though ( i thought i heard, african? ) the color on this guy is just amazing.. so bold and vibrant. Anyone have suggestions as to the type of clarkii? (I'll update with pics shortly!)

On to my story... I thought I read somewhere that clarkii's have a high respiration rate? as in... breathing fast (all the time?) is this true? I may be mistaken, but my clarkii still appears to be breathing fairly heavily... also, he seems quite skittish still. He will dart off to the back of the tank if I come too close/quick. He's doing the "bobbing" up and down motion quite a bit too. I just want to make sure everything is okay with him, he's too cool.

The tank he was in , he was all by himself, with a giant carpet anemone. Then when I went to get him yesterday, his host was gone but he was still theo nly one in that tank.. Also, if I am not mistaken, clarkii's are a natural host to BTA's? Well, in my 20g I have three of them and he has not yet noticed one of them what's the deal ! haha

Scott

(copy and pasted from RC clownfish forum.. it's dead there)

she sounds a little stressed, give her some quiet time to settle in. She has had a rough few days, what with her home being stolen and then being kidnapped right after :lol:

yeah, Gold's just got her in on Friday (or thursday..) then she probably just settled in, them BAM change of scenery, again.

shes too cute. have you heard of african clarkii's ? just trying to find out as much as possible on her.

my tank mates now... 1 flasher wrasse (gorgeous), 1 carribean royal gramma, 1 clarkii, 1 yellow watchmang goby. and thats ALL for fish!

reply
 

I remember mine used to do the glass bobbing thing as well. I had it with a condalactuse and an LTA and it ignored both for a while. Eventually it chose the condalactus anemone and all was well.

Could be Allard's Clownfish (Amphiprion allardi), think I might have one of those too. But Clark's can vary so much in appearance and are so common - I keep reading that it's a safe bet that I have a variant and not a different species.

But then there's those huge pectoral fins... :eek:

Re: First timer with a clarkii (odd behav.?)
 

It probaly is a Clarkii. There are 2 color forms of these guys. The black and white and the yellowish brown and white. The sure way to tell is ALL clark's clowns have a white tail. This is just what I read in "Clownfish" by Joyce D. Wilkerson.

My Clarks had a fast breathing rate but not overly fast. They also did the hiding thing but when they learn you are the bringer food they will come and greet you. This bobing thing is how the clownfish got its name so dont be worried it is natural.

As for the hosts this is what they host in the wild:
bubbletip
long tenticle
Sticky Carpet
white sand
magnificant
sebea
beaded
giant carpet
saddle carpet
and mertans

so basicaly any anemone that will host clowns hosts clarkiis they are not too demanding. Give him time he will take a host when he is ready.

You seem to have lots of questions about clownfish why not pick up "clownfish" by Joyce d. Wilkerson. Exelent book. Throughly explains each type of clown, what anemone hosts what clowns, anemone replacements breeding and culutring food plus more. Definatly worth every penny. JMO Good luck. one more note Clark's are the easiest of all clowns to spawn so if you ever want to get into it clarks are your best bet aside from Ocellaris. Good luck and let us know how it comes along.

Re: First timer with a clarkii (odd behav.?)
 

Do you read the whole post..?? :confused:

Re: First timer with a clarkii (odd behav.?)
 

:mrgreen:
and Ryan they can have a yellow tail. This is copied from wetwebmedia

ok so let me just clarify here before I get in some sort of trouble hah..

the two ocellaris are GONE . thank you .

well, I thought I read somewhere that Clark's have a high resperation rate?

and if these guys are easy spawners... then I am gunna kick my yellow watchman out of the tank, and pair 'em up ASAP ...

my sister just updated me "your clown noticed the BTA" ... so hopefully we'll have some hosting when I get home from work !

I do not just have questions on clowns... I could ask a million questions ... it's an annoying quality to have.. I just like to be re-assured. just the way i am... :rolleyes:

are clarks mean? as in, agressive? i always assumed they were gentle and friendly. and they are quite agressive with their anemone as well? I have one fairly large BTA, and two tiny clones , hopefully she chooses the big one. Someone told me that clarks are like maroons with their anemone...

it was an exciting weekend for the reef... three new fish, said by to two good clowns (at sale at golds) .. got a new royal gramma, and a flasher wrasse... a new brain coral with 5 heads.. and a nice button polyp rock and a halloween hermit. the "bug" is getting worse guys.... :eek:

Ya i rered the post so before you guys start barking at me let me go through my post agian and delete what i need to delete.

Clarks are semi aggressive fish. THey get big too. 4 inches. THing about clarks is that the male can get as big as the female. They are the fastest growing of all the clowns and adapt the fastest to aquariums. They are strong swimmers so they usualy dont stay in one general area they are more out and about compared to toher clowns. Eggs re not hidden but usualy layed in the open. Females tails usualy turn white.

SO if you want to breed clowns i would definatly grab this book. I just went through the clarkii section and found these there are tons more points you should read.

Woah lets get this clear here. Clarks are easy to spawn compared to other clowns. You should take this slow and make sure you can properly culture the fry food (rotifer) before you jump into this.

ok, well let ME clear something up... i was in no way implying that I want to jump right into spawning.. I already know the amount of work and time... it's not easy, I know. And I am by no means ready for it... I thought it was good to hear that they are the easiest spawners though... just incase I DO decide I Want to raise the fry.

just checked on her... shes doing alright.. swimmin around, she has noticed the BTA, but will not go in yet.. probably a new one to her.


gunna take some pics in a sec. of all my new fish.

Clarkii's can be mean. Ask Marie in Powell River. Her's beat up on an expensive Majestic angel so now he's in Burnaby in my 20g wondering "what the bleep happened?" :biggrin:

By the way, anybody want a mean 3.5" male? Promised Marie I'd try to find him a good home if I don't keep it myself.

Anthony

Actually Anthony, that fish has been on his own for the last year so it is probably a female now. My experience with clarkiis is that they are one of the more aggressive clowns but i have only had two so i could be wrong :lol:.
The female that i still have is a firm but fair boss of the tank and after a few run-ins with a fish net no longer attacks me when my hands are in the tank :biggrin: l

I read somwhere that clownfish need to get used to the anemone first. They did an experiment or somthing i cant remeber i will try to find it. Give him time he will go in. WHat do u mean by noticed it??

It's hosting now.. well not 100%.. but it's been playing with it if you will for a couple hours... too funny to watch. Thankfully it chose the big BTA.

Well, hopefully the clarkii doesn't pick on the flasher wrasse or yellow watchman. I can only pray... it's still fairly small, I gotta take a pic .

well, I finally got around to the pics.... here's the new clown. (and carpenters flasher wrasse)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...5/IMGP0494.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...5/IMGP0495.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...5/IMGP0492.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...5/IMGP0489.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...5/IMGP0500.jpg

:cool:

does that look like an average joe clarkii? someone at golds said african i think... not 100% but they did say it was a different type

I can't find my good pics of my clown right now
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...7Image0007.jpg
Oh, and just for the record i don't know where this one came from, so it could be african like yours :biggrin:

nice! either way, african or not... they are awesome.. I like the colors of clarkii.

that's a nice tank you have.. or one of many nice tanks? haha.

what is that stuff in the bottom left of the picture? It's green and leafy and is infesting a zoanthid rock of mine, with another type of green stuff. Mine isn't nearly as long, but it grows like a weed so I keep picking it out.