Question about Percula

My male Perc does not have complete white bands on the tail or the head. The bands only go around about 90%. Were they do not touch are both on the same side. The femae her bands are 100%. Is this a defect or is this common on these fish?

some people think it's a genetic defect, others think it's a lack of nutrition when they are young. I have a few misbars, that's what they are called. There's nothing wrong with the fish. I personally would rather have a misbar. I like the look better.

here's my ocellaris misbar

I think it makes the fish a little unique. Does not bother me but was curious. Thanks for the responses.

put up a pic of yours!!! I'd really like to see it. I love perc's too!

I will try and take a good pic and have it up Saturday.

Awesome!!!! Wanna see the perc I have now? I'm getting another on Wednesday.

Sure.

Here is a pic. Not great but the best I could do. He just would not come close.

that's cute. the misbar is on the tail. Don't see that much. That's a pretty fish. How old is it? Sometimes things change within the first year, but I'm sure it's going to stay misbar.

The bar on the face doesnt go all the way under either. It is hard to see because he is at an angle. I have had him for over a year and a half roughly. Not sure on exact age...

I'm not purporting to know anything, just asking in a devil's advocate sort of manner.

I was big into african cichlids for a few years and messed up stripes, colors, etc. was a sure sign of a hybrid.

I'm not even sure that it is possible to hybridize a percula. Thoughts?

hybrids can look completely different. Without a closer pic I can't even tell if that's a percula. There's quite a few breeders who have done an A. ocellaris x A. percula cross. There's other crosses too.

That makes sense. Are there any issues in the market with unintentional hybrids?

That is a huge problem with africans. Many species can interbreed, so when someone goes into the LFS and gets a wad of "asstd. african cichlids", they are usually hybrids and they usually interbreed. The electric yellow labs in stores are almost always hybrids. The only way to get good ones is from a very reputable breeder, or wild caught.

no usually the odd balls bring a higher price. There's a breeder on another site, that I know, that's recently found an odd ball gene in their maroon clowns. Then they found a couple more. These are going to be sought after just for the gene.

All black "Rotten Tomato Clownfish" spotted! — Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog

oh nice! Better keep an eye out for mislabels at LFS over the next couple of years. Your average petco employee won't know the difference between a rotten tomato and a black ocellaris.

It's great that the clowns don't get muted or otherwise ugly when hybridized.

People have been intentionally breeding misbars for a couple of years now. All the snowflake clowns are, are extreme misbars, bred with extreme misbars.

And yeah, odd usually sells for considerably more than typical.

There is some hearing loss going on now in wild clowns. They are thinking ocean acidification is the cause. No definate on that though. It shouldn't be anything that hurts our hobby. It's just mainly for the young finding their home.

Originally Posted by dbrann11

oh nice! Better keep an eye out for mislabels at LFS over the next couple of years. Your average petco employee won't know the difference between a rotten tomato and a black ocellaris.

It's great that the clowns don't get muted or otherwise ugly when hybridized.