Percula Clownfish (Amphiprion Percula)
Percula Clownfish is one of the most popular Clownfish on the market. The Percula has a brighter orange color than the Ocellaris also know as the False Percula. These two are hard for newcomers to the saltwater scene to tell apart. This will help you out, they have three white stripes that go around the fish that starts right behind the eye. The middle line should also bows to head of the fish. The black lines that outline the clown fish and the white stripes is also wider on them than on the False Percula. On some Percula clownfish the black lines maybe really thick where others might be thinner.
Another way to tell them a part is to count the dorsal spines on them. There should be 10 spines on the Percula but there has been a few rare cases where they have had 9. The dorsal spine is the first set of fins on the top of the fish. The second set is called soft fins.
The Percula Clown Fish if left in the wild it will grow to be around 4 inches. If it is tank rasied it will be around 2 to 3 inches in length. Percula are omnivore’s this means that they will eat animal flesh and vegetable matter. Some people feed them a mixture of flakes and either frozen brine shrimp or mysis shrimp.
The Percula like the anemone Heteractis Magnifia but this is a difficult one to grow in the home aquarium. They also like the Atichodactyla Mertensii but only if you plan on a really large tank since they grow really large. Some people have had luck with other anemone’s like the Bubble Tips.
These are really neat fish but maybe not the right fish for a newcomer to the reef tanks. Just make sure you read alot before jumping in so you and your fish will both be healthy and happy.