Tank-raised vs. wild Gold Stripe Maroon Clown

GordoB · 06-28-2006, 08:47 AM

I'm looking at getting a Gold Stripe Maroon Clown, and I was wondering which would be better to get for a reef tank: a tank-raised or wild-caught specimen? Does anyone have suggestions as to which one I should look at getting? I noticed that on saltwaterfish.com, they have both types, and the wild-caught is more expensive. Any thoughts????

jenajet · 06-29-2006, 01:40 AM

I honestly don't know what the difference in wild and tank raised? I know sometime when they are tank raised they don't take to anemones as well but that's about the extent of my knowledge. I do know that maroon's period are the most aggressive of the clowns and from my experience if you want more than one maroon get them at one time so that they are less likely to fight. I have a maroon that does fine with other fish but everytime I have tried to add another maroon he attacks.

Geoff · 06-29-2006, 08:42 AM

one of greatest advantages of tank raised fish is that they are already eating prepared foods. much less to worry about when feeding the tank.

they can be a bit slow to host with anything, but not a big deal. means the clown will swim around more.

G~

Esper · 08-02-2006, 08:54 PM

i'm surprised others haven't urged you more strongly to consider tank raised livestock whenever that option is available.

not only are you much more likely to get a healthy, hardy, easy-to-feed, and more responsive fish, but you are helping make this hobby more self-sustaining while decreasing the destruction and negative impact of collecting wild-caught specimens.

Even if you don't care about any of that, the tank-raised option is cheaper! most of us are willing to pay more for tank-raised than wild caught livestock, because we see them as more valuable (because they are selectively bred for captive systems). given the prices, i really can't think of a single reason in this case to get the wild caught rather than the tank-raised specimen.

goodfortune · 08-03-2006, 10:46 AM

With clownfish, I'd definitely recommend captive-raised over wild caught. IME, every wild-caught clown I ever bought died from clownfish disease before making out of quarantine. However, I was reluctant to buy captive raised clowns because I was told that they wouldn't host in anemones.

Finally, several months ago, I bought a tank-raised Percula. It took about 2-1/2 months to find and host in my Sebae Anemone, but once it started hosting, the clownfish and anemone are inseparable

- Michael

P.S. - My avatar is of my Percula Clown hosting in my Sebae

GordoB · 08-03-2006, 01:34 PM

GordoB · 08-03-2006, 01:36 PM

Thanks for the input everyone! I agree with you Esper about saving the wild-caught species. I actually bought a GS Maroon recently, but I'm not sure if it was wild or tank-bred. I'm thinking that it is tank-bred, because I have several LPS corals in there, and it didn't take right to them. It seems to me that a wild species would be quicker to host in anything it could get into. It also seems to prefer flakes to frozen shrimp, which also leads me to believe it is tank-bred. Anyway, it is an awesome fish!!

Thanks again,
Brad

seaham358 · 08-11-2006, 06:22 PM

I have a pair of GSM and I got them small, before their bars turned yellow. They are now a breading pair. If you want more then one get them at the same time. Its a personal choice which you get not sure one is better then the other. The tank raise already eating prepaired foods is a good point.