W(here)TB Wild Caught Clownfish

[iHexBot]

Not very impressed with my local fish stores, are there any reputable online stores to buy wild caught bonded pair clown fish from?

 

Cheers.

[ReefWeeds]

Why wild-caught rather than captive bred?

[ajmckay]

Why wild-caught rather than captive bred?

+1... I suppose there could be a reason to find some wild caught varieties specifically for breeding, but if you just want a pair of clownfish in your tank captive bred is a no-brainer.

 

Anyways, to answer your question I'm thinking liveaquaria divers den... They post the actual fish you get and they're pretty reputable.

[jedimasterben]

Why wild-caught rather than captive bred?

Likely hardiness, for starters. I know all the clownfish ORA sells that aren't 'designer' enough are culls from the designer pairs, so they're very inbred.

[RayWhisperer]

Ibluewater has some.

http://www.ibluewater.com/clownfish.html

I've never dealt with them, so I have no idea if they are reputable, or not.

 

I've done wilds before. While I like wilds much more than captive bred, there is one issue. About 90% of the wilds I've seen, and kept, came with Brooknella. Just something to be aware of when dealing with wild clowns.

[gus6464]

Ibluewater has some.

http://www.ibluewater.com/clownfish.html

I've never dealt with them, so I have no idea if they are reputable, or not.

 

I've done wilds before. While I like wilds much more than captive bred, there is one issue. About 90% of the wilds I've seen, and kept, came with Brooknella. Just something to be aware of when dealing with wild clowns.

 

This^. Wild clowns are very susceptible to disease because of shipping and transport. Getting a wild clown with Brook is considerably easier than a tank raised one.

 

There are reputable tank raised places out there that cull though.

[1.0reef]

There's actually a multitude of reasons for buying WC. Usually breeders get them to create a better gene pool, but even as show fish they can be far higher quality. No inbreeding, no bulldog faces, no pinched heads, big pelvic fins, stuff that's absent in many of today's lower quality clowns. I wouldn't buy from blue water, they have a so/so reputation and have insanely high prices. There's a local shop by me that'll ship and often get nice WC clowns, mostly Solomon Island Perculas.

As others have said, QT is incredibly important.

[RayWhisperer]

Solomon island and Papua New Guinea percs are the best looking clowns.

[iHexBot]

Awesome information everyone, thanks!