Articles - Skunk Clown Varients To date, I have also been fortunate to observe two WC (wild collected) thiellei specimens, four WC leucokranos specimens and three CR (captive raised) leucokranos in my own private systems. On page 85 of Fautin and Allen’s book there is another picture of an A. leucokranos that is said to be crossed with A. chrysopterus. It seems that at the time that my edition was printed (1994) that A. leucokranos was considered to be a separate species. Knowing what we know now I would just call it A. leucokranos because A. chrysopterus and A. sandaracinos are the generally assumed parents of this hybrid. A cross would simply mean a more recessive appearance of the sandaracinos parent traits. The parental origins of A. leucokranos has been partially confirmed. I have seen photos of a leucokranos coming from two A. sandaracinos parents courtesy of Alexandre da Cunha of Brazil.Alexandre da Cunha was the first person I know of who raised A. leucokranos from sandaracinos parents. The leucokranos offspring are pictured below. I photoshopped this photo for better resolution. So, color accuracy may have been compromised. Used with permission Used with permission Mr. Carlson referred me to Fernando Nosratpour of the Birch Aquarium at Scripps. Mr. Nosratpour is credited with being the first person to breed a pair of A. leucokranos in captivity. Mr. Nosratpour referred me to an article that he wrote. Published in the March/April 1997 issue of Aquarium Frontiers magazine, it was titled “Amphiprion leucokranos – A Case For Hybridization.” In the article it discussed the methods used to breed the pair and more importantly for this discussion, the variants in the offspring. The following results were given on page 18 of the issue. Complete with photos. By the way, most of these photos show a saddle-like marking on the base of the tail. Mike Thielle of Reef Encounter in NJ was the first person recorded to have possessed a pair of A. thiellei and is the gentleman for whom the species is named. I have been in contact with Mike Thielle. He was kind enough to pass on to me the original description written up by Dr. Burgess and photos of his current specimens. One of which was among those pictured in my 1994 edition of Fautin and Allen’s field guide. In case you’re not doing the math, that means that this fish has been alive in captivity for 15+ years. Her mate has been with her since about 2006. He said that he’s seen twenty or so come through his store through the years. I presume he meant since 1981; though it was first reported to Dr. Burgess in 1979. Many were DOA, which provided the carcasses with which Dr. Burgess made his original description. Photos: Aaron Norman Photo: WDLV I for one believe that this fish is an A. sandaracinos-ocellaris hybrid but I also believe that this hybrid provides an insight to how new species are created within the genus. More research is needed.
Specifically, while A. thiellei has a sort of burnt orange coloration, A. leucokranos tends to present more of a yellow to light brown coloration. The closest runners up were A. percula and A. perideraion. I discounted A. percula because of its propensity toward barring outside its normal borders and a tendency to have very large fading black borders surrounding its bars. There is a conspicuous lack of these traits in all documented specimens of A. thiellei. I discounted A. perideraion because of its coloration and body plan. Pink coloration is never seen in A. thiellei. Tail coloration... I gave consideration to the variants of A. chrysopterus. There are yellow and white tail variants of A. chrysopterus, which may account for the different appearance between the two hybrids. Some regions have chrysopterus displaying white tails while others have the variant with yellow tails. I have tried to examine as many oddities as possible to get a better idea of what other crosses might look like. Used with permission Photo: Leonard Ho Used with permission Below: The following two pictures are likely representations of A. leucokranos exhibiting predominantly chrysopterus features. Photo: Jordan Noe Below: A possible A. leucokranos with chrysopterus-dominant features (top) and an A. chrysopterus (bottom.) Photo: Jordan Noe Used with permission Dr. Daphne Fautin Fernando Nosratpour Bruce Carlson Mike Thielle Daniel Pauletti Julian Sprung Matias Gomes Reef Forum Online Community Disease Prevention Supplies for QTs Set up the system and allow it to run for at least 24 hours so the temperature can stabilize. If temp adjustments are needed, adjust to the thermometer; not the heater dial. I usually set the tank temp for 75-78 degrees F unless it's a specamin like A. latezonatus that requires cooler temps. If you have a particularly fragile fish like A. chrysopterus or A. nigripes, I recommend setting the specific gravity to 1.009 in advance. Use a refractometer. Swing arm hydrometers can be grossly innacurate. Hypo-salinity will kill many of the paracites that live on our fish. It's referred to as osmotic shock therapy. As the title suggests, you want to shock the organisms you are trying to kill with a sudden change in osmotic pressure so they literally explode. This is not the case when returning to regular salinity. This should be done of the course of a few days. To do this I like to allow the QT to evaporate naturally. Instead of using fresh makeup water to keep it at the same SG I add saltwater to slowly bring the salinity back up. Quarrantine should be performed for a minimum of one month after purchase or the last symptom of disease. Whichever is longer. I usually end up quarrantining fish for 90 days. 30 for inverts. *Invertebrates and some scale-less fishes will not survive hyposalinity. With clowns, the diseases you will want to be most cautious of are Brooklynella, Amyloodinium and Ick (in that order.) With fish that I know to be succeptable to brook or amyloo I automatically add Formalin III to the system. Otherwise, I look at their breathing, behavior and skin (in that order) a couple times each day. The hypo-salinity may well knock out any of these three diseases before they have a chance to take hold. However, I highly recommend having the above recommended meds on hand. If the hypo doesn't knock it out, you probably have a very aggressive case on your hands and time is critical. *Please do not blame me if you loose fish with these methods. These methods have greatly improved survival rates of my fish but they're not 100% effective. It takes experience to properly diagnose diseases and even more experience to diagnose them early. ~ Common Disease Treatment Compliments of MarinaP on Reef Central I have a new regamin for treatment of certain diseases. I have not tried this in the exact sequence mentioned but it does fall in line with what I believe to be best practices. I have modified her regamin slightly to fit my own preferences.
1. Skunk Hybrids: Who’s Whom?
2. Disease Prevention
3. Common Disease Treatment
4. Shipping Marine Animals
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Who’s Whom?
I have had the pleasure of seeing quite a number of skunk hybrid photographs in recent years. Some in books and magazines, some through personal communications and even more via online forums and magazines.
A. leucokranos
Photo: WDLV
The general consensus about A. leucokranos is that it is a hybrid of A. sandaracinos and A. chrysopterus. I confirmed this same belief with other expert aquarists such as Bruce Carlson of the Georgia Aquarium and formerly the Wikiki Aquarium as well as Joe Yaiullo and Todd Gardner of Atlantis Marine World in Riverhead NY and Fernando Nosratpour of the Breeds Aquarium at Scripps who was the first to breed the fish in captivity.
On page 87 of Fautin and Allen’s book, the second picture shows two A. leucokranos. The first has no saddle at the tail base. The second has a bit of a white saddle at the tail base though it is difficult to make out due to the angle of the shot. All seven of the leucokranos clowns that I have possessed have had a hazy white marking at the tail base too. This includes three captive bred and four wild collected specimens.
Note:
This next shot is of poor quality but does show the body plan of the two above a little better.
Photo: Alexandre da Cunha
Alexandre said that out of six fry that survived past metamorphosis, that four had typical sandaracinos characteristics and 2 had leucokranos characteristics. Quite by accident he has reinforced the belief that sandaracinos is one of the parents. He did however claim that he had a pair of marroons spawning in the same tank and observed the male marroon spawning with the female sandaracinos on this one occasion.
I have had conversations with Bruce Carlson who has seen these fish in association with A. chrysopterus and A. sandaracinos in the wild and was the first to hypothesize that A. chrysopterus and A. sandaracinos were the likely parent species. After passing this idea on to Dr. Gerald Allen, this hunch was reinforced by Gerry’s sighting of a chrysopterus/sandaracinos pair with a full term clutch. This discussion is documented on p. 37 of “The Amphiprion leucokranos Mystery” by Bruce Carlson in Vol 3. No. 3 issue of Aquarium Frontiers Magazine.
“Pigmentation types of tank-reared A. leucokranos and percent occurrence from a total of 32 individuals.
Leucokranos type – 28.1 percent
Chrysopterus type – 12.5 percent
Sandaracinos type – 15.6 percent
Perideraion type – 9.4 percent
Interdeterminate – 34.4 percent”
I think this helps back up the hypothesis that A. leucokranos is indeed a hybrid between A. chrysopterus and A. sandaracinos.
I have spoken with Dr. Daphne Fautin regarding this fish. While prefacing that ‘Gerry is more the fish expert’ she did discuss with me some details of his findings, thoughts and conclusions. Dr. Allen was among the first to find evidence that A. leucokranos was a hybrid of A. sandaracinos/chrysopterus based on a suggestion by Bruce Carlson.
A. thiellei:
Photo: WDLV
A. thiellei is “reddish-orange with single relatively narrow white head bar; also small white saddle on top edge of tail base. Maximum length 65mm.” (Fautin and Allen, Anemone Fish And Their Host Anemones 1994 edition p110)
The following five pictures are of Mike Thielle's stock.
Used With Permission
Photos: Mike Thielle
Used with permission
Used With Permission
As far as I can tell, Matias Gomes of Portugal was the second person to have acquired a pair. According to Matias, a friend of his had collected the specimens, having imported them one at a time in his coat pocket. Tragically, Matias lost his specimens along with 80% of his coral farm after a malfunction with a protein skimmer wiped out the system they were in.
The following pictures are of Matias' thiellei clowns.
Used With Permission
Used With Permission
Used With Permission
The two thielleis that I possess were obtained from two different retailers on opposite US coasts. Both cited the collector as having shipped from Cebu, Philippines. If they were collected close to the shipping point, this would be consistent with the range suggested in Fautin and Allen’s field guide.
These are the two specamins I'm currently keeping. The photo was taken shortly after the quarrantine of the second fish.
It has been rumored that experts such as Drs. Fautin and Allen believe that A. thiellei may be a hybrid. I have confirmed with Dr. Fautin that it is her belief that A. thiellei is a hybrid cross of A. sandaracinos and A. chrysopterus; which is the same hybrid cross as A. leucokranos. This is to say that she believes that they are the same fish.
Per a discussion with Mike Thielle, I was informed that Dr. Burgess does not share this view.
So, of the two gentlemen that I consider to be the foremost experts on anemonefish (Dr Allen and Dr. Burgess) there is no consensus as to whether they are a true species or a natural hybrid.
I’ve spoken with two members on rareclownfish.com who have A. thiellei individuals. One is a classic example, the other is a bit less cut and dry. Both individuals cite their source as being from the Philippine Islands. One is specifically from Cebu.
I have neither the room the time, nor the breeding experience to try multiple mixed pairs in hopes of getting a confirmation of the parent species, but I would love to know about it if others are able to do so.
My second thiellei was obtained in July 2009. I paired the two in August. Hopefully in a year or so I will get some babies to do a visual comparison of the offspring.
Some might say A. thiellei’s status as a species is “provisional.” Either way, I find this “species” fascinating. Whether it retains it’s species status over time, becomes known as the Thielle hybrid or becomes recognized as a new and developing species within the Amphiprion genus seems immaterial.
A. thiellei -vs- A. leucokranos
It is the belief of some experts that A. thiellei and A. leucokranos are sandaracinos/chrysopterus hybrids. Based on body plan, coloration and markings I agree that the thiellei "species" is probably a hybrid. I also believe that there is sufficient evidence to support that A. leucokranos is a hybrid. This is based on accounts from multiple individuals in both the scientific community and the hobbyist community. However, I do not feel that thiellei is a hybrid of the exact same origin.
I must preface the following statement in saying that I by no means would have the audacity to call myself an expert in Anemonefish but would venture to say that I have probably studdied these fish more than most marine aquarists. While I agree that there is strong evidence to support that A. leucokranos is a cross of A. sandaracinos and A. chrysopterus, I theorize that if A. thiellei is a hybrid that it is likely a cross between A. sandaracinos and A. ocellaris. This is based on region of collection, body coloration, eye coloration, bar shape, bar border contrast and location as well as general body plan.
Thiellei always seems to have more contrast in its barring. Particularly with regard to the saddle-like marking at its caudal peduncle (tail base.) A. leucokranos tends to have a fading border on some of its markings particularly the saddle at the caudal peduncle... when present.
A. leucokranos tends to have a body plan resembling A. chrysopterus. It is thicker from its anterior to dorsal aspect giving it a more stocky appearance. A. thiellei has a body plan that is more long and slender. Its body plan is almost exactly like A. ocellaris.
While I am aware that there were other parent species candidates that reside in the Philippines, they either lacked similar base coloration, barring or barring contrast or else they were too far off from the body plan that is seen in A. thiellei. A. thiellei is not found with a mid-bar or a full tail bar but rather follows the pattern of the sandaracinos dorsal stripe and the head bar that ocellaris would have as a juvenile. The dorsal stripe may occur thicker in areas where an ocellaris bar would occur with particular regard to the tail bar.
Size matters... A. thiellei is the smallest of any anemonefish species ever described. I don't know enough about genetics to rule out a dwarfing trait that might surface but I think it stands to reason that the smallest species described is less likely to come from a fairly large parent (A. sandaracinos) and one that takes the record for the largest anemonefish species (A. chrysopterus.)
Another interesting possibility posed by my friend Daniel Pauletti is that the body plan of the offspring could be contingent on which of the parents was dominant. He made the comparison to mules' body plans depending on the parent donkey and horse genders. If this is the case, it seems logical that in most cases the chrysopterus would be the dominant (female) parent because they are larger and faster growing by nature. A dominant sandaracinos would be the exception to the rule and would dominate the body plan and coloration. I think this is a good theory, but I tend to discount it because A. thiellei has a deeper orange than any sandaracinos I have ever seen.
Other Skunk Hybrids
There are far more naturally occurring hybrids than those that have species names.
Some of them are pictured below.
Photo: Bruce Carlson
Above: A specimen collected in Fiji. It is believed to be a cross of A. melanopus and A. perideraion.
Below: A possible hybrid cross of A. perideraion and A. leucokranos. Note the stripes bordering the top and bottom of the tail. This is a trait occasionally exhibited by A. perideraion males.
The following fish is a beautiful specimen collected in Java, Indonesia. I believe that this fish is a hybrid cross of A. perideraion and A. sandaracinos. Due to the body plan, the pink coloration on the dorsal aspect and the yellow coloration on the ventral aspect as well as the thin head bar and lack of any dorsal striping.
This fish is similar to in markings and body plan to A. thiellei but this fish lacks the typical orange coloration and a white marking at the caudal peduncle.
Used With Permission
Used With Permission
Photo: Jordan Noe
Used with permission
Used with permission
I will update this article periodically as I compile and sort additional data and photos.
If you have photos or information that may add to the content of this article I would very much appreciate hearing from you.
Acknowledgements:
I’d like to extend a special thanks to the following gracious individuals for taking the time to answer my questions and or providing pictures.
Alexandre da Cunha
Aaron Norman
Last but not least I would like to thank all my friends on reef forums around the world. My hobby is rich because of your contributions.
Resources:
Fautin, D. and Allen, G.
"Anemone Fishes and their Host Sea Anemones" 1994
Nosratpour, F.
“Amphiprion leucokranos – A Case For Hybridization.”
Aquarium Frontiers Magazine
March/April 1997
Carlson, B.
"The Amphiprion leucokranos Mystery"
Aquarium Frontiers Magazine
Vol 3. No. 3 1996
Reef Central online Community
www.reefcentral.com
Rare Clownfish Online Community
www.rareclownfish.com
Reef Encounters Online Resource
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The three most important things I know on this subject are:
1. Quarrantine
2. Quarrantine
3. Quarrantine
- 10 gallon aquarium
- Power Filter rated for 40-50 gallons
- 50W heater
- Glass thermometer with suction cup
- Two 6" ceramic tiles or one 6" flower pot (for shelter)
- 50 gallon salt mix
- Two 5 gallon buckets (one for clean water one for dirty or medicated water)
- Glass canopy or 1 sheet of "eggcrate" lighting grid
- 1 pair small diaginal cutting pliars (for cutting the eggcrate to size.)
Optional items
- Aquarium stand
- strip light fixture (PCF if you plan to keep corals/anemones)
- Pre-Fabricated water syphon or 1/2" clear tubing from home depot.
Recommended Medications
- 1 bottle of Kordon's Formalin III
- 1 bottle of Cupramine (DO NOT USE WITH AMQUELL)
OR 1 bottle of Coppersafe and a copper test kit.
- 1 bottle of Amquell
When you are ready to add the fish, it is generally accepted practice to float the bag for 15 minutes to allow the temps to stabilize. Drain 50% of the water into a waste water bucket and refill the volume you took out with water from the QT. You should repeat this process two or more times. When you are ready to add the fish, dump almost all the water into the waste water bucket and pour the fish into the QT. I avoid using nets wherever possible to avoid scraping or rubbing off slime and scales. These kinds of minor damage can make fish more succeptable to infection.
*Wear gloves and eye protection whenever handling formalin or bleach.
*Do not use activated carbon/charcoal while medicating.
For Amyloodinium or Ick:
*For all procedures: Use water that has a specific gravity (SG) of 1.009 as measured with a refractometer not a swing arm hydrometer.
**Do not mix medications.
***Be sure that temperature is the same in all holding vessels.
Day One
1. Slowly lower SG to 1.009
2. Perform a formalin dip per directions on the bottle.
3. Remove fish from formalin dip and place in an unused quarrantine tank that has been treated with cupramine per the recommendations on the bottle.
4. Set up a second quarrantine tank (QT) with the same SG and temperature of water as the first QT.
Day Two
1. Place fish in second quarrantine tank that has been treated with cupramine per the recommendations on the bottle.
2. Clean first quarrantine tank and all related components with a 10% bleach soln then set it back up. It is OK to soak the filter pad in bleach soln then rinse thoroughly before re-use if desired.
*Repeat process for days three through six. BAGGING:
Day Seven
1. If there are no further external symptoms, add fish to a quarrantine tank with a SG of 1.009 with no medications for at least 28 days.
2. Add a fresh filter cartridge with carbon to the filter.
3. Perform 20% water changes and or use Amquell as directed.
4. It is OK to use Prazi-Pro as directed after the first week as a prophylactic treatment or if internal paracites are suspected.
*Remember to discard activated carbon while in use.
For Brooklynella
- Follow the same regamin but substitute a formalin bath between formalin dips instead of using cupramine. ~
Shipping Marine Animals
For overnight shipping via FedEx or similar carriers, you should start with bags large enough for the fish to easily swim in circles without touching the sides of the bag. About 50% or more of the gas in the bag should be air or if you have the means, oxygen. Take care to insure that the fish still has at least an inch above and below it's body if the bag is laying on it's side 'cause God knows what happens in transit. Next twist and fold the top of the bag and tie it off with rubber bands in such a way that the bag is tight like a balloon, not floppy like a breast implant (sorry that's all I've got.) You can simply tie the bag if you're so inclined. Flip that bag upside down inside another bag of the same size and repeat the closure process. Use a sheet of newspaper to cover the perimeter of the outer bag and slide a third bag over the top of it. If you are shipping fish with spines this is particularly important and can be repeated for the top and bottom of the second bag.
Note: Due to the change in pressure that a plane's cargo hold is subjected to, I recomment packing your bag a little loosely so the bag has room to expand but not so much as to allow the fish to get it's face caught in the folds of the bag and suffocate. If you do not do this there is a good liklihood that your bags may rupture and leak in transit.
BOXING:
If at all possible find a box that fits your shipment well. You can get insulated boxes at the LFS usually for free. If they try to charge you for them you can often get them from the local pharmacist. They get insulin and other meds in refrigerated boxes that are sometimes better suited for the smaller shipments that hobbyists make.
I recommend getting the smallest box to fit your application. This will help to insure that your bag is not rattling around inside the box during shipment and will cost you less with the carrier. If your bag is smaller than the interior of the box (vertically or horizontally) you should re-use (greener) packing peanuts or crumbled newspaper to fill the void.
SHIPPING:
In my experience, overnight shipping cost within the continental US ranges from $70-$130 for a single box depending where it's going. The more work the carrier does for you such as generating a shipping label, sealing the box, picking up the box from your home -vs- dropping it off yourselfat the carrier's location, and affixing the shipping label to the box, will cost you more. If you generate the label online then ask them to do additional services after the fact or your package is over weight, do not be surprised to see a higher bill on your credit card statement than what you were quoted. There is also a minimum weight charge for a particular sized box.
When you ship give some thought to the weather. Most of the time it's fine not to add a hot pack or a cold pack to the box, but if you're shipping to Buffalo in January or El Paso in July, you might want to consider using them accordingly. On that note you should always put a few layers of news paper between the bag and the heater or cold pack so the bags' temperature doesn’t go too far in the other direction.
ALTERNATIVE SHIPPING:
If you're a cheapskate like me and/or have a buyer/seller who is willing to work with you you can opt for airport to airport shipping. This will get you a hundred pounds of shipping weight with as many boxes as you need shipped from one airport to the next. This is about half the cost and is great for reducing transit times and cost for bulk orders. Check with your local air freight company for pricing and availability. Plan ahead because this will take more time than the local FedEx clerk. Especially the first time.
For hardier corals like zoanthids, you can ship second day without harming the coral.
When shipping corals I have found that it is better to send unmounted frags. There is less damage to the bag, less damage to the frag and less chance of introducing someone else's hitchhikers to your system. As with all things wet, QUARRANTINE!!! Also when shipping corals and anemones, it is best to just barely cover them with water and add as much air/O2 as possible. ~
