Baby Percula question - are they are hardy as adults??

[jimrawr]

So today when I was at my LFS, there was a really tiny Percula being sold for only $12. This struck me as really cheap.. The fish was really small I would say about 3/4 of an inch, looked like a baby. I thought about getting him but I figured I should ask a few questions first.

Firstly, are young fish more sensitive to water quality, salinity etc etc.. Basically, are they ashardy as their adult counter parts? Also is it me or is $12 really cheap for a Percula Clown? Im thinking of going and getting him tomorrow, just I have a new tank and I dont want my first fish to be something that can die really easily..

[bertoni]

A captive-bred clown should be very hardy. I wouldn't worry about the size, although it's hard to judge the quality of the supplier. I'm not sure what the going price would be for that size clown. I've forgotten how much I paid for my two, which were a bit bigger than that when I got them.

[jimrawr]

Ive never even looked at clown prices before so I am not sure if thats typical but its seems really cheap.. Especially compared to the $70 flame angel I was looking at...

[dc]

Clownfish are $18 here. My percs were small like that when I got them. One was so little she gave it to me, because she really didn't know if it would live through the night. I babied them for about 3 months. Now over a year later they are hardy as the rest of my fish.

[jimrawr]

What exactly do you mean by 'babied them'? So the younger perculas are more prone to death than the older ones?

[ProAccordV6]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9049622#post9049622 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jimrawr
What exactly do you mean by 'babied them'? So the younger perculas are more prone to death than the older ones?

Thats what i've been told. When i was ready to buy my pair, there were some baby ones at my LFS, but the guy who worked there actually told me to wait on them. He knew i came there a lot so he didnt want to sell me [profanity]. He said that they were actually [profanity] that the supplier sent them such small fish and that he'd be suprised if they made it through the week.

If i were you, i'd first tell the store you have some concern and see what there policy is on dying fish. If you are set on buying them, first ask if you can watch them eat. Dont even bother with them if they arent eating.

[chrisstie]

I bought my pair of clowns young. The female is larger but on the same note the male is maybe 1". They are a little too timid to take mysis yet so i've been doing flakes\pellets\cyclops so they have tinier bits of stuff to eat.. I think they will accept mysis when they get a little larger but for now if you want them just make sure you have food they can eat and it should be fine as long as the ones in the store look healthy

[GSMguy]

i got my Rodonyx at .75inches and they are doing fine i would worry about dropping a clown that size into a large reef
bbs and cyclops are best for them at this size also crushed flake

[Randall_James]

Hard to tell some juvenile clowns when a full grown male may be just as tiny.

[J. Montgomery]

My two clowns were around that size when I bought them, and I've not had any problems. They were in the $18 range.

[LowDime]

they are about 18-20 here. that is a pretty good price but it might not be all that hardy yet being so small

[raleej337]

clowns cost here is between $7 - $16. from small to fairly good size of an inch or so.

[Duddly01]

Considering their size I would assume they are tank bred. I would be more interested to know if they are swimming around, not hiding scared and eating well. If they are going into a tank that doesn't have larger or aggressive fish they will be fine. On their own they should be quite hardy, I would be more worried about the environment you plan on putting them into.

As far as price goes I suspect clown and marine fish in general are likely cheaper here on the west cost. But with that said, I see small false percs for $8-10 and true percs for $12-14 all the time. The price is low, but not rediculously so.

[dc]

I shaved the frozen cubes for them, fed several times a day. Had to do extra water changes because of all the food I was dumping in there, but they just wouldn't eat full sized brine. It did pay off, they are awesome fish.