Longfin clownfish are still the white buffalo of the captive breeding world and now it looks like we’ll be seeing longfin clownfish from the black Darwin ocellaris. The Longfin Darwin Ocellaris was found by one of Sea & Reef Aquaculture’s attentive staff Brandon Weik. He spotted it in one of our grow-out tanks among thousands of regular black and white Darwin ocellaris.
Not surprisingly the unusual looking Longfin Darwin Ocellaris was attacked by its fellow tank mates and its fins were already ripped some. After rescuing the poor Darwin Longfin and isolating it in its own tank the fish grew quickly and we were all surprised to see the size of its fins as they grew back. One interesting note is that the right pectoral fin and first dorsal fin of the fish are completely normal while the rest of its fins are greatly enlarged.
Take a look at that left pectoral fin. Some people would call it a lucky fin, but with elongation like this it really is more like a lucky cape! The Longfin Darwin Ocellaris is now destined to become a broodstock fish. Sea & Reef intends to find out if the genetics behind this longfin mutation will be expressed in its offspring and they are currently searching for a suitable mate with a liking for the unusual.
