I love designer clownfish so when Sea & Reef recently announced a new designer clownfish I became intrigued. The new strain, currently un-named, is striking with its distinctive panda-like black and white markings.

The release date for these beauties was supposed to be the Fall of 2015 but that was pushed back to grow out more of them…..so it certainly should be worth the wait…..because the drool factor is pretty high for these guys! This video provides a more detailed sneak peak.

Another vendor who has some really incredible clownfish is KM Associates Int’l. The video below features a pair of Booyah’s Reef Blackhawks Picassos. They also have other strains such as AlRod’s Onyx Picassos, Bali Aquarich Black Picassos and Doni’s x C-Quest Onyx Picassos . I love the names!

Doni’s x C-Quest Onyx Picassos have lineage to extreme helmet Picasasso Perculas bred by Doni Marie, a very well know breeder who achieved notoriety for her eye catching strain of clownfish know as the “Snowcasso”. Tank Bred Aquatics is now the source for Doni’s Original Snowcasso as well as some other very cool clowns.

My First Clownfish – True Black Perculas

My first pair of clowns were some True Black Perculas that I had for around 5 years. I passed them along to my father when I broke my tank down and he kept them for a similar period of time. They were beautiful with a lot of black and were fun to watch when they would swim in and around the coral they were hosting, typically some sort LPS such as a Frogspawn or Hammer coral.

I had another pair of True Black Perculas in my 225 gallon tank for a similar amount of time. They would lay eggs every few weeks so it was fascinating to watch the fry develop over time.

I wish I had the time back then to raise the fry but I just couldn’t make it happen given my work schedule and the time I was putting in to maintain my tank, which was a full time job by itself!









Designer Clownfish – My Experience

I finally joined the designer clownfish club when I added a pair of Helmet Head Picasso Clownfish to my 187 gallon setup. I picked them up from Clownfish Depot, an online store with great selection and outstanding customer service.

I have also had a pair of MochaVinci Clownfish, another strain bred by Sea & Reef.

As for food, most varieties of clownfish accept a wide variety of food, including pellets (I have used New Life Spectrum Thera A , Coral Frenzy 1mm Reef Pellets and PE Mysis Pellets ), PE Mysis frozen shrimp and Larry’s Reef Frenzy.





Anyway, the next time you are thinking about adding a pair of clowns for you reef tank think about a pair of designer clowns. They can be pricey but the striking coloration and patterns will make them the centerpiece of your tank.

If you are looking for additional insights and information, please explore my many other reef tank and SPS related articles as well as my book, A ReefBum’s Guide To Keeping an SPS Reef Tank: A Blueprint For Success . And you can see all of my reef tank videos online now as well as my Live HD Webcam.

Happy reef keeping!