We are proud to present you with our first designer longfin clownfish the Longfin Black Ice Clownfish. Longfin Clownfish are not new to the hobby, but Sea & Reef’s new Longfin Clownfish have a much different look to them. Our longfin clownfish have long flowing fins with a rounded, more even outline. This sets them apart from the typical longfin strain that display jagged, stiff fins with uneven edges. The reason for the different look of Sea & Reef’s longfin clownfish is due to different genetics.

The creation of our Longfin Black Ice Clownfish

The mutation that created our longfin clownfish came from a single fish. In December 2014 our Hatchery Manager Brandon Weik was looking into a tank of several thousand Black and White Ocellaris (also called Darwin Ocellaris). He spotted a fish that looked very different than his brothers (all clownfish are born male). It had long flowing fins and was getting beaten up, probably because of its different look. The fish was isolated and later paired up. A story was published about our findings in Reef Builders in April 2014.

Our Black and White longfin clownfish was paired up and the pair started to produce offspring in late 2014. Unfortunately, less than 1% of the offspring produced displayed the longfin trait. For the last five years the Sea & Reef team has been working tirelessly on increasing the yield of longfin clownfish offspring and producing different variations. While the yield has increased, we are still not able to produce longfin clownfish in very large quantities so expect the release to be somewhat limited. The first longfin clownfish we are releasing is the Black Ice Longfin Clownfish. However, there will be several other variations coming out fairly soon, so stay tuned!

Temperament & Captive Care

The temperament and captive care requirements for the Phantom Clownfish is very similar to that of the regular Ocellaris clownfish. It is relatively peaceful and hardy. They thrive in saltwater aquariums with or without an anemone present.

Feeding

Most clownfish are omnivorous feeders, meaning that they will consume a variety of different food types. In nature the diet of clownfish consists of crustaceans (such as copepods and amphipods), algae, polychaete worms, and leftovers from the anemone’s meal. Our captive bred fish are conditioned to eat a variety of aquarium diets including pellets, flake food, frozen Mysis shrimp, and frozen brine shrimp.

Aquarium Host Anemones

Phantom Clownfish will readily accept a wide variety of host anemones and many hobbyists keep them with the popular and hardy Bubble Tip Anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor). As a reference the natural host anemones of the regular ocellaris clownfish are Magnificent Sea Anemone (Heteractis magnifica), Giant Carpet Sea Anemone (Stichodactyla gigantean) and Merten’s Carpet Sea Anemone (Stichodactyla mertensii).