This is a short post – Mark Martin showed me this fish last night, I passed on the premise that if it’s genetic, it seems to be a bit more like a “Picasso” type variant than the “Lightning” variation.  I really think that there is a running theme here.  It’s juts a theory, but it would seem that the same basic “overbarring” mutation, called “Picasso” in Perculas and “Snowflake” in Ocellaris, is also showing up in Maroon Clownfish now.  It would make sense that the genetic of the stripes are all pretty similar among clownfish, and thus, an aberration in a single gene could create the same basic mutation and expression of that mutation across individual clownfish species.  Now, we do know that Maroon Clowns are notrious for stripe abnormalities in cultivation anyway, so it’s definitely hard to say what is genetic and what is not.

At any rate, go grab that Funky Maroon for $39.95 at Blue Zoo, truly a steal – http://www.bluezooaquatics.com/productdetailcc.asp?did=11&cid=360&pid=8592
There are more funky maroons like this coming out of PNG via SEASMART…everyone should remember the “Morse Code” Maroon I tried but lost to disease (mouth rot).  Mark Schreffler sent me some other great pics of fish they’re calling “Horned” Maroons…any of these could carry the secret to unlocking the Lighting Maroon mutation.  I’ll update this same post with images if/when I have the proper blessings from their authors!  Stay tuned….
And here they are!  All images below are copyright 2010 SEASMART, and may not be reused or reproduced in any fashion without the written consent of SEASMART!




Thanks again to Mark Schreffler & SEASMART for allowing me to share these images with the readers of The Lightning Project!