Probably A Dumb Clown Question

[Colin]

So I bought an Onyx Clown from a LFS. Smaller guy but I didn't think anything of it and fed him like crazy.
His poop was always stringy which, I found out later, is a sign of parasites.

Had him for over 3 weeks, outside of the poop and thin build no issues. One day he took a turn, kept himself hidden most of the day. Didn't think too much about it but by the next day I knew there was an issue. He wouldn't leave the rock, wouldn't eat and within a day he was dead.

Not sure exactly what it was (Brook, Flukes, Ich, Velvet) but I left the tank fallow for 6 weeks to hopefully kill off whatever it was.

Have a newer Helfrichi, been a month, all is good.

My dilemma is I want another clown(s) but I am nervous about pulling the trigger and don't want a repeat which leads me to my dumb question. Would I have better luck getting a clown direct from a clown breeder versus a LFS? Or is it a crapshoot either way?
My thought is that a breeder has healthy fish, know where they came from, hopefully no way a parasite could get into their systems, yadda yadda yadda.

What does everyone think?

 

[goat585]

As a breeder of clownfish myself its typically better to get from the breeder but there are plenty of breeders who produce bad fish or have parasites in their systems. There are plenty of local fish stores that have quality clownfish available. I suggest that you quarantine your fish no matter where you get them from. If the clownfish breeder does not have strict quarantine procedures themselves its extremely easy to contaminate their stock.

When I buy my clownfish, I typically look for clownfish that are not with other wild caught fish. There are some local stores that keep their clownfish separate and in my opinion they are less likely to have one of the major parasites and a quick quarantine with some gentle meds will give you the best success.