A unique variety of Maroon Clownfish has been appearing in the WYSIWYG “Hot Seat” offerings of Florida-based marine fish hatchery Proaquatix. Called the “Mohawk Maroon” Clownfish, the fish’s barring has completely transformed into a white dorsal crest that can run from head to tail, forming a white “mohawk.”
Speaking with Proaquatix’s Eric Wagner, he noted that these days many clownfishes are batch cultured, their Maroons being no exception. As such, Wagner couldn’t speak to the genetic makeup of this fish, but offered a possible different explanation.
“Most of our Gold Nuggets stay the solid white, turning to gold, but some start out a little hazier on the bottom of the fish and then fade to the mohawk. Kind of the way a Gold-Striped Maroon can pinch its bars as it grows.I actually don’t think that Lightning genetics are involved, but I could be wrong. I can’t go into growout and find a 1.25″ Mohawk. Most of ours only exhibit that pattern towards the 1.75-2-inch size.”
Putting things together, I believe this fish may be the result of both Gold Nugget and Lightning Maroon genetics coming together. But at some point, the breeding of designer forms inevitably becomes less about specific genetics and more about the selective, aesthetic choices that breeders make. As Wagner put it, “Broodstock selection is done by phenotype rather than genotype. I always tell people it’s not that complicated. Put two cool-looking fish together, and more cool-looking fish will pop out.”
For now, the Mohawk Maroon remains a rare, infrequent offering at Proaquatix. “Right now, our Mohawks are just in our Hot Seat, but we may be able to make a sku of them soon and offer them on the pricelist.”
Proaquatix is wholesale to the aquarium trade. You can see more of what they do at Proaquatics.com.
