Latezonatus amphiprions.

If any one is contemplating latz as pets,just remember that latz are condition specific, they will most likely,eventually die from stress in aquarium temps beyond 24c-25c,they will go blind and get cancer if resistance lighting is emitting some UVR and they may get pop eye if they weren’t collected properly!

They live in deep waters and deep waters are controlled by thermoclines.

I have wanted to keep these clowns for years now, they are ultra rare in the US and I never would have guessed that I would have ended up living so close to them in the wild. I was aware of the lower temp requirements. I want to setup an anemone tank with either BTA's or carpets, sort of depending on what is more readily available in South East Queensland as I havent seen any for sale yet (in Gold Coast). Will these guys host with this type of anemone? I am unfamiliar with the resistance lighting issue, do LED's commonly emit UVR?

They are cool with any anemones, not the swimming types; they are dangerous for all life forms.

LEDs for aquarium use do not emit any detrimental amounts of UVR,unless you get them specifically for that type of thing.

The guy that used to collect most of the latz around here closed shop two years back, so the local market will not see many any more, they are worth to much as endemic fish to the over seas markets.

There are two commercial guys on the sunshine coast that specialize in them, but not to the local market.

On average they prefer bubble anemones, due to the depth of cover for their proctection,in the aquarium they don’t give a rats.

If you can keep their conditions correct, they do not stress and that’s what makes them dinner for any anemones, as with all amphiprions!

liquidg wrote:They are cool with any anemones, not the swimming types; they are dangerous for all life forms.

LEDs for aquarium use do not emit any detrimental amounts of UVR,unless you get them specifically for that type of thing.

Good and good! And I will probably get some btas first which is good that they prefer them

liquidg wrote:The guy that used to collect most of the latz around here closed shop two years back, so the local market will not see many any more, they are worth to much as endemic fish to the over seas markets.

There are two commercial guys on the sunshine coast that specialize in them, but not to the local market.

Not good I guess I will have to try and get lucky and hope I can collect one from the wild someday.

.

zhyr wrote:you could always ask a LFS to attempt to get some in?

I know someone that was chasing barrier reef clowns and had to get their LFS to order them in because they were hard to get.

Its worth a shot asking them but I'll probably wait until I get a few paychecks as Im only starting work again today.

Lats are sensational clowns, my big female is the pride of my tank I have never seen a clown as big as her. I had to get a chiller to accommodate her though. Still in need of a male to keep her company, they are extremely difficult to get.

The commercial guy that worked out off Brisbane where the latz are extremely common has closed shop as of nearly three years now, so that put a hole in the numbers available to the public here for sure.

A big girl hey,cool,nice fish the latz.

I have a monster male in one of tubs from the last group I got and he has gotten past the temp issues that normally plague the latz.

This is the first one I have been able to get living in up to 30c temps,all others over the last 30 years of trying, die eventually and I have no idea why it isn’t stressing and suffering.

I have a group of latz in my top tank that is chiller controled,but this one is weird.

This is not normal for them!

It is a tuff one for sure, there is a clown trigger in with it and it fights the trigger for food and wins?

It has a couple of bite marks from the trigger over the last month or so, but it has a go at the trigger as well.

I collected 7 of them from two months back and this one none of the guys in the club wanted so it kept it and by a fluke it is weathering the high temps nicely, like a typed, I have no idea why?

I'll see if I can get a good photo and put it up. She is about 5" to 6" long, so the biggest clown I have ever seen. I have a few tangs that she pushes out of the way to get at the food, but fighting with a clown trigger is pretty tuff. She even gets spoiled with home made fish food set in gelatin. Its pretty cool when she gets excited over food and really turns on the blue. The chiller is set at 25 deg c which is good for the fish but heats up the living room.

Pics are good,never enough pics!

This is my large lat in the tub.
The trigger is 8 inches long,they are close to same size as each other.



Fighting with trigger over food.



One of several bite marks, the arrow shows one mark.
It doesn’t stop him though.

These photos don't do her justice

Very nice healthy looking lat,well done.

The acans look very nice as well

Supposedly,a part from the double chin a female lat has, they say that the clown trigger and the lat are similar in that the male trigger has many spots on its back and the male lat has a larger saddle of colour on its back compared to the female.

I have never tried that one, I have always relied on the double chin.

Its good you are keeping the water temp correct for the lat,most hobbyists have no idea on that one point that nearly always stresses them to death.

A long time ago when I would push that aspect of them so they could remain live, most thought that those temps were to low for fish and they would respond with, that’s stupid?

Wow -that is some cool life in your tank....

Nice....

The male I used to have had the nice orange sunset colouring at the dorsal fin as well, if anything he had the better colouring. He was only 4", at 8" that one of yours is a monster.

I have a friend that makes me some special food to keep her full figured, that's my secret for being able to keep her healthy. Lets face it flakes and pellets would be like a snack to them when they get that big.

Here is another photo and a full tank shot from a couple of months ago.

You have no substrate!

I am very impressed!!!!

You obviously know the hobby well.

After all these years I still see so much encouragement and discussion on unprotected substrates, as in the ones in the tank or non pre filtered before it.

A substrate is close to the biggest killer of all our marine aquarium pets and the main reason we get leaking tanks down the track.

Very nice tank.

Thanks for the nice comments. My wife wants me to put a substrate in the display tank, but I decided not to, it's easier to vacuum out the waste and detritus.

I have a plenum in my sump but would like to get rid of it, it worked great with a smaller bio load but am thinking its acting like a nitrate trap at the moment. I am cleaning the top layer and pumping out the filthy water but would like to try something different. I want to put in a better protein skimmer and use something like seachem matrix in multiple bags or reactors in the sump to take care of nitrates. Still tossing up ideas.

The wife hey,lol.
The last time I put a substrate in was because my wife wanted it.

That lasted not even a year before I got it all out, it started showing its polluting influences with in six months and there was always slight traces of parasites in that tank.
The surface of a substrate is where the white spot and velvet wait for signs of stress and then have go at your fish, I should never have given in to her.

The old plenums are cool if you let nothing get to them, I use that principal combined with deep sand bed style in a fashion.

Settling filters protects mine; they keep it clean and functioning at a high level always.
I don’t know much in the way of what skimmers do what these days, I haven’t used a skimmer in over 20 years.

Don’t listen to the wife,you are doing the right thing,lol.