No two are marked alike, so buy the individual fish rather than the label. Shops sort them into grades, plain Picasso and Premium Picasso, on how much white there is and how odd the bars run. Only a small share of any spawn earns the name, which is why they cost well above a standard percula. Check both flanks in the photo before you commit.
In the wild
ORA started the line in 2004 with one wild male from the Solomon Islands, paired to a typical onyx female. More wild Picassos went into the program in later years. Aberrantly barred perculas do turn up around the Solomons and Papua New Guinea, but they are rare enough that almost nobody sees one. Nearly every Picasso in the trade traces back to that hatchery program.
Good to know
The extra white is a heritable pattern trait rather than a named gene, and it shows up in only part of each spawn. Most fry from a Picasso pair grow up looking like ordinary perculas, so the line does not breed true. ORA grades on the amount of white, the oddness of the striping and the rarity of the markings, which is why the call is made by eye at the farm rather than by pedigree.
Did you know
The pattern is often lopsided. A Picasso can carry a sweeping white blaze down one side and little more than an extra blob on the other. A photo taken from the wrong flank undersells the fish badly.
Symbiotic relationships
Clownfish and their host anemones
A clownfish lives inside an anemone that stings and eats other fish its size. Its mucus coat keeps the anemone's stinging cells from firing, and a new fish builds that protection up over hours of brief touches. The fish gets a refuge no predator will follow it into and a nest site at the anemone's base. The anemone gets a guard that drives off the butterflyfish that would graze its tentacles, a steady supply of nitrogen from the fish's waste, and water movement at night, when the fish fans its fins among the tentacles and the anemone takes up more oxygen. Only ten anemone species host clownfish in the wild, and each clownfish species uses its own short list of them.
Captive-bred clownfish have never seen an anemone and do not need one; they settle for a coral, a powerhead or a corner of the tank. If you want the pairing, the anemone is the harder animal by far and goes in first, into a mature tank with strong light and stable water, at the tank size its own profile lists. The bubble tip anemone is the hardy host, and the one most clownfish accept in captivity even when it is not a natural host, so a clownfish profile lists it as the usual tank host where that is the case. The sebae, magnificent and carpet anemones are marked difficult, and the carpets eat fish. Expect a paired clownfish to defend its anemone against everything else in the tank.
Picasso clownfish is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the middle. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.
Is a Picasso clownfish a different species from the Percula clownfish?
No. A Picasso clownfish is a variety of the Percula clownfish, Amphiprion percula, and it wants the same tank, water and food as the species.
Where did the Picasso clownfish come from?
ORA started the line in 2004 with one wild male from the Solomon Islands paired to a typical onyx female, and added more wild Picassos in later years. Aberrantly barred perculas do turn up around the Solomons and Papua New Guinea, but nearly every Picasso in the trade traces back to that program.
Do Picasso clownfish breed true?
No. Most fry from a Picasso pair grow up looking like ordinary perculas, and only part of each spawn shows enough white to be sold as a Picasso. That is why ORA grades on the amount of white and the oddness of the striping, and why Picassos cost well above a standard percula.
What size tank does a Picasso clownfish need?
A Picasso clownfish needs at least 20 gal (75 L). It spends most of its time in the middle.
How big does a Picasso clownfish get?
An adult Picasso clownfish reaches about 3.1 in (8 cm).
3.1 in (8 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
3.5 in (9 cm)30 gal (115 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)
3.9 in (10 cm)30 gal (115 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
4.3 in (11 cm)26 gal (100 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
4.7 in (12 cm)30 gal (115 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
5.1 in (13 cm)40 gal (150 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)