The seller didn’t mention it, but this little guy looks exactly like the “Leopard” Banana Clowns that I’ve seen — thick dorsal stripe, minimal banding (maybe 2-3 max), and a long line of spots on the lower sides nearest the belly.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Chris
What was it labeled as? And what was the breeding that generated it?
Simply advertised as Banana Clown. “Sire-banana clown Dam- het clown.” That’s it. Not a lot of detail. I emailed the seller asking if there was any possibility of it having Leopard, but I’m still waiting on a reply.
Chris
Unless the breeder says otherwise the only gene I can maybe say is Blade since it tends to lurk in a good number of clowns.
But unless you can prove that it’s there, I’d still just say banana clown as that’s all the parents could have produced.
I totally agree with @armiyana -blade seems to be in a lot of clowns, and I can see some similarities of leopard (which is a very variable morph itself) but I would think not- on cost alone. The seller (unless they really don’t know themselves) would have priced it much higher as leopard clowns are still a very popular morph.
Id say all the gothams ive seen are a good deal darker than your animal- although i totally see what u mean with that dorsal. 
Since neither of the parent animals had Leopard then there is no way for this animal to carry Leo. However, Armiyana’s speculation of Blade is a viable option (and mirrors my own thinking), especially if both parents happened to be carrying Blade and what you are looking at is a Clown SuperBlade Banana
Thanks for the replies, everyone. I just heard back from the breeder, and he says, “I think there is a good chance it is leopard. I can’t guarantee it 100% but worth a shot to prove it out.” So I guess if the breeder thinks there’s a good chance that it’s Leopard, I’ll try to prove him out.
Would a Normal be the best choice as a mate?
Thanks again.
No, you’ll likely just end up producing a lot of single gene animals that will be difficult to find homes for. I’d aim for something that’s at least het clown, preferably with another incomplete dominant morph in there. Personally I’d go orange dream het clown as OD leopards are pretty distinctive
Does the breeder suspect one of the parents to have leopard in it? Otherwise I’m not sure why he would advocate trying to prove it out unless trying to make a sale.
I’d be inclined to agree that blade looks present as well as others have stated.
This would be my thought as well
Having produced banana leopard clowns myself I do not see anything leopard in this animal. There’s not enough distortion of pattern & the outling between color/pattern is not bold enough. Ask the seller to send pics of the parents. I hate when people try to sell inc-doms as “possible”, that should never be needed w the exception of very close alleles like yb/gravel from a highway pairing but even then.
Thank you!! This is a pet peeve of mine too!
All single gene mutations, be they recessive or dominant, have the potential for a range of expression. There are many instances where certain genes and certain combos yield a phenotype where identifying each and every gene is not 100% certain. This is especially true with newer mutations as we learn how they interact. Even the most experienced breeders sell various mutations as “possible” in certain combinations.
