Maroon Clowns laid eggs unexpectedly...too late to raise them?

[vessxpress1]

Hey guys. I'm trying to get as much info here as I can. I also have the Clownfishes book.

My Maroon clown laid eggs the day before Thanksgiving on the 21st. That was the first time she's laid eggs as far as I know and it was unexpected. They're all bright orange and appear healthy. She laid them on a rock finger that sticks up in front of their BTA. So I'd have to catch them when they hatch.

I wasn't prepared for this so i'd like to know what I could do at the least, to try and raise the fry? Is it too late to get anything ready? Could I get some food over-night that could get me going?

I know they can lay eggs quite often but I just did a bunch of fragging and disturbed a lot of stuff in the tank. I don't know if it's going to screw them up for a while now or not.

I'd like to just try to raise one batch start to finish because I don't want to set up a bunch of tanks. Basically, I only want to attempt to raise one group at a time.

What do you guys think? What should I get?

[billsreef]

Your better off letting this batch go and getting some cultures going now so that are ready for the next batch. If you really want to try raising this first batch, you'll need to order a large batch of rotifers first thing Monday morning for delivery on Tuesday. It's going to need to be a big enough batch to both feed the larvae for the first few days and start a culture going.

[vessxpress1]

Thanks Bill. Yeah, I may just have to let this batch become coral food. I would like to see them hatch though so I know about when to expect them.

Might just try to get some stuff first and get it going. I'll probably have plenty of batches to work with.


One of my concerns with these are, and I don't know if you know but...how long can maroon fry be kept together before they begin attacking each other? I know they will fight to the death eventually and I've seen them going at the glass at each other at the pet store. Just wondering about how long I would have before having to split them up and/or get rid of them?

[flamehawkfish]

hello

To answer your question, baby Maroon clownfish will bicker and fight, but will not 'kill each other'.

I've tried to raise baby maroons for the past few months. I "succeeded" in raising 6 survivors past metamorphisis last time. They are now 9-10 weeks old, and doing great. They share the same tank, and tolerate each other.

In my mind, while you're too late to salvage this clutch of eggs, you should get ready for the next one. In addition to the obvious materials (10g tank, airpump, heater, etc.), you'll need these items to get started:

-Phytogrow: a fertilizer to grow out live greenwater.
-Nannochlor. (live culture): I bought a bottle from another hobbyist on eBay. You can use DTs and propogate it, as well.
- Rotifer Strainer: easy to forget about this, but it's important.
- Live Rotifers: try Reed Mariculture. For $40-$100 (depending on how much you buy), you can get enough to get started.

Also, as some parting advice, after getting your rotifers, split the culture into 3-4 containers. That way, you'll mitigate the risk of a complete crash. Lastly, with Maroons, wait until Day 10-11 to feed them BBS. On that note, it's worth getting decapsulated brine, as it will salvage more larvae through meta.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you need more info.

Take care,

Flamehawk

[billsreef]

You can usually get by with keeping them in a bare bones (i.e. no cover or decor) tank in high density until around the size you see them showing up at the LFS. The high density and lack of places to claim as territory keeps aggression to a minimum in quite a few species.