Amphiprion percula "Onxy" (Onyx Percula Clown) Breeding Log!

mwp · #1 09/21/2006, 11:34 PM

Well, it's been over a year in the making...tonight our pair of Percs FINALLY CAVED and commenced their first spawn just after lights out (11:00 PM or so). I snagged some really good vids of immediately prior to spawning as well as some vids of the actual egg laying. Those things are MASSIVE compared to the Greenbanded Goby eggs.

Of course, it figures that I'm supposed to get into a car before 9:00 AM and head to MN for the next 3 days!

I'll post more about Mama and Little Man when I can!

Matt

mwp · #2 09/22/2006, 02:15 AM

First, here's a recent picture of our "Breeding Tank" that the pair of clowns resides in (I really should drag one up for a year back so you can see how much it's changed!)

So, here's the short version. These clowns were the first fish for the first saltwater tank I personally kept since maybe 2000? Yes, I'd been out of the saltwater side of things personally for MANY years - was all tied up in the African Cichlids.

Well, "Mama" and "Little Man" were picked up when I worked a stint last summer at a LFS (was looking for computer work but needed something to bring in the $$$ so I got back into the retail side of the industry, again...). We had these two Onyx percs just "sitting around" in a little cube system...the shop owner felt that it was impossible to pair true percs. Well, I picked these two, placed them together and in seconds the larger one grabbed the little one by the tail and started dragging him around the tank....obviously it wasn't going to be that simple

So...these two percs spent a week in side-by-side cubicles..they could see and smell each other but couldn't physically make contact. After that week, the larger perc was added into the smaller's cube - things went JUST FINE!

Well, as soon as Renee's 24 gallon Nanocube was ready this pair of fish came home and got their names..."Mama" and "Little Man". They officially came home on June 20th, 2005.

On January 18th of 2006 these guys surived a catastrophe...to this day I cannot explain it but we had a near total loss on the tank about 24 hours after a water change. All parameters were fine...we lost a coral beauty, neon goby, tailspot blenny etc...yet all the corals were fine. The clowns were at the surface looking just about DEAD, all milky white. To this day I'll never know what went wrong but somehow the clowns made it.

So our percs have made it through a lot, and since January, maybe February of this year they have been cleaning their nest site. I was starting to think this was NEVER going to happen. In fact, looking at how the pair looked pre-spawn, I actually think it MAY have happened once or twice already and I just didn't "catch on". No matter..the big difference lately was simply a feeding regine change with the addition of the pair of Flame Angels...I've definitely gotten back to feeding the tank more frequently and even more so with vegetable-based diets (i.e. Formula 2 is fed first thing every morning now). I can't say for sure that the feeding change had anything to do with it or not as I've tried "saturation feeding" in the past...it's definitely possible though.

Currently, they share their 24 gallon reef with a pair of Flame Angelfish, "Fuego" our Purple Firefish, and a lone Pearly Jawfish that lost it's mate. There's absolutely gobs of invertebrate life in the tank.

So that's the background on this tank. Next post - VIDS of pre-spawn cleaning and the actual spawning that took place this evening.

Matt

mwp · #3 09/22/2006, 02:20 AM

These are Flash Videos in streaming format, so EVERYONE should have no issues viewing them AND they're relatively small downloads!

Pre Spawn Cleaning (shot around 10:30 PM) - http://www.cichlidrecipe.com/nanoree...ning_site.html

Actual Spawning (shot maybe 11:15-11:30 PM) - http://www.cichlidrecipe.com/nanoree..._spawning.html

I hope the eggs are still there on Sunday!

Matt

mwp · #4 09/22/2006, 02:26 AM

Sorry folks, I just tried the vids and it appears they're not working right. It might be a few days (don't have time to chase down the problem right now, I need sleep!)

Matt

Kathy55g · #5 09/22/2006, 07:27 AM

You are gonna love raising these guys! SOOO much easier than anything you are presently attempting.

Fishboy42 · #6 09/22/2006, 10:37 AM

Great news Matt--I was wondering when they'd spawn for you too, as everything else in your tanks did already! Kathy's right--you're going to enjoy these! I know you'll keep us updated on their progress

Maybe you have it posted somewhere else, but what is the maintenance schedule for your cube tanks? Thanks,

Matt

mwp · #7 09/24/2006, 09:54 PM

Just got back and we still have a small clutch of eggs (maybe 50). Still working on getting the videos above to work. Thanks for the encouragement; hopefully they can be raised with the Apogon leptacanthus larvae and lone mandarin

Matt

mwp · #8 09/29/2006, 12:03 AM

So I was HOPING tonight, 7 days post spawn (9-28) would be the night for the hatch...I haven't given up yet, but did turn the water back on for a bit. The eyes are silver - I honestly can't tell whether they were this way yesterday or not. I've waited about 1.5 hours with the lights out and pumps off and haven't yet had a hatch....hoping it will happen tomorrow night so I can finally go to sleep!

(BTW, the broodstock tank (with eggs) typically runs around 81.5 to 84F...lately it's been around 82.

Matt

Kathy55g · #9 09/29/2006, 08:15 AM

Tonight! Do you have a snagger? I'll bet you have more than 50. It always looks less than it is.

mwp · #10 09/29/2006, 11:36 AM

Yup, tonight is going to be the night - there are 32 eggs! I'm going to be the larval collector this time around

Matt

mwp · #11 09/29/2006, 11:41 PM

OK, forgive the ignorance, but hopefully someone can answer these two questions decicively for me.

1. Do the parents AID in hatching (as my male GBG does)?

2. Do the larvae hatch with any orange egg yolk still present?

Let's just say I'm starting to think that it's not going to happen tonight either!

Matt

Fishboy42 · #12 09/29/2006, 11:44 PM

The male usually helps with the hatching IME...I actually use this to predict the night of hatch--if the male goes to sleep, no hatch, but if he's fanning the eggs after the lights go out, then tonight's the night.

Most larvae IME don't hatch with much visible yolk left, at least ocellaris, percula, and maroons. Sometimes I still see orange yolk on clarkii, cinnamon, and tomato though...hope this helps!

Matt

mwp · #13 09/29/2006, 11:49 PM

Matt, those answers make me think that indeed, tonight is not yet the night!

Matt

mwp · #14 10/01/2006, 12:34 AM

Well, all the indications were that tonight was the night, yet after 2 hours of darkness our clownfish were sleeping and their nest lay unhatched. I broke down and broke out the turkey baster. One gentle squirt and several of the larvae burst forth and shot skyward!

All in all, we collected 16 larvae. There are a few that "sank" to the bottom that we did not find. There are still 6 eggs on the rock; I've elected to leave them there and see if they make it until morning (and perhaps hatch tomorrow night).

It's a start...

Matt

mwp · #15 10/01/2006, 12:58 AM

OK, so I took some QX5 microscope pictures of a newly hatched (0 hours) Amphiprion percula larvae NEXT TO a 17 day old Apogon leptacanthus larvae. I'm getting tired of duplicating info in multiple posts, so for the ongoing maintenance of the larval tank as well as this first set of pictures, see the Cardinalfish thread at http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...postid=8253580

Matt!

mwp · #16 10/01/2006, 10:04 PM

Just a note - when we woke this morning the remaining 6 larvae had hatched overnight, so I wasn't "overreacting" perhaps when I took matters into my own hands (or rather turkey baster). As of 10:00 PM this evening we have several peach colored clownfish actively swimming and feeding in the larval tank, accompanied by Mandarins and Cardinalfish

Matt

Kathy55g · #17 10/01/2006, 10:19 PM

Matt, if you are successful with this... raising 3 species in one ten gallon, has to be record of some sort! You go, man.

mwp · #18 10/01/2006, 10:41 PM

While I doubt the mandarins, I think the cardinalfish and clowns will work out...everything is looking good tonight and Renee and I just sat there on the floor, watching for a bit. The Cardinalfish are starting to "huddle" together, acting a bit like a loose school...the mandarins are just here and there, and the Clownfish zoom around eating everything in their path! It's the neatest little community fishtank I've had in AGES...just a shame that everything is so small I can't even get a good picture of it!

Matt

mwp · #19 10/02/2006, 09:43 PM

Well, I didn't quite expect this - I came home from a long commute and uttered that 2 word, 8 letter phrase who's first letter of the first word starts with "H" and the first letter of the second word starts with "S"

7:30 PM I've come home to find a MASSIVE clownfish spawn. I had an inkling something might be up last night as I noticed the female was helping clean the nest site again when I turned out the lights...we watched for an hour with ambient room light but nothing happened. I didn't notice any big spawn this morning, but I'm always in a hurry on Mondays. At 7:30 PM, the female's ovipositor is still dropped, which leads me to believe this happened within the last few hours (if they're not in fact STILL laying eggs). Far cry from the trail run of 30 or so, this is several hundred.

FWIW,

Matt

aomont · #20 10/02/2006, 11:13 PM

Great shot Matt, how did the firefish miss the party ?

Anderson.

Kathy55g · #21 10/03/2006, 06:03 AM

Usually they spawn in the late afternoon. A nest of 30-50 eggs is unusually small. Sign of neophytes. You've got a nice breeding pair, my friend. Feed them well and don't let them jump out of the tank, and get ready for a nest every 11-14 days.

mwp · #22 10/04/2006, 12:37 PM

So far all is good with our latest spawn

We still have 7 or so viable larvae form the hatch - less than 3 days post hatch so far but it looks promising. I'm going to do everything in my power to raise the current batch as well...if I can nail down clowns it'll help pay for some of the other things I'm trying!

Matt

mwp · #23 10/09/2006, 11:21 AM

I've been offline, see the leptacanthus thread for all the larval tank maintenance notes. The jist as of now is that since last night the remaining clownfish larvae from our first hatch have been hanging around the surface. This morning I witnessed 2 fight. At least one is started that "waggle" swimming motion that adults have. So far, I'm pretty pleased and looking forward to the next hatch!

Matt

Kathy55g · #24 10/09/2006, 01:47 PM

Look for tail curling and the appearance of a headband! Very exciting!

mwp · #25 10/10/2006, 01:23 PM

As of this morning no headstripes yet...we still have 7 larvae. 5 of the larvae are extremely active, spending much of their time swimming at full bore across the surface. This has been going on for a couple days now. From what I can tell they do stop every so often to feed.

1 additional larvae is full sized but doesn't exhibit this hyperactive behavior...instead it hangs in a dark top corner. 1 additional larvae is behaving like the first 5, but is most definitely the "runt" of the litter.

So that's where we're at with about 9.5 days post hatch. It's looking like the next spawn should hatch on schedule tonight...not sure how I'm going to work this but I think the first hatch is going in a net breeder and may have to fend for themselves in a friend's fuge; the new larger hatch will get placed with the cardinalfish larvae (almost to 27 days post release).

FWIW,

Matt