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#76
10/23/2006, 12:39 PM
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A weak flashlight will do. If the light is too strong, you can put black electrical tape over the lens, with just a 1 mm hole cut out to let some light thru.
In the new broodstock tank I have, the larval collector has to be positioned right over the nest, because the tank is smaller and the nest is centrally located. I was afraid that the flashlight would illuminate the nest, and the fish would not hatch. I used the electrical tape trick, and harvested the biggest number of larvae ever for me. About 600. Good luck, Kathy |
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#80
10/23/2006, 08:14 PM
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.5 gallon specimen cup, bottom frame of a breeder net, 1 Seachem "The Bag" 300 micron filter bag, 2 suction cup heater holders, 1 U tube, 1 Minijet 404 + appropriate tubing, and soon to be 1 clip on headlamp
 I probably should've just gone with a 2L bottle setup, but hey, I need those for Rots and Phyto!!!! The Turkey Baster stands ready, just in case! Matt |
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#82
10/24/2006, 12:13 AM
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Waiting for a hatch...waiting for a hatch...sitting here singing and waiting for a hatch...
So the new 10 G. larval tank has been filled with 1L Nannochloropsis and 1L T-Iso. 2L of SS Rotifers have been sieved from the cultures and placed into the phyto. No other water has been added at this time. I know what you're thinking - "SS-Strain, for clownfish?!" Well, the need to keep my SS Strain Cultures going is what's driven me to do this. I figure that SS will probably work just fine, and with the warm temps they should really do quite well and flourish. Then, I can harvest PLENTY of SS-Strain to distribute, as there won't be anything else in the tank besides SS-Strain rots, phyto and baby clownfish. That's the hope anyways...if things look bleak I'll be ready to add L-Strain and copepods. Still waiting on that hatch! Matt |
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#83
10/24/2006, 01:10 AM
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Doing the math, I realized it's probably at least 1 day too early for a hatch yet...so I got good practice with the larval collector
Kathy, that black electrical tape suggestion was SPOT ON - thanks! The larval tank received 1 gallon of freshly mixed saltwater so there would be enough water for the airstone to circulate the new "rotifer culture" I have starting up Eyes started showing up yesterday on the eggs, all had eyes today, the spawning was 8 hours earlier than prior ones, and hatch days have been 8 & 9, so tomorrow night and Wednesday night are the likely dates. I'll keep y'all posted. Matt |
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#84
10/24/2006, 07:41 AM
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Good luck Matt! Hopfully the success ratio will be much better this time, as I assume it will be. Keep us posted!
Tom
__________________
"I got me a big wave, ride me a big wave, got me a big..WAVE!" Ed Veddar It's a reef thing, you wouldn't understand! |
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#85
10/24/2006, 10:23 AM
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Tom, I too am hoping for BIG success on this batch...doing it "by the book" in many respects. Of course, the larval tank is running at 87F right now...have to figure out if that's 'cause it only has 1.5 gallons of water in it OR if the heater needs adjustment
All the eggs are still on the rock, and it looks like they may not even be ready to hatch tonight...more likely Wednesday but I'll still run the collector for several hours this evening...FWIW, our oldest batch has the ICH that's running around my one broodstock tank (they're in the net breeder in there)...I only found 7 yesterday so we may have lost one. Our 2nd hatch, well I think they might not have gotten enough phyto...they're tiny but some look to have defects in the face...not sure. Was really more worried about the Cardinalfish anyway. Batch #3 is my "earnest" attempt. Matt |
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#86
10/24/2006, 12:26 PM
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Quote:
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#88
10/24/2006, 12:38 PM
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Take the rots and their 1.5 gallons out of tank #2.
Put them in a bucket until tomorrow. Put some 24 hour old aerated saltwater at the same salinity as your broodstock's tank, maybe 3 gallons. Add heater, turned down so you get 83 degrees. Add airstone with air. Add 3 ml bleach. Let sit for at least a couple of hours. Dechlorinate, test for remaining chlorine (jungle strips work great), just before lights out on the night of the hatch. Now you are ready. When you get your larvae collected, carefully, and gently pour them in. NO acclimation needed. You may go to bed now. Do not feed until morning. Hoff did a study that showed that a sterile tank yielded more survival than a non-sterile tank for clownfish. Edgar advised me long ago not to put my new baby clowns in a cycling tank. You will be introducing some in-sterility with the broodstock water your babies come in, but not enough to worry about. Rotifer water, on the other hand is another story. You do not want 24 hours worth of rotifer poop in there either. Remember, rotifers empty their gut every 4 hours. Free advice, worth the price. This is your baby to do with as you wish, just my 2 cents. Cheers, Kathy |
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#90
10/24/2006, 01:46 PM
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Ed - LOL!
Kathy, good thoughts! Definitely a sound course of advice perhaps for the mandarin trials! There's really a small amount of rotifers, just tons of phyto in the tank right now. I'm hoping to the the SS rots up to speed so there will be enough when the time comes for the baby clowns (and enough that I have a big SS culture going in the larval tank anyway), but I see how chemistry could be off and sterility long gone as I let this go. Hopefully the live phyto (I'm not using pastes or other preserved feeds) will reabsorb what the rotifers produce. I did forget to mention that the airstone went in last night with the heater, phyto and rots. That reminds me, I need to break out and set up the light for the tank too! Matt |
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#91
10/24/2006, 01:48 PM
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BTW, I was thinking that other than the little water I have to transfer with the larvae, I was going to grab 3-5 gallons of parental tank water...no acclimation really required that way either. One note though - I plan on seiving the parental water through 23 and 10 micron sieves before adding it to larval tank #2, to eliminate most everything other than actual "water" from what I take from the 24 gallon cube.
FWIW, Matt |
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#93
10/24/2006, 02:59 PM
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Hoff did a study that showed that a sterile tank yielded more clownfish larvae survival than a non-sterile tank.
This is not just my personal opinion. You can grow rotifers anywhere. Why muck up your chances? I'll shut up now. |
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#95
10/24/2006, 05:13 PM
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Oh, I would definately do a greenwater approach, but not in advance of the clownfish larvae.
The objective is to keep the tank as bacteria free as possible for as long as possible. Here is my thinking: Start sterile, dechlorinate, add larvae. They will not eat in the dark, and they need their rest after busting out of the egg, so turn the lights off, and don't feed them until morning. Feed them rinsed rotifers, but not the nasty water the rotifers have been growing in! Add live phyto to the tank , just enough to keep the rots nutritious, just a tint of green. (Don't add needless bacteria and poop. ) Hopefully, the rotifers will be eaten before they do a lot of pooping, and you can add some more rinsed live rots. If not, you need to siphon the poop off the floor and keep the tank tinted green with the phyto, so the remaining rots stay nutritious. There are many ways to do this job, and this is just the scenario that goes thru my head when I do it. It makes sense to me, and it does work for me. Other people are very successful doing it a different way. I still have a lot to learn, however, so you do what makes sense to you. Really wish you the best of luck, young fella, not trying to tell you what to do.  Just want you to have any information I might be able to provide.Cheers, K |
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#96
10/24/2006, 05:37 PM
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You know I appreciate it, and that's basically one of the protocol concepts going through my head for mandarins and cardinals, but greenwater worked so well with my first 2 batches of clowns (remember, my first hatch was small and hatch #2 I botched the larval transfer). If I botch this batch #4 shouldn't take too long to show up
Matt |
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#97
10/24/2006, 11:32 PM
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Talking about bacteria x larvae, I recommend you read this !
"Interactions between fish larvae and bacteria in marine aquaculture." Jan A. Olafsen. Aquaculture 200 (2001) 223-247 It covers many aspects of this relationship and it´s been enriching to me. Anderson.
__________________
"Posso não saber de nada mas suspeito de muita coisa..." |
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#98
10/25/2006, 12:58 AM
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Well, it's 12:55 AM, no hatch tonight so far so I turned the main pump back on...ran through 1 pair of AAA batteries already! My only concern is that we may get another "late night" hatch like we did last time around, where part of the batch hatches out and part waits another day. Keeping my fingers crossed that THAT doesn't happen.............
Matt |
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#99
10/25/2006, 06:45 AM
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If you could find a small flashlight with an LED bulb in it, the batteries would last muc longer. You can even get a kit for the AA model Mag flashlight that converts it to 3-LED bulbs and also has a replacement battery cap with an actual on-off button insted of twisting the head. Just an option for you.
Tom ps. I think the kit is like $8.00 or something like that. Cheap, and worth it. I use them at work.
__________________
"I got me a big wave, ride me a big wave, got me a big..WAVE!" Ed Veddar It's a reef thing, you wouldn't understand! |
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#100
10/25/2006, 10:03 AM
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LED Headlamp was already on my mind...and I do have a LED flashlight around - I bet I could figure out some way of mounting it to the existing clamp (which works really well for clamping the light onto the side of the collector, aimed right at the intake).
Definitely no hatch last night..it's gonna be tonight, for sure, at least half the nest will go! Matt |
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