clown spawn

[Fizhstiks]

When will the eggs hatch? My clowns laid eggs sometime last week and i didnt notice until tonight. They have eyes, they are darkish and they look kinda loose because whenever the male fans them, they move around like crazy. He has been guarding and fanning them vigorously. When will they hatch????? i turned off all of the filters just in case...

[Fizhstiks]

they hatched, i saved 4 but only 1 was alive when i got home from school.

[Fizhstiks]

aww the last one died, i stayed up all night for nothing

[Fizhstiks]

what are some good ways to collect the fry?

[Fizhstiks]

Originally posted by Fizhstiks
what are some good ways to collect the fry?

Please??

i want to collect more than i did last time

[Imdone]

I don't have any idea, but that is awesome that you got to find the eggs.

[gskidmor]

There's some good books on clownfish, but generally they hatch a couple of weeks after being laid, and they hatch at night. They'll float to the top and you just scoop them out and place them somewhere safe.

If it was their first spawn, then they're probably not very practiced at rearing the eggs. My clowns first spawn ended badly, but they got better the next time, then I moved them here to Cleveland and it will probably be a while before they spawn again

[Kmiec123]

Clownfish by wilkerson on amazon.....Is a must..try the marine fish breeding form, tons of info to help you out, if fed regularly paior should spawn every 12-15 days, so you should get more chances.

[traveller7]

Originally posted by Fizhstiks
Please??

i want to collect more than i did last time

Start right here within the Anemone and Clownfish FAQs:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=282136

Here specifically:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=240158

Take your time, once they start breeding; most will lay eggs like clockwork. Let the first few batches go, set up proper rearing systems, and food before taking the plunge.

[Fishboy42]

You might have more luck posting in the fish-breeding forum. Joyce Wilkerson's book also has a lot of info that would be helpful. Also have a look here:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=240158

An easy way to collect a lot of the larvae is to wait until the night of the hatch (6-8 days usually) and turn off all the lights and water circulation. Wait until the nest hatches (usually between 40 min and 2hrs for most of mine), and use a flashlight to concentrate the larvae (they will swim toward the light). Then siphon them into a larval tank. Hope this helps,

Matt

Edit: oops, Scott beat me to it! I must have left this page open while reading others...

[Fizhstiks]

They laid eggs today, i got to see the end of their egg laying process when i came home from school

Ok, i would like to try raising them on artificial rotifers...I read the article and it said 30% survival rate, but how many fry do you think i would be able to get past metamorphosis if i raise them on artificial rotifers? should i try frozen rotifers? Do people cycle their fry tanks, or just do small water changes every day?

Thanks for telling me how to catch them. i tried that on the first batch but only a few made it to the top of the tank. Maybe the first batch wasnt very strong?

[Fizhstiks]

has anyone ever tried raising clownfish fry on live paramecium??

[Fizhstiks]

I took some pics (really bad pics )

The pair right after they finished:


close up of eggs:

[Fizhstiks]

has anyone ever tried raising clownfish fry on live freshwater paramecium??

[Fizhstiks]

the eggs are turning brownish

[Fizhstiks]

pics...




Would any survive if i started them on bbs instead of rotifers??

[crpeck]

Congrats Fizhstiks,

Your clowns are new to laying nests and it shows with how thin that patch is (totally normal). If you want to raise some out:

1. Get Wilkerson's book recommended above and read up
2. Prepare ahead and start keeping a record of how many days between each hatch. Mine lay every 12 days like clockwork and the eggs hatch the night of the 8th day. If you keep your temperature in the tank consistent, the number of days between lay and hatch should stay consistent too so you'll know what night to stay up and be ready.
3. Make sure your clowns get a really good diet.
4. Artificial rotifers are a trick with a small batch in a small tank. I've heard it's possible, but I couldn't succeed with it. You can order live rotifers and start a culture for not too much money or trouble and increase your odds a LOT. Baby brine shrimp are too big at first and the larvae can't survive on them until they're ready.
4. Your best chances will be to plan ahead and try to capture the larvae when you're off for Christmas break. The first 10 - 14 days are the most critical and you will need to monitor the rotifer density in the larvae tank regularly throughout the day.
5. The siphon ideas in the Wilkerson book are great, but I had the greatest success with larvae living through the first night when I lured them up with a pen flashlight and scooped them with a soup bowl.

6. Don't forget to document and take pictures along the way. My daughter helped me all the way through when we raised out some babies and got a red ribbon at the science fair with it.

Good Luck!!!

[Fizhstiks]

thanks

do you think this is a good starter package of rotifers? http://www.reed-store.com/index.asp?...PROD&ProdID=25

or should i order the rotifer package under plankton start up kits?
http://www.aquaculturestore.com/swinverts.html#ocplan

ill see if i can take some better pics of the eggs

[crpeck]

I recommend Reed Mariculture very highly. I've ordered from them often and the only time they made a mistake, Randy went out of his way to refund my shipping to make up for it even though I didn't ask or expect it. You can't go wrong there. The other place may be fine, too ... I just don't know them.

The basic starter kit should be fine and a couple of weeks is plenty to get a good supply going. You don't need anything fancy for them ... a 10 gallon plastic trash, a heater and a pump/airstone is all you need. You'll want something to use as a rotifer sieve ... coffee filters will work in a pinch but a sieve is cheap and more convenient to use. You'll need it to harvest the rotifers and to thin the population when you get to many to avoid crashing your culture. It's easy ... you'll see.

The Wilkerson book has excellent instructions for preparing your larvae tank so while your rotifers are building up you can get that ready too.

All this stuff is going to add up and you'll need to be prepared to spend a lot of time staying on top of things through metamorphosis and weaned onto prepared food. Before you spend too much money on rotifers and stuff, you might want to read up on everything that is required and make sure you're willing to commit the time and the money this is going to take.

The other issue is figuring out what you're going to do with any babies you are able to raise. My first try I lost them all, 2nd try I saved 4 and once I figured it out .... the last time raised ~100 babies from one hatch. You won't be able to put them back in with the parents and they'll only last in the rearing tank for so long.

Once your clowns start laying, they'll keep it up. You can even wait till next summer when school is out to do this if you want to make sure you've got plenty of time.

Good luck if you decide to go for it. :-)

[Fizhstiks]

Can I raise rotifers in 5 gallon buckets? I have a few buckets I don't use much. I think i'm going to order the starter package from Reeds tonight. How much do you have to feed rotifers? I got the clown rearing tank ready tonight, it's a 10 gallon, bought a heater, taped the heater light, I have an air bubble wand thing under the heater, I taped white paper on the bottom and used black construction paper for blacking out the sides. Did I set it up right? I'm going to add the water a few hours before they hatch. They should be hatching around Wednesday or Thursday

[crpeck]

That sounds okay.

But if you're going to try and capture this batch this week, you should probably buy more rotifers than just the starter pack. You'll want one pack to put in one of your 5 gallon buckets to culture and one to put in the rearing tank.

In your rotifer culture, just add enough food to keep the water green. You can culture in your rearing tank too a bit ... just don't keep the water quite as green and watch your ammonia. If you add a little rotifer food to the rearing tank, you can at least keep some of the rotifers alive and reproducing there that don't get eaten.

In Wilkerson's book, she tells you how to draw a circle on a hydrometer to measure your rotifer density in the water. You'll want to keep an eye on the density in both tanks. In the rearing tank, it needs to be high enough that the larvae literally run into them without looking. In the culture tank, you need to cull if it is getting too dense, but what you're taking out to replenish the rearing tank should be more than enough with a new culture.

Actually ..... you will probably be a bit tight on rotifers if you go for it this week if you get a lot of larvae out.

Oh ... one other warning. On one batch, I accidentally had the airstone running a little too hard and lost a bunch of larvae over the first night. The airflow should be just enough for the bubbles to break the surface of the water, but not hard enough to create a strong enough flow in the tank to blow the larvae around. You can crank up the air as they gain strength.

Good Luck! Keep us posted.

[Fizhstiks]

thanks

i just bought the basic rotifer starter kit from Reeds. I also took some pics of the eggs and the rearing tank...

[Fizhstiks]

the eggs are developing eyes

[gemini aquarius(t)]

pm sent

[phender]

Looks good. I normally use a smaller very course airstone. You really don't want very much current in the fry tank. The babies need to be able to swim against the current.