April 14 Clownfish breeding follow up questions...

[Vincerama2]

I just thought I'd start a thread to follow up our excellent April 14 meeting about clownfish breeding!

Thanks to Robin, Tyler and Randy for great presentations!


One thing that I found discouraging was the amount of time, effort and (to a lesser extent) money involved in clownfish breeding.

However, I realized also that you don't have to have a constant clownfish factory, like these guys do and so I'd like to ask;

For the average hobbiest who HAPPENS to have clowns spawning, wouldn't it be much easier (and cheaper) to raise just ONE clutch of eggs/fry? Robin raises almost every clutch, and so he has many tanks to support the many stages that the various clutches are in, and that requires different foods, different tanks, etc. It would be much simpler, and yet still satisfying to raise a single batch of eggs. You'd only need one tank to raise them from fry to juvenile, and you'd only need to have the food on hand that their particular stage of growth requires. Also it would be less mentally taxing to keep track of just that one batch.

I didn't think of it at the time of the meeting. The thought of all that work really had me thinking that if my silly fish DID spawn, I couldn't go through all that effort, but I think it's much less daunting if you think of just one batch and raise it from egg to fish!

Discuss...


V

[fed-exguy]

that was a fun day..................learn alot about clowns........

[MorandiWine]

I will take a stab....

Your thought is a good one! However I dont think that you could get away with just one tank. Here's why. You will need atleast one tank for fry grow out and one for rotifer (or bucket) cultures, however I would suggest that you divide up the older grow out fry into a couple tanks. Reason is that they are going to need room to grow and if they are crammed in a small tank they will not only grow slower but they will also foul that tank quickly.

So that is my ten cents but I am sure that other people have other thoughts.

thanks

tyler

[fed-exguy]

i dont culture my clown, they don't mate, had my clown for over 7 month.........there ether both male/female......

[MorandiWine]

Perhaps, but they may also just not be old enough or comfortable enough to breed in your tank. Not to say that your tank is not suitable, but sometimes they can be a bit picky. Case in point is a pair of CB Black Ocellaris that I have had for almost a year and a half. They were always together and "paired" but never really showed that much interest in breeding. Now that I moved them and changed things around, they are going through the motions! Who knows, sometimes we use everything that we know should happen and nature goes and changes the way things are supposed to happen!!

Sometimes it takes a long time for "pairs" to get going if they are a compatable pair and sometimes it does not. Give it time.

tyler

[fingerwrinkles]

Hi folks ...

If Tyler added his ten cents, I guess I'll chip in with a nickel and a couple of pennies!

First off, I think I should apologize for possibly leading folks to believe that I've got a factory scale hatchery going where I grow out all my clutches. In reality, I take maybe a clutch every 6 weeks if my clowns are so inclined and my schedule allows. The setup that I showed pictures of at the meeting is for the growout of fry from only one pair at this time. I've got delusions of grandeur that I'll have spawing pairs of 3 different species / subspecies, but when all three do kick in I'll have a bit of a tough time finding space to segregate the different sizes and species of babies.

My suggestion would be to get yourself a couple 10 gallon tanks, 2 seven gallon salt buckets, and a couple brine shrimp hatchers. The salt buckets are for rotifer culture using Reed's rotifers and algae, the hatchers are to ensure you have a steady supply of newly hatched brine, and the tanks you'll need to reduce the density of the babies as they grow. I find that some babies alwys grow faster than others, and these will dominate the rest unless they are separated into the "fast growers" tank. Conversely, I've had slower growing babies (aka runts) that I've taken and placed in with the next hatch (even a month or two later) so they would be with fish more their size. As Tyler notes, less density means quicker growth and less water fouling, which may in the end translate into fewer water changes.

Hope this helps ... I certainly encourage folks to give it a try at least once just for the experience. However ... be so forewarned that raising baby clowns is like eating potato chips. It's really hard to stop at just one clutch!

[fed-exguy]

ohh....right ohhn

[cbr600rri]

Originally posted by fed-exguy
i dont culture my clown, they don't mate, had my clown for over 7 month.........there ether both male/female......

Sorry, not to burst your bubble, but 7 months ain't nothing. My pair has always been together for the past 4+ years! Like Tyler said, I moved some rocks around, included a tile, but they still don't seem ready, although, no change in the female's belly, they have been picking the tile clean for the past 5 months. So who knows, maybe they'll be ready soon enough OR because I watch them every day, maybe that's why. They need their privacy

[Vincerama2]

Hey what if people who have clowns that spawn, but don't want to raise the fry possibly selling the eggs to some people who would like to try raising the fry? A couple of bucks for what would otherwise be fish food (ie; hatched and immediately devoured fry) might be a good deal for the "parent" of unwanted eggs? And that way some of us who would love to try it (me, possibly!) but have clownfish who just won't spawn (mine are a few years old, bought off another reefer who said they never spawned).

DBTC Eggs?

(I still have a Cardinal from Jimsar that I need to try and breed to add to the Bangaii cardinal DBTC!)

V

[Natterjak]

I'd love to try raising clownfish fry, but I'm just having no luck with a mate for my female occelaris. I've had her for 3 years - first "mate" died after 8 months when the blue tang decided to suddenly start beating it up, and the second one, which we had for over a year, just disappeared the other day. Maybe she's just destined to be a spinster. :P

[fed-exguy]

there was that guy who said that he'll take the unwanted baby..... somebody help me with his name, he was at the bar meting..........

[fingerwrinkles]

If you guys are interested to try your hand at fry raising, I have in the past sold post-meta fry for growout (this is how Mona got that amazing tank full of clowns). Trying to hatch out nests can be done, but it may take a few trys as you have to get the nest aeration just right. After they hatch, they are far too fragile to move, so you have to wait until they are 7-10 days old and a little hardier. Note, though, that 90% (my guess) of the challenge is in the hatch to post meta phase ... after that if you are diligent, it's 90% patience from there on out to market.

In any case, I'd be open to working with a couple folks if they want to buy the post meta fry from my off cycle nests and grow those out.

Robin

[Vincerama2]

Robin, that sounds great! I'll be up for it after a months time or so (My bro getting married in a month, plus time to gather the right equipment, etc).

V

[fingerwrinkles]

OK, I don't have a clutch right at this moment, but for those that are interested just PM me and we can do something FCFS.