Patience is a virtue that I do not possess, at least not in quantity.
I currently have 8 pairs of clownfish and NOT ONE of them is spawning!!! They get fed the highest quality foods several times a day, at least twice, usually 4-5 times. The photoperiod is 14 hours, the tank temperatures are 80-81 and the water quality is good. Each cubicle in the broodstock system has a tile fort (one horizontal tile, one vertical tile, and one tile on a 45 degree angle) and a flowerpot. None of the pairs can see each other. There is an ongoing joke at MOFIB that you need to have Barry White playing softly in the background in order to get fish to spawn but I'm starting to wonder if maybe it isn't a joke! I have several pairs that are halfheartedly cleaning but I haven't seen any action. Anybody have any idea what I'm doing wrong?! Here's a bio of each of the pairs if that gives anyone any information:
Pair 1 - Picasso clowns; female purchased 7-15-08 and was roughly 1" DOP. Male purchased 1-20-09 and was also roughly 1" DOP. The female is currently about 2" and the male is 1.5" or so. They've been together since I purchased the male. They barely leave each other's side and sleep in the same anemone. They're located in my 100 gallon cube tank.
Pair 2 - Snowflake clowns; female purchased 10-4-08 and was roughly 1.5" DOP. Male purchased 5-16-09 and was roughly 1" DOP. The female is currently 2.5" and the male is 1.5". They've been together since I got the male. They sleep in separate anemones at night but hang out together during the day. The female has been bulking up pretty good and the pair has been halfheartedly cleaning for about the last month or two. No eggs.
Pair 3 - Snowflake male x Orange Ocellaris female; Male purchased 10-4-08 and was roughly 1.5" DOP. Female was purchased 6-28-09 and was ~3" DOP. The female is still ~3" and was in a spawning trio when I got her, she laid eggs every 12 days. The other two fish in that trio died. The male is also the same size as he was, 1.5". This pair has been together since 8-6-09 and they are halfheartedly cleaning. The female looks quite plump today but I don't think they're acting enough like a pair to spawn, especially since they've been together less than a month.
Pair 4 - Rod's Onyx. These guys are still incredibly tiny, the largest is 1.25" and the smaller one is just under 1". I do not expect them to spawn for quite some time. I got them 11-14-08 and they only had their headstripes.
Pair 5 - Black Ocellaris; Female purchased 11-2-08 and was roughly 2" DOP. Male purchased 1-29-09 and was ~1" DOP. The female is 3" now and the male probably 1.75". These two are quite attached to each other but have not shown any cleaning activity.
Pair 6 - Black Ocellaris; Pair purchased 6-25-09; Female was/is 3.25" and male was/is 3". Pair is definitely interested in spawning, they're cleaning a lot and hanging out in their tile fortress but I haven't seen an ovipositor and the female doesn't seem to be putting on the weight at all.
Pair 7 - Orange Ocellaris; Pair acquired 7-26-09; Female is 3" and male is 2.25". These guys were in a friend's tank and were cleaning a lot so he gave them to me to see if I could get them spawning. They're acting very pair-like and are halfheartedly cleaning but nothing serious.
Pair 8 - Orange Ocellaris; Pair acquired 8-1-09; Female is 4" and male is just a hair smaller. I got these guys as a mated pair from bprice and was told they lay roughly every 14 days or so. They're picking at the tiles occassionally but I think it's too soon after moving them for them to resume spawning yet.
If anyone has any ideas on how to get any of these pairs spawning please let me know. I've read just about every book on the subject and frequent MOFIB but it's highly plausible that I'm missing something...maybe need to try a different Barry White CD?
I currently have 8 pairs of clownfish and NOT ONE of them is spawning!!! They get fed the highest quality foods several times a day, at least twice, usually 4-5 times. The photoperiod is 14 hours, the tank temperatures are 80-81 and the water quality is good. Each cubicle in the broodstock system has a tile fort (one horizontal tile, one vertical tile, and one tile on a 45 degree angle) and a flowerpot. None of the pairs can see each other. There is an ongoing joke at MOFIB that you need to have Barry White playing softly in the background in order to get fish to spawn but I'm starting to wonder if maybe it isn't a joke! I have several pairs that are halfheartedly cleaning but I haven't seen any action. Anybody have any idea what I'm doing wrong?! Here's a bio of each of the pairs if that gives anyone any information:
Pair 1 - Picasso clowns; female purchased 7-15-08 and was roughly 1" DOP. Male purchased 1-20-09 and was also roughly 1" DOP. The female is currently about 2" and the male is 1.5" or so. They've been together since I purchased the male. They barely leave each other's side and sleep in the same anemone. They're located in my 100 gallon cube tank.
Pair 2 - Snowflake clowns; female purchased 10-4-08 and was roughly 1.5" DOP. Male purchased 5-16-09 and was roughly 1" DOP. The female is currently 2.5" and the male is 1.5". They've been together since I got the male. They sleep in separate anemones at night but hang out together during the day. The female has been bulking up pretty good and the pair has been halfheartedly cleaning for about the last month or two. No eggs.
Pair 3 - Snowflake male x Orange Ocellaris female; Male purchased 10-4-08 and was roughly 1.5" DOP. Female was purchased 6-28-09 and was ~3" DOP. The female is still ~3" and was in a spawning trio when I got her, she laid eggs every 12 days. The other two fish in that trio died. The male is also the same size as he was, 1.5". This pair has been together since 8-6-09 and they are halfheartedly cleaning. The female looks quite plump today but I don't think they're acting enough like a pair to spawn, especially since they've been together less than a month.
Pair 4 - Rod's Onyx. These guys are still incredibly tiny, the largest is 1.25" and the smaller one is just under 1". I do not expect them to spawn for quite some time. I got them 11-14-08 and they only had their headstripes.
Pair 5 - Black Ocellaris; Female purchased 11-2-08 and was roughly 2" DOP. Male purchased 1-29-09 and was ~1" DOP. The female is 3" now and the male probably 1.75". These two are quite attached to each other but have not shown any cleaning activity.
Pair 6 - Black Ocellaris; Pair purchased 6-25-09; Female was/is 3.25" and male was/is 3". Pair is definitely interested in spawning, they're cleaning a lot and hanging out in their tile fortress but I haven't seen an ovipositor and the female doesn't seem to be putting on the weight at all.
Pair 7 - Orange Ocellaris; Pair acquired 7-26-09; Female is 3" and male is 2.25". These guys were in a friend's tank and were cleaning a lot so he gave them to me to see if I could get them spawning. They're acting very pair-like and are halfheartedly cleaning but nothing serious.
Pair 8 - Orange Ocellaris; Pair acquired 8-1-09; Female is 4" and male is just a hair smaller. I got these guys as a mated pair from bprice and was told they lay roughly every 14 days or so. They're picking at the tiles occassionally but I think it's too soon after moving them for them to resume spawning yet.
If anyone has any ideas on how to get any of these pairs spawning please let me know. I've read just about every book on the subject and frequent MOFIB but it's highly plausible that I'm missing something...maybe need to try a different Barry White CD?
