Amphiprion percula "Onxy" (Onyx Percula Clown) Breeding Log!
- Thread starter mwp
- Start date
mwp
In Memoriam
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
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
In Memoriam
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
Matt
mwp
In Memoriam
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
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
mwp
In Memoriam
Nathan, up until their move last night, there was BBS, L-Strain and SS-Strain Rotifers along with Tiggerpods and another unidentified harp. cope. in the larval tank, so in theory they had a lot to chose from. As of this afternoon, the smaller ones is stil focusing on rots, but the larger ones appear to be pretty keyed in on BBS.
I have a lot of notes to post now that we're back online...more to come.
Matt
I have a lot of notes to post now that we're back online...more to come.
Matt
mwp
In Memoriam
So here's the updates, starting on 10-10-06
10:40 - removed 8 Percula larvae from larval tank..headstripes just starting to form (only noticeable when viewed from above)! 1 larvae freaked out, most likely will die. Lights have gone out on next brood...turned off all pumps.
10:45 - shut off all the lights in the room and BAM, larvae started to hatch - nope, they're actually some sort of worm that swims to the surface, spawns eggs and sperm and then decends. Turned pump back on to skim off eggs and sperm...certainly don't want them in the larval tank...at least I think I don't! Room lights back on as well...trying to delay the hatch now for a bit....might have to stimulate it later as I did on the first one.
11:00 pm - thought I saw a clownfish larvae take off, so I turned off the pumps again.
11:10 - no hatch, turned pump back on for a bit.
11:25 - older larvae are in breeder net. The one that looked bad turned around - we have 8 viable larvae at this point.
11:40 - tried squirting with the turkey baster a few times...no hatch. Maybe not going to happen until tomorrow night?
11:55 - turned pumps back on.
10-11-06
12:10 AM - still no hatching observed in clownfish, so probably tomorrow night!
9:40 AM - at least 50% of the clownfish nest is gone
11:00 AM - drained out 2 gallons from the larval tank, seived rotifers and BBS for enrichment (to feed clownfish in breeder net)
12:15 - Enriched rots and bbs fed to clownfish - they're eating with gusto! Able to find 5 larvae.
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So that's where we stand. I'll be ready and waiting for the remaining eggs to hatch tonight!
Matt
10:40 - removed 8 Percula larvae from larval tank..headstripes just starting to form (only noticeable when viewed from above)! 1 larvae freaked out, most likely will die. Lights have gone out on next brood...turned off all pumps.
10:45 - shut off all the lights in the room and BAM, larvae started to hatch - nope, they're actually some sort of worm that swims to the surface, spawns eggs and sperm and then decends. Turned pump back on to skim off eggs and sperm...certainly don't want them in the larval tank...at least I think I don't! Room lights back on as well...trying to delay the hatch now for a bit....might have to stimulate it later as I did on the first one.
11:00 pm - thought I saw a clownfish larvae take off, so I turned off the pumps again.
11:10 - no hatch, turned pump back on for a bit.
11:25 - older larvae are in breeder net. The one that looked bad turned around - we have 8 viable larvae at this point.
11:40 - tried squirting with the turkey baster a few times...no hatch. Maybe not going to happen until tomorrow night?
11:55 - turned pumps back on.
10-11-06
12:10 AM - still no hatching observed in clownfish, so probably tomorrow night!
9:40 AM - at least 50% of the clownfish nest is gone
11:00 AM - drained out 2 gallons from the larval tank, seived rotifers and BBS for enrichment (to feed clownfish in breeder net)
12:15 - Enriched rots and bbs fed to clownfish - they're eating with gusto! Able to find 5 larvae.
-----
So that's where we stand. I'll be ready and waiting for the remaining eggs to hatch tonight!
Matt
mwp
In Memoriam
7:45 PM this evening I pipetted in some newly hatched BBS nauplii...no enrichment 'cause well there's nothing to really enrich yet..not until after that first shedding. The clowns went after them like hawgs! FWIW, turns out all 8 juvies are still in the breeder net! Most have headstripes..it appears that the most developed stripes are halfway down the head.
Curiously, I read somewhere that IODIDE can influence proper stripe formation - anyone else hear of this?
Matt
Curiously, I read somewhere that IODIDE can influence proper stripe formation - anyone else hear of this?
Matt
mwp
In Memoriam
10-11-06, 11:30 PM, we have a hatch! - it was about an hour after the tank lights went out...in the time early on I tried the turkey baster squirting to coax a hatch but the larvae weren't budging. I turned out EVERY light in the room except my small LED flashlight which sat over the fan venting of the hood, giving just enough light for the larvae to congregate around. I sucked them out with the trusty turkey baster, and now, despite having lost 50% of the batch to a "premature" hatch sometime the night before, we are still sitting pretty with something in the neighborhood of 200 new Percula Larvae...they take up a 1 gallon fishbowl!
Now I have to figure out exactly how I'm going to acclimate them to the larval tank and get them into their new home. Hope the cardinalfish juvies don't mind!
Matt
Now I have to figure out exactly how I'm going to acclimate them to the larval tank and get them into their new home. Hope the cardinalfish juvies don't mind!
Matt
mwp
In Memoriam
LOOKS LIKE I BOTCHED IT - bad news indeed. I thought I had sufficiently dripped the larvae, but shortly after introduction the majority of the clownfish larvae are either disoriented and swirling about or appear dead. HMM. I had two deaths in this tank just a while ago in the 28 day old cardinalfish. Not sure if this was just a bad acclimation or there's something more wrong.
HMMMMMMM. We'll see, we'll see.
Matt
HMMMMMMM. We'll see, we'll see.
Matt
mwp
In Memoriam
Well, I counted up the bodies...looks like we're already 30 in the hole. I broke out the flashlight and put it over the tank...I'd say 30+ larvae showed up almost immediately. That's still better than my first shot around (16 collected, 8 through meta)...we'll see how things go. Thankfully, the "swirling" seems to have subsided, at least in those that came over to the flashlight. This is one of those times when I REALLY, REALLY wish I had that 2nd 10 gallon..I wouldn't have had to deal with trying to "acclimate" newly hatched clownfish. Still haven't figured out how to get the OK from Renee yet...I've tried and I was SURE that 200 Onyx Percs from HER fish (and the amount of potential cash $$$ that represents) would've convinced her...it didn't....
FWIW,
Matt
FWIW,
Matt
mwp
In Memoriam
So I've spent a little time this morning siphoning off the bottom of the larval tank again...104 DOA this morning, at least what I could find that were still intact. There's maybe a dozen larvae swimming around. Yup, I botched the acclimation I think. Just kicking up the water changes again - as with before, follow the leptacanthus thread for my maintenance notes.
Matt
Matt
mwp
In Memoriam
Well, there's probably 20-25 percula larvae that have survived...no new deaths today. Those that are around are already s-curving and chowing down on rotifers. It'll be another nice little batch I guess
The largest ones have already turned "nasty"...it seems like there's a pair that's constantly going at it. They've been getting several small feedings of BBS (enriched with selcon while in the fridge) throughout the day. Headstripes are fully developed on some, although it appears that our runt has yet to get his.
FWIW,
Matt
The largest ones have already turned "nasty"...it seems like there's a pair that's constantly going at it. They've been getting several small feedings of BBS (enriched with selcon while in the fridge) throughout the day. Headstripes are fully developed on some, although it appears that our runt has yet to get his.
FWIW,
Matt
mwp
In Memoriam
So I wanted to readdress an earlier question - is my pair an "Onyx" variety (actually came from the Flame Angel thread which has the same pics in it).
Being the African Cichlid guy I am, of course I always prefer to have fish with collecting locations. Of course, these fish were simply purchased as "Perculas", nothing more was available.
From what I've been able to determine, it would appear that my pair most fits the "Onyx" type that's imported from Paupa New Guinea vs. the other "Onyx" variety that so many folks have purchased from Rod's Reef, which has the black dorsal fin (my pair does not). If I'm following through on all the info, it would appear that the black dorsal is indicative of the Solomon Islands form?
Anyone want to jump in and help me learn a bit more about my percs?
Matt
Being the African Cichlid guy I am, of course I always prefer to have fish with collecting locations. Of course, these fish were simply purchased as "Perculas", nothing more was available.
From what I've been able to determine, it would appear that my pair most fits the "Onyx" type that's imported from Paupa New Guinea vs. the other "Onyx" variety that so many folks have purchased from Rod's Reef, which has the black dorsal fin (my pair does not). If I'm following through on all the info, it would appear that the black dorsal is indicative of the Solomon Islands form?
Anyone want to jump in and help me learn a bit more about my percs?
Matt
mwp
In Memoriam
Still have 8 clownfish from the first batch including the runt which still has no head stripe and is now starting to get skinny. They ALL are fighting! Tried giving them cyclopeze...no luck there yet.
Also, I didn't mention this, but last night, our more recent hatch that are in the larval tank with the cardinalfish, well I watched at least 2 larvae already taking down BBS, tackling them with enthusiasm. Looks like rotifers were a short-lived step up the food chain?
FWIW,
Matt
Also, I didn't mention this, but last night, our more recent hatch that are in the larval tank with the cardinalfish, well I watched at least 2 larvae already taking down BBS, tackling them with enthusiasm. Looks like rotifers were a short-lived step up the food chain?
FWIW,
Matt
mwp
In Memoriam
We still have the 8 juvies from the first hatch, and about 15-20 from the 2nd hatch. Things are going well...I'm wondering when stripe #2 will show up on our older batch, and the runt STILL does not have a headstripe. I've tried feeding cyclopeze a couple times with no real interest...going to try in the morning when they're really HUNGRY 
The larvae in the 2nd batch already take enriched BBS with gusto...meta shouldn't be too far off for them.
Monday evening I observed more nest cleaning behavior by both the male and female. I won't be surprised if there is a spawn Tuesday evening. It's worth mentioning that the tank temperature has dropped significantly with the colder weather we'd been having - it had been up as high as 83F in the summer; last friday it was 76F.
FWIW,
Matt
The larvae in the 2nd batch already take enriched BBS with gusto...meta shouldn't be too far off for them.Monday evening I observed more nest cleaning behavior by both the male and female. I won't be surprised if there is a spawn Tuesday evening. It's worth mentioning that the tank temperature has dropped significantly with the colder weather we'd been having - it had been up as high as 83F in the summer; last friday it was 76F.
FWIW,
Matt
