Amphiprion success rates without live food

[Gary Majchrzak]

I've raised Amphiprion larvae on phytoplankton and rotifer cultures so I understand success rates when applied to raising Clownfish.
Is anybody having success using frozen (dead) rotifers? If so, what kind of success rate are we talking? Obviously, dead food will pollute the grow out vats much more quickly than living food and it must be much more costly to feed. Can anybody confirm? TIA!

 

[nate4546]

I read someone was having success with Coral Frenzy

 

[FMarini]

Gary-
best I've heard or read is slightly less than 10% survival when using dead first foods.
to me its just not worth it, rotifers are easy

 

[GreshamH]

I've heard/seen the same info on clowns as Frank Other fish can very in % but clowns it's failry low.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

thanks, guys

 

[trueblackpercula]

I had a very good rate using Artificial rotifers by OSI

Michael

 

[GreshamH]

Define "really good" To some even a few is really good while others it's much higher.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

agreed. I'd be interested in hearing the percentage of larvae that made it to metamorphosis when fed only OSI artificial rotifers.
Even when fed live rotifers there are significant losses.

 

[trueblackpercula]

Sorry in the delayed response. When I was doing the clownfish thing back in the days I was getting more fry then I could handle. I would have to say on a good spawn I would collect 200 fry and raise 125 to 130 using just artificial food. It went something like this....... As many feeding of OSi that I could do sometimes 4 feedings a day sometimes 6 depending if it was week day or weekend. The catch with this stuff is you must siphon out the bottom when it settles or it will raise the Ammonia level fast. The in a few days I feed them Cyclopes ez until the head band developed then flake food and some times live brine shrimp but it was not needed. I will also say that the fish had great color and I never had the over bit looking ones or any deformed fish.

Hope this helps and yes it was a lot easier then all the live food thing
Michael