Are they eating?

[LotR Clown]

Newbie to raising clownfish, so I wanted to ask.
It looks to me that the 2-day olds are eating the rotifers in the tank.
I blew up a pic so maybe it is easier to see.

Also when do you start doing water changes to the larval tank.

Thanks,
Kevin

 

[Kathy55g]

Looks pretty good, are the bellies silver?

You can start siphoning the bottom now, and add new saltwater with a slow drip.

 

[LotR Clown]

Thanks Kathy,
So you don't use parent tank water until meta? I was going to do that as Wilkerson suggested. I've been dosing Iodine since it is parent tank water. These are A. percula. I'm pretty sure the water quality at meta is not as critical as with A.clarkii, but I might be wrong. I've just been following Wilkerson while using tips from this forum.
Thanks,
Kevin

 

[Kathy55g]

You can use parent tank water until meta! You can always use parent tank water.

I have used both parent tank water and new saltwater (new meaning I mixed it up with RODI water at least 24 hours before and it has been constantly aerated with a powerhead in the bucket continuously. Both ways worked for me, but I am very inexperienced.

Check the pH. You do not want to add pH 8.4 water to pH 7.6 tank water if there is ammonia in there. Check the Wilkerson book. I have been known to lower the pH with lime juice drops to make it equal the tank. pH of freshly mixed saltwater is unstable, so don't bother measuring it until at least 24 hours.

Use a slow drip over several hours/days to add it to the tank, so there are no drastic changes to the tank water.

You can also siphon once or twice a day as needed. Don't forget the greenwater! Live is best!

 

[LotR Clown]

Thanks Kathy,
I've been adding greenwater(live) once in the morning and once in the evening and it seems that the rot population is keeping up with the larvae demand. I think I'll use parent tank water this time and experiment with new mixed water at a later time. Thanks for all the help.

Kevin

 

[Jon Lazar]

Is silver bellies an indication that the larva are eating?

I've been trying to raise g. oceanops for a while now, and I can't tell whether they're starving or I'm killing them through inexpert husbandry. None of them make it past day 5 or 6, which makes me suspect starvation.

Happy reefing,
Jon

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6894242#post6894242 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kathy55g
Looks pretty good, are the bellies silver?

You can start siphoning the bottom now, and add new saltwater with a slow drip.

 

[Kathy55g]

At least for clownfish, silver bellies means they are eating rotifers. If you look at them thru a microscope, their bellies are actually green.