Attempting to breed clownfish - log

[FB]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14173733#post14173733 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sullyman
FB, the gsm eggs will drive you nuts. I've found that the eggs must be well over 70% silver, before I move them, and with the eggs being smaller and more numerous, it's real easy to move them too soon.
Sounds like tonight, really load the tank with rotifers. The larvae are smaller and very transparent. I still don't know for sure how many I have from a hatch this past Monday but will let the water clear and find out this weekend.

Well they sure have so far.

You are correct I can't believe how much smaller they are. I loose sight of the one little guy in there and it takes me 5 minutes to find him again.

FB

 

[r.d.m]

FB cograts on your GSM eggs ,iv'e got around 100 on day 12,all went through meta on day 10,this is what worked for me;

once you have all the larvae in the larvae tank keep the water green with your IA(i used rotifer diet) and co- culture the rots and larvae,do 2x 10% water changes a day and add the IA to the bucket and drip it in,if you keep the water green the rots should hold their own during the day and multiply at night,however its a good idea to top them up each day(better to have too many than not enough)

on day 5 (yes 5) introduce bbs, i fed once a day until day8 then twice ,by day 9 their not interested in rots but theres enough in the water for any late ones,also on day 9 discontinue the IA

from day 2 i put in a pinch of golden pearls 5-50 micron and continued with 1 feed a day ever since,i switched to artemia replacement #1 at day 10 but its too big and the little fish were spitting it out ,went back to the smaller one and its all good again

hope everthing goes well,keep your lavae tank clean and chuck in a sponge filter after meta

cheers from down under

 

[FB]

Well it appears the eggs hatched but I don't see any more larvae swimming. However there are hundred s of hydroids.

I guess I didn't give them much chance of survival from the beginning anyway. The one that was swimming last night didn't swim like other larvae I have seen he was jerking all over the place and running into the side of the tank constantly. Although from what I could see he looked plump.

Alright lessons lerned and hopefully I will get another batch of eggs in the not to distance future.

Thanks for everyones advice!

FB

 

[rkelman]

That's too bad FB. Where did the Hydroids come from? I haven't run into them in my system(s) yet...

 

[FB]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14176092#post14176092 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rkelman
That's too bad FB. Where did the Hydroids come from? I haven't run into them in my system(s) yet...

Well they have to be in my system because the container I used to hatch them in was brand new and never been used before. So they must of had eggs on the pot or something.

 

[FB]

A new batch of GMS eggs were laid, probably last night. They were still very orange this morning. This batch is much bigger about 2 inches in diameter. I'm not sure if the last one started this big and many were unfertalized or the dad just didn't take good care of them.

My Occelaris eggs should be hatching tonight. I have started a thrid rotifer culture just for another backup. I am not going to lose any more eggs because of not enough food.

Later

FB

 

[Recty]

Great thread. I just recently became interested in trying to raise clownfish, this thread has been a really good read. I read all 35 pages over last night and today and I actually feel like I understand how to breed clownfish just from this thread alone

 

[FB]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14191313#post14191313 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Recty
Great thread. I just recently became interested in trying to raise clownfish, this thread has been a really good read. I read all 35 pages over last night and today and I actually feel like I understand how to breed clownfish just from this thread alone

Thanks

That means a lot.

 

[Recty]

Well seriously, you seem to have been through a lot of the common problems, this thread was really informative.

My biggest issue I have now is I dont want to buy a clownfish pair and then have to wait 6 month or a year or who knows how long until they start actually spawning.

Any helpful tips on how to get them into breeding condition the quickest?

I probably wont actually attempt clownfish breeding for a couple months at least, but I'd like to be able to get a game plan going in my head

 

[FB]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14191981#post14191981 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Recty

My biggest issue I have now is I dont want to buy a clownfish pair and then have to wait 6 month or a year or who knows how long until they start actually spawning.

Any helpful tips on how to get them into breeding condition the quickest?

That their is the holy grail. People say increasing temp, changing the salinity, changing the photoperiod, good water quality along with increased feedings will help.

I have 7 pairs and only two are breeding. The first pair has been breeding pretty regularly for 1 year now and the second pair just started last week. Not sure what I can do to get the others going.

FB

 

[Sullyman]

I've got 6 pairs of clowns, 3 spawning, 3 still too young.
Now that my percs and original pair of gsm's are spawning regularly I may sell my 2nd spawning pair of gsm and my younger perc pair. FB, doesn't the thought of a thousand or so babies coming every couple of weeks seem a bit scary?
Recty, I think full moons have something to do with it, both my percs and gsm's had their first spawn on a full moon night, maybe not so easy in Alaska, but maybe try a moonlight?????

 

[FB]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14192330#post14192330 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sullyman
FB, doesn't the thought of a thousand or so babies coming every couple of weeks seem a bit scary?

Nope. Figuring out what to do with them all after the fact is!

 

[FB]

I had 99.9% hatch last night (probably 600-700) Just 1 eggs did not hatch. I had added a ton of rotifers last night and a bunch more this morning. After turning the lights on they went nuts hunting rotifers. Almost all of them had somewhat of a bulge in their stomach. That was after only 20 minutes. Hopefully there are enough rots.

My GSM eggs are no orange any more. It's going to be interesting to see how they progress. I'm looking for suggestions on how to proceed with these.

FB

 

[dazed]

Fb; congratulations on the gsm eggs, should be cool to compare them to the growth and care of the occs.

by the way what return pump did you end up using for your grow out setup? and how many tanks is it running on? I am thinking about setting something up just trying to figure out what would be the best way to do it.

 

[FB]

Thanks,

I currently have a MAG 9.5.

Current tanks are 7 10g, 1 25g and 1 40g. I might be able to get one more 40g on before I really kill the flow.

I really like the 10g tanks. They are cheap, easy to drill, and easy to move around and clean if need be.

My recommendation is to get the biggest pump you can afford. That way you don't need to upgrade later like I am. I am going to get a hammerhead or barracuda as I have a feeling with a couple pairs breeding this is going to get bigger quick.

Currenlty I have 3/4" feed and a 2" and 3" return. The 2" really couldn't handle the flow well, it did, but not great. So I upgraded the last 7' with 3" and added the 2" I started with to that using a coupler.

FB

 

[rkelman]

You don't have your broodstock and growout tanks on the same system do you FB?

 

[FB]

For now I do but I plan on seperating them with the new pump.

FB

 

[FB]

All but 8 were dead when I got home @ 8:00. No idea why, tank is full of rots. The only thing I can think of is the Instant Alage. However I'm still not sure it would do that in 12 hours. They should be able to live longer than that with no food. It could possibly be parent diet but I doubt it.

If my next batch of GSM's have the same fate we may know for sure.

FB

 

[FB]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14203910#post14203910 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FB
All but 8 were dead when I got home @ 8:00. No idea why, tank is full of rots. The only thing I can think of is the Instant Alage. However I'm still not sure it would do that in 12 hours. They should be able to live longer than that with no food. It could possibly be parent diet but I doubt it.

If my next batch of GSM's have the same fate we may know for sure.

FB

The remaining 8 were still alive this morning looking very skinny even though the tank was full of rots. After the lights came on they did start eating but they were not plump.

FB

 

[rEd86]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14206534#post14206534 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FB
The remaining 8 were still alive this morning looking very skinny even though the tank was full of rots. After the lights came on they did start eating but they were not plump.

Too bad you had so many die but it's good to hear that a few survived. The knowledge you're gaining and sharing with the community will help the hobby advance, similar to what has happened with reef keeping over the past 10 years.

Good luck.

--Ed