Breeding Gold Stripe Maroon Clownfish

[Nanz]

Hi, I'm Nanz and some of you may have seen me on reef central the past few years. My reef is just about 2 years old and recently has been called the “Love Tank” as there has been much breeding going on, hehe. I have MSG clownfish and Peppermint Shrimp breeding in my tank at almost the same cycle.

Before it all started 6/30/07

1.5 years later

It’s been over two months now since I first caught my GSM clowns breeding in my 75 gallon reef. Below is a picture of my first clutch of eggs and the parents.

So far my success in breeding has been only to about 4 weeks old, mostly because of my impatience and constant cleaning of the tank. Today my baby clowns are 4 weeks old and doing great. I only have 7 of them but they are all eating and seem very healthy compare to previous batches.

I have another batch of clowns that are currently going through meta and are 2 ½ weeks old. Again my numbers are down to about 15-20 of them. I have new plan for the next hatching which will be on Thursday June 11 of this week. I hope to document the entire process from the beginning to the end.

This next attempt I will be using a Kreisel that my husband built for me. He even cut his finger with a hack saw making it. Anyways.. he’ll live, lol. I will post some pics of my new setup as it progresses this week. The idea is to use the Kreisel to keep the clownfish larvae off the bottom of the tank and to provide better filtration.

More to come please stay tuned :strooper:

 

[Nanz]

Here is a picture of my queen laying her eggs.

I thought I would first go over some of the equipment I prepared for this batch of eggs. First is my Larvae Collector.

Items needed:

1. Empty 2-Liter Bottle
2. 90 micron mesh
3. Aquarium silicone
4. scissors and/or utility knife
5. 1/4 rigid tubing
6. 1/2 inch PVC pipe
7. 1/2 inch PVC T
8. Clamps, I used an old Koralia pump clamp and a pvc T
9. Zip ties
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   By attaching the airline tubing to the rigid tubing the air bubbles will produce a current just like a sponge filter does. The small clip on light will lure the larvae to the enterance where they will be sucked into the collector.

 

[Nanz]

Now for my Kreisel. My husband made it out of a 5 gallon water bottle and a 10 gallon tank. I also used the same 90 micron mesh that I got from smallparts.com. Here are some pics of my setup. My 10 gallon will have a return pump, 9W UV, 75W heater, Sponge filter and live rock.

 

[jetfixr]

Wow Nanz that is a really nice setup. Really like the kreisel idea. Have you tried your larvae snagger out yet, if so does it work well? I have built one that is very similiar but haven't got a chance to try it out yet. Was also planning on building a kreisel like yours, I think we have been reading a lot of the same posts over on the MOFIB forums =)

 

[Lifes A Beach]

Where did you get the clip on light?

 

[landlord]

Very clever idea with the kreisel. I am hoping you post more shots of it when it's up and running.

Good luck with your hatches too!

landlord

 

[Nanz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15160491#post15160491 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jetfixr
Wow Nanz that is a really nice setup. Really like the kreisel idea. Have you tried your larvae snagger out yet, if so does it work well? I have built one that is very similiar but haven't got a chance to try it out yet. Was also planning on building a kreisel like yours, I think we have been reading a lot of the same posts over on the MOFIB forums =)

I should be testing my Larvae Collector out Wed night if I have a few that hatch early otherwise it will be Thursday. I will try to take a picture or maybe a video if my husband is still awake, hehe.

I got all the ideas for this build off the MOFIB forums and some Utbube videos.

I have some data of my NH3 for the first 20 days using the old method with an airstone and 5 gallon hex tank. I will post a graph of this data tonight. I then plan to graph the new NH3 using the Kreisel and see if it will be keeping the NH3 down. All my tests are ran in a lab that I work for so they will be very accurate.

 

[Nanz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15160546#post15160546 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Lifes A Beach
Where did you get the clip on light?

Menards, hehe. I think it was $6 but I like it better than an LED disk. I want to shine the light down the hole so the larvae swim up or near the tube. The air bubbles creating the current should then pull them into the collection cup.

 

[Nanz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15161502#post15161502 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by landlord
Very clever idea with the kreisel. I am hoping you post more shots of it when it's up and running.

Good luck with your hatches too!

landlord

Thank you I hope it works because I am having similar problems as Dazed was experiencing with the larvae being dead in the morning. As I stated above I will be having the water tested daily at my lab and compaired to 2 older runs on my graph. Maybe this time the NH3 will stay low and I can start ruling out what is killing so many of my larvae.

 

[Nanz]

Here is a graph of my NH3 for the first 20 days. I ran all the test in a laboratory that I work for so I feel the test are very accurate. As you can see there is two green lines of different shades representing the two different batches. I am hoping that using the Kreisel tank I will be able to keep the NH3 lower and possibly avoid any cycle at all.

 

[dazed]

Very cool pictures, I am interested in how it works out for you. Quick question in the picture of the Kreisel that you posted it's not finished yet or maybe it is and i may be missing something but the 5g water bottle does not touch the side of the tank? and i don't see any screen to keep them in there?

 

[Nanz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15170993#post15170993 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dazed
Very cool pictures, I am interested in how it works out for you. Quick question in the picture of the Kreisel that you posted it's not finished yet or maybe it is and i may be missing something but the 5g water bottle does not touch the side of the tank? and i don't see any screen to keep them in there?

The screen is on the left side where the black flexible ball socket joint tubing is. It looks a little white and is fastened with silicone. I bought it from smallparts.com and its 90 micron. I hope it’s the right size as some people use smaller micron mesh on theirs but I had already ordered a couple sheets of the 90 for the larva collector and had it left over. This Kreisel was built will a lot of stuff I found around the house or never used on older fish tanks. The only things I had to buy was the silicone, mesh and the sponge filter.

You are correct about the Kreisel not touching the back side. After my husband cut the piece we noticed it would not fit tight against the glass. So what he did what then after sliding the water bottle body into the 10 gallon tank he slid it inside the bottom of the bottle that was cut off. This was great since it made it very tight and also helped hold the sides of the bottle’s body from collapsing. Then he siliconed the bottom to the body and the other side of the body to the front glass of the 10 gallon. I hope this makes sense, I’m not the greatest at explaining things. The only part of the water bottle that is not used is the top but I saved it because it makes a good funnel and I’m sure my husband will find a use for it someday.

I will get some more pictures of it this evening so you can see all the sides. I tested it last night and it did not leak at all and its ready for saltwater tonight. I probably should have had it cycling with saltwater but I want to make sure I use the same water that the babies hatch in at the time so there is not Temp, salinity or most important pH swing.

If anyone has any suggestions on how I should setup this Kreisel I would greatly appreciate your input since this is the first time I have ever used this type of tank. I think I’m going to black out the sides of the 10 gallon and place a small light over the top of the Kreisel. What do you think?

 

[dazed]

I see the screen now in the picture; I need to go read up about why this is an option to use though.

 

[Nanz]

Well, my clownfish hatched on schedule last night. I used the larva collector and it worked GREAT! It was very easy and I then siphoned them out of the collector into the Kreisel. Here are some pics of the larva collector in operation.

While I was waiting for the collector to catch all the larva I took a picture of my frogspawn and a brittle star that decided to climb the glass.

 

[Nanz]

Here are some pictures of my Kreisel filled with water, the larva, Rotifer Feast and rotifers. This shows the 10 gallon and all its components. One mistake though I made was that my UV’s bulb is burned out so I will need to get that $35 bulb replaced soon. I’m hoping I can pick one up at the LFS but they will probably want $45 for the bulb *sigh*.

I check the babies this morning and I could see that they were alive. I took a water sample last night and this morning to be tested at my lab. I will post the results when I get them today.

The Kreisel flow is set on medium to low. What is neat about it is the flow around the bottom and the sides is strong yet the flow in the center is calm which is exactly what I was hoping for. It seems to be working and keeping the larva in the suspended water column. Its hard to see all the fry though once you put the rotifer feast in the tank. I will keep updating when I have more information.

 

[jetfixr]

Is the mesh on the kreisel fine enough to keep the rotifers in? If not, how well would a rotifer handle a ride threw a UV filter? I really wanna see this work out for you. These are almost the exact same designs I have in mind for my setup. Think I need to resize the mesh in my larva snagger though, it is just a bit too restrictive. Can't wait to see how your sponge filter works out reducing your ammonia. I just started a sponge filter on my rotifer bucket because I keep having high ammonia issues just raising rots. The sponge filter has not cycled yet so in my case I am not sure if I will see any ammonia reduction or not.

 

[virginiadiver69]

Very cool stuff...thank you for posting.
I have a clown pair that's just started to breed and am thinking of trying my hand at what your doing.

 

[jmckdvm]

Would you mind explaining the flow of water within the Kreisel? I see green water in the cylinder and to the left of it, but don't see green water to the right of the cylinder. (I'm guessing it is there but not obvious in the photo). I'm trying to understand how water flows throughout the entire system.
Also, is the opening on the top of the cylinder a wide "slit" across the entire length of the cylinder?
Thank you for your reply and a wonderful thread!

 

[khoivo1]

newbies

newbies

first,,,i am very new to this,,and my clown just start laying egg here so i am learning here
just wonder,,the reason you making this bottle is bc your clown laying egg on the rock work right??
if my clown laying egg on the tillle then i should need to do this bottle right?
do you or anybody here know when should i take the egg out from the main system?

i will keep reading some other thread here to learn more,,look like its alot of work,, to breed them,,,

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15160141#post15160141 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Nanz
Here is a picture of my queen laying her eggs.

I thought I would first go over some of the equipment I prepared for this batch of eggs. First is my Larvae Collector.

Items needed:

1. Empty 2-Liter Bottle
2. 90 micron mesh
3. Aquarium silicone
4. scissors and/or utility knife
5. 1/4 rigid tubing
6. 1/2 inch PVC pipe
7. 1/2 inch PVC T
8. Clamps, I used an old Koralia pump clamp and a pvc T
9. Zip ties
   [/list=1]
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   By attaching the airline tubing to the rigid tubing the air bubbles will produce a current just like a sponge filter does. The small clip on light will lure the larvae to the enterance where they will be sucked into the collector.

 

[Nanz]

Re: newbies

Re: newbies

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15194447#post15194447 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by khoivo1
first,,,i am very new to this,,and my clown just start laying egg here so i am learning here
just wonder,,the reason you making this bottle is bc your clown laying egg on the rock work right??
if my clown laying egg on the tillle then i should need to do this bottle right?
do you or anybody here know when should i take the egg out from the main system?

i will keep reading some other thread here to learn more,,look like its alot of work,, to breed them,,,

My clowns are laying their eggs on a rock near my anemones. I could take the rock out but I thought that might disrupt them and they would stop laying eggs. If they are laying on a tile then you can just remove it the night they are supposed to hatch. I think you have to gently bubble water next the to the eggs. I just let the parents do their job and I collect them after they hatch. I know alot of people use the tile method. I think you want to take them out just before the lights go out on the night they are supposed to hatch.

The parents do three important things.
1) They keep the CO2 off the eggs which you will similate with the air bubbles.
2) They prevent fungus from growing. I have heard of some people using chemicals such as methyl blue to prevent this.
3) After the hatch the parents clean up the egg sacks. This is minor since you can just remove the tile when they are done hatching.