Clown Fish Fry Rotifer quantity feeding

[SpotTheFish]

This will be my third hatching and to this day I do not know how much live rotifers to feed my fry and how often. I use the coffee filter sieve method and sieve in approx. 2 cup increments. My question is: How many scoops of rotifer filled water should I sieve through the filter and feed to a 10 gallon tank of fry and how often?
I will have another batch of eggs ready for hatching come Sunday and I would like to maximize my fry survivors. All tips are welcome.

 

[GreshamH]

There is a pretty standard rotifer-larvae formula.

You'll need to count the rotifer culture though and know how many larvae you are feeding.

Joyce Wilkerson recommends 500,000 rotifers a day for ~500 clownfish larvae - the larvae should have to travel no further then one to one and a half larval lengths to meet a rotifer.

This is about 15 rotifers per 1ml of tank water.

You can feed too much, she says 25 rotifers and up per ml of tank water is too much.

It's best to feed the larval tank with rotifers 3 times a day rather then one large feeding.

 

[reefstew]

Don't ever let the tank get to low on rotifers. I stock it so you can see rotifers every 1/4 inch. Then I make shure their is enough algae for the rotifers to eat. ( green water).

 

[kl3377]

I agree with reefstew, the fry should be able to bump in to a rotifer without trying. I also found that coffee filters are slow and a complete pain, I would suggest a sieve, it will run you about $15 shipped on ebay. Also, I found a big difference with having filtered lighting, not to bright, not to dull.

 

[phil519]

i would just keep the fry tank colored up with phyto. This way if you fed too much rotifiers - they will still be able to stay nutritious and alive in the fry tank. Rotifers are voracious eaters and food gets thru their system rapidly (4 hrs or so). So if a rotifer is sitting in a fry tank uneaten for more than 4 hrs- it rapidly loses nutritional value.

by the way <img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

 

[SpotTheFish]

Clown fish feeding

Clown fish feeding

Thanks for all your assisstance. My clowns are coming up on 4 weeks old, only loosing 6 in transition. There is a lot of them and I am now wondering how long before these clowns are off Brine shrimp and can start flake food.

I am also wondering if I can hatch another batch of eggs in this 10 gallon tank containing the previous batch. I will continue then with rotifers as well as the brine shrimp.

 

[reefstew]

Thanks for all your assisstance. My clowns are coming up on 4 weeks old, only loosing 6 in transition. There is a lot of them and I am now wondering how long before these clowns are off Brine shrimp and can start flake food.

I am also wondering if I can hatch another batch of eggs in this 10 gallon tank containing the previous batch. I will continue then with rotifers as well as the brine shrimp.

Start feeding crushed flake or otohime a at about day 6.

Move the eggs to a clean tank.

 

[SpotTheFish]

Start feeding crushed flake or otohime a at about day 6.

Move the eggs to a clean tank.

Would the crushed flake food be in conjunction with the live brine shrimp?

I was afraid of the requirement to start up the other tank. It is so much less work in the one but I can appriciate the logic behind the new tank.

 

[reefstew]

Would the crushed flake food be in conjunction with the live brine shrimp?

I was afraid of the requirement to start up the other tank. It is so much less work in the one but I can appriciate the logic behind the new tank.

Never stop using 1 food & switching to the next 1. Feed them the crushed food first thing in the am. when their hungry, wait an hour or so & then brine. Do this for 4-5 days with less brine each day.

 

[ClownFish0322]

This has been a real help but when you say switch the food at about day six that means six days old

 

[GreshamH]

6 days post hatch, correct

 

[mwilliams62]

Don't put new larval in with the older ones they will think they are food and eat them . Someone already did that and found out the hard way.