Clown laid eggs..

[reeflaw]

Finally!!!!! About 4 days ago the Maroons have a large batch of eggs.. What is the gestation?
I bought a very fine net, and a nursery to hang in my 200 gal reef tank. What should I feed them (if I am around and lucky enough to catch some of them in time), and what are the chances of keeping them alive? Any help would be appreciated!!! Thanks. :beer:

 

[ezhoops]

Net might not work and could injure them at the same time. Brine shrimp net may work, but siphon would work best. ITs already too late. you need to have green water (phytoplankton) growing and rotifers growing as well. The next step being baby brine shrimp. AS well as a separate tank just for the babies.

Most clowns usually hatch when the eggs become a silvery color.

Maroon babies once hatched and raised fight to the death. its a real pain. basically you need about 300 tiny little tanks for each baby.

Read the book by J wilkerson on clownfish

Good luck

 

[dantodd]

As EZ said but the book "Clownfises" by J. Wilkerson.

You can get the food you'll need for the fry at www.rotifer.com

You will also need to set up a tank for the fry (babies) as they can't stay in an intank nursery like some species.

 

[reeflaw]

Thanks for the information. So the nursery I got tonight won't work even when they are very young? Is it worth trying to put then in the nursery and feed them the food you suggested? Then I might be able to transfer them to a differnt tank/s. It seems inhumane otherwise, but in reality, do most people just let them hatch and basically get eaten, or die from not having the right food?

 

[reeflaw]

As a followup, I looked at the Rotifer site. Should I give it a try and order some, and if how much should I get. As the eggs are mostly red, but getting a silver color at the tops, I guess I don't have much time if I am going to give it a try. Thanks again.

 

[55semireef]

order what you think is enough. But definately order some.

 

[SueShe]

The first 2-3 spawns are usually weak anyway. I would pass on these. Your pair should spawn with frequency after the 3rd spawn. By then you can get and read the"Clownfishes" book by Joyce Wilkerson, set up your rotifer tanks, as well as a hatchery tank. In the mean time you can time the hatches of the spawns you are passing on. They usually hatch 6-10 days after they are laid, depending on temp and species. The pair should spawn again in another 4-6 days after the hatch depending on what and how much you are feeding them. Of course hatch and spawn also depends on tank and environmental conditions.
The site Dan gave you will answer any questions you may have with the rotifers, if not then give them a call. They are very helpfull with setting you up with a rotifer culture. HTH

 

[reeflaw]

Great information, you foks know your stuff.

 

[ezhoops]

Rotifers can multiply very fast because of non-sex multiplication. so they will continue to multiply as long as you feed them. They eat phytoplankton, which you can grow very easy or you can also buy an algae paste to feed them as well.

you can get an phtyoplankton discs here as well as rotifers.
https://3kserver7.com/~frank/secure/agora.cgi?cart_id=5034449.32560*Gh3cf4&product=CULTURE_KITS

these algae discs are very easy to grow and feed to your tank and rotifers. you will need a couple of two litre bottles, an air pump, airline and some phytoplankton food.

initially your looking at about $13.50 for the algae disc (u grow Kit) + $7.00 for their food + $15 for a pump + initial cost of rotifers $11.50 + the cost of a small tank to grow and hold the rotifers (5 gal tank) $10 = $57

just so you know what your getting into.

NOT to mention the fact that you need to separate all these baby Maroons once they reach a certain size. I've bred maroons before and this is the reason I stopped. Even the babies after they reach about 1/2-3/4" start to attach and kill each other.
Please keep this in mind.