clown spawn

[crpeck]

Go ahead, but do small ones (10% or less) frequently not big ones and only if you have to. Drip the new water in slowly.

A little Amquel won't hurt for just a couple of days if the ammonia is getting out of hand.

Its a fine balance between the stress of ammonia and stress of water change.

 

[Fizhstiks]

Only 12 left

something always goes wrong...

 

[crpeck]

You had a tough break this time with the rotifers.

The danger now is choking and gorging with the brine shrimp. Be sure you're only feeding brine that are 24 hours or less old. I used to pull a batch, put them in another container with an airstone and immediately start another batch for the next day.

If the tummy gets a red spot, that baby gorged. If you see them start spinning wildly and going down, that baby choked or gorged.

Don't give up on these guys yet even if the odds are a bit against you without rotifers. The first batch I was successful at ALL, I only ended up with 4.

We're hoping for the best.

C

 

[D-Rod]

You should if you haven't already keep a log of everything you do even the amount of times you put your hands in the tank and log every test results, water change, feeding of how much and what and "everything" you do. So that way you can review what if anything you do different from one batch to another and hopfully have a sucessful batch.

Good luck, and don't let this get you down.
Where at in CA are you? Maybe there's a fellow reefer who can assist you and check out your setup, and give you some pointers.

 

[toastii_reef]

gl hows it going

 

[Fizhstiks]

I went on vacation with my family yesterday. When i left i had 10 silverish clowns. Today i came back and i had 6 orange clowns with complete first stripe and starting second stripe and 2 clowns that haven't developed color yet

 

[D-Rod]

Way to go!
Post some pics when you get a chance.

 

[toastii_reef]

wow im impressed with your dedication-
are rotifers real hard to culture- cuz i think i might want to try my hand at raising the fry when i get my clowns but that wont be for at least 5months

 

[Fizhstiks]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10297370#post10297370 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by toastii_reef
wow im impressed with your dedication-
are rotifers real hard to culture- cuz i think i might want to try my hand at raising the fry when i get my clowns but that wont be for at least 5months

thanks

Rotifers aren't supposed to be hard to culture, i guess im just bad at this stuff lol

All of the clowns are swimming like clowns now and i have one with two stripes

How long until they start looking like mini clowns? They are at day 16 now....

 

[Fizhstiks]

I got some pics of the clowns

They are already chasing each other around :lol:

They seem to be doing great on flakes now...

The largest and most developed clown:

Same fish with another clown in the background:

 

[Fizhstiks]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9167945#post9167945 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crpeck

The next pic I have in my gallery isn't until 24 days. By then, they've got top and bottom fins and are starting to get the waggle side fins.

Just wondering how big they are when they start looking like that?

 

[crpeck]

They're still really tiny ... not sure about size.

For perspective, in that picture the baby is with the small size fake anemone they sell on Drs. Foster Smith. I remember them still looking like specks. Putting that anemone in was a mistake because they immediatey became territorial.

Congratulations! You have definitely made it over the hump with this batch. If you keep them fed and the water clean, they're pretty hardy once they're eating flake.

I'm really happy for you! Your determination has finally paid off.

Cathy

 

[t5Nitro]

Very cool. Nice job! I wonder if my clowns will spawn anytime. They may have to be older though.

 

[Fizhstiks]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10310292#post10310292 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crpeck
They're still really tiny ... not sure about size.

For perspective, in that picture the baby is with the small size fake anemone they sell on Drs. Foster Smith. I remember them still looking like specks. Putting that anemone in was a mistake because they immediatey became territorial.

Congratulations! You have definitely made it over the hump with this batch. If you keep them fed and the water clean, they're pretty hardy once they're eating flake.

I'm really happy for you! Your determination has finally paid off.

Cathy

Thanks

My clowns are claiming part of the heater for themselves but they aren't too aggressive towards each other so i guess its ok :lol:

When do they start developing their 3rd stripe?

I got some more pics too!!

 

[Fizhstiks]

The little guy in the last pic is a little pig :lol:

 

[crpeck]

WONDERFUL!

So glad all your hard work is finally paying off. This is a nice manageable sized group and their tummies look full and healthy.

Congratulations!

Keep us posted on their progress.

C

 

[Fizhstiks]

Heres some more pics of the clowns...

fighting :lol:

Next to airline tubing for comparison

their pelvic fins are starting to grow...

When do they get their 3rd stripe?

 

[Fizhstiks]

Will brine shrimp in my rotifer culture do any harm to the rotifers or the clowns themselves? I dont know how in the world brine shrimp got in there but i saw 2 medium sized ones swimming around.

 

[crpeck]

HAHA!! Those crafty devils..... I don't know how they do it, but yes they do find a way to hitchhike into the rotifer culture. I think it may be from using the same dropper/baster in each.

The brine shrimp will eat the rotifers. Your clown babies are big enough that the brine shrimp growing in there won't hurt them. And for quite a while, the rotifers can reproduce faster than the brine shrimp can eat them. It is a nice way to keep your rotifer culture less dense and avoid crashing without culling.

The problem starts when the brine shrimp start reproducing. I had a whole 10 gallon culture of rotifers that slowly shifted over to a whole culture of brine shrimp after a couple of brine shrimp invaded the rotifer culture.

If you're not planning to raise more clown babies, I'd let it be because as the clowns grow the brine shrimp will be more useful.

If you think you want to keep a rotifer culture for any reason, I'd pull some out and start a new culture without brine shrimp.

So glad your babies have made it. You're so definitely out of the woods by now. Congratulations!

 

[ALLBOUTREEF]

wow, so much dedication. good luck raising the baby clowns son....