clownfish eggs?

[roons]

i assume?




they both seem to be nibbling at them , i suppose theres nothing i can do , the other fish will eat them when they hatch? first time for me

 

[sirbooks]

Yep, clown eggs accompanied by the male clownfish. Congrats.

Chances are that the larvae will be consumed by the tank's other inhabitants.

 

[roons]

so she lays them and he guards them? they seem to nibble at them periodically......................how long till they hatch?

 

[sirbooks]

Yep, the female will take over duties guarding the nest and the male will care for the eggs. The nibbling that you're seeing is the male mouthing the eggs. They shouldn't be eaten unless they are "bad" eggs, but are just being cleaned off.

Hatching rate depends on the temperature, but it normally takes about a week for a group of eggs to hatch. They hatch at night.

 

[alde]

That is always so cool to see. Mine have laid eggs many times but I have never seen a hatch. I have seen them develope to the eye stage though. Sounds like you have a healty and happy tank. Enjoy.

 

[roons]

what keeps them from being eaten in the wild? i assume since its done on a much larger scale most dont make it in wild either?

 

[sirbooks]

That's pretty much it. I've seen an estimate of less than one fish per clutch of eggs surviving to reach adulthood. Not all adult clownfish are able to breed, either. Many make it to the sexually immature stage and hang out with a breeding pair. Some of the immature fish get picked off or otherwise die before they ascend up the social ladder to become a reproductive adult.

 

[roons]

huh, i wonder if thats whats going on in my tank, this is a long story , but, the original pair i got from premium, one disappeared...............i looked everwhere , couldnt find it, so i bought another, and , wouldnt you know it , there the other was in the overflow where i had looked..................so i now had 3..........the original male was smaller than the replacement i bought so he got chased, he now lives in one of my 2 rbta all by himself.....................they seem to tolerate him, sure they harrass him a little but nothing where i see damage.............i felt bad for him and tried another to see if hed pair up with it, well that one disappeared too........................so for over a year its been this way........................its almost like the female remembers him as her original mate and pretty much leaves him be.............i wonder if trying another small clown to keep him company would be a bad or good idea at this point...................he bounces back and forth from one rbta to another, the main pair live in my seabae

 

[roons]

well, im not sure whats up but most of the eggs are gone today, there are a few left, maybe a 1/4 of what was in pic...............the anemone touching them doesnt hurt em? id swear the male is eating them