clownfish eggs

[MegsB]

well my mothers clownfish have laid eggs in her 90 gal aquarium again (she has 4 false percs in there, along with tankmates). they laid eggs (lots) on a rock in her tank, one that is easily removable, so i was thinking i would...

set up a 5 gal tank with an airstone and put the rock in it, if they hatch i could upgrade to a 10 if needed, and do daily water changes. they dont need their parents do they? what do they eat? (live baby brine shrimp? any fry pellets? small frozen stuff?)

 

[Mojo Jojo]

Tagging along

 

[Dino]

Here you go My Clownfish just laid eggs. Now what? Also, Joyce D. Wilkerson has a good write up in her book Clownfishes about rearing clownfish.

 

[Jorbucks]

I used to raise baby clownfish. its not tough, but a lot of work.

To answer your questions, if this is the first hatch, I would let it go. If not, then you can either take the rock out or you can wait until the eggs hatch (usually 7th night, depending on water temperature) and genttly scoop them out. (you'll have to turn off all your pumps after lights out and use a flashlight so the baby fish swim towards the light). If you do take the rock out, its very possible that the clownfish will not lay eggs again when you put the rock back in.

Once you have the baby clownfish, put them in a seperate tank (10G is fine). You have to darken the sides and cover the top of the tank. I usually spray paint the sides black, and use "smoke" color acrylic and a lighting diffuser to cover the top. You'll also need to put a very small light set to about 14 hrs daytime for the fish.

The baby fish will need to eat live rotifers, which you'll have to culture. To feed the rotifers, you'll need phytoplankton (a lot of it!). After about 7-10 days, you can start mixing in some baby brine shrimp. I usually feed rotifers twice a day all the way to day 20.

Hope this helps a little, but if you are serious about raising the fish, definately get Wilkerson's book.

 

[MegsB]

i will look into getting that book (wilkerson is the author?)

this is their 2nd batch of eggs (that we have seen), they laid it on a different rock than their first batch (though we did re-arrange the tank).

will the eggs always hatch at night? this tank has lots of fish in it, so wont they get eaten right away (maybe not if they hatch at night i guess)

i will have to leave this batch, and get started on cultivating rotifers, and maybe try their next batch (we are going away for 2 weeks in 2 weeks, so wont have anyone that dilligent or knowledgible to watch them while im gone)

 

[Jorbucks]

yes, they will always hatch at night. the fry will not hatch if there is any light, so all the lights in the room have to also be off as well. once they hatch, they will swim towards any light source. i usually place a flashlight on the top of the tank shining down and then use a long shallow container to scoop out the fry. they are very delicate so be very careful handling them. (don't take them out of the water, and no nets!)

 

[Lifes A Beach]

Since you will be out of town and not able to take care of them, you may want to let this batch go. They are alot of work and you would need to stay on top of the task. And with other fish in the tank, it's going to be difficult to catch them when they hatch.

Joyce Wilkerson's book is the bible for anyone who has clownfish. Definitely get a copy and it explains everything about raising the fry and making the phyto and rotifer food.

There will be more eggs. Mine are laying eggs every 10 days like clockwork. Try and substitute something in the area where they are laying eggs so that it can be removed to a rearing tank when the eggs are ready to hatch. This will make it easier than trying to catch them in your main tank. Good luck!

 

[Lifes A Beach]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11477208#post11477208 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dinoman
Here you go My Clownfish just laid eggs. Now what? Also, Joyce D. Wilkerson has a good write up in her book Clownfishes about rearing clownfish.

Thank you dinoman. Good thread!