Clownfish laid Eggs.... What now ?

[ufans]

Today I noticed that my maroon clownfish laid eggs. The eggs are bright orange; which I hear is very good. They move back and forth with the current so oxygenation should be good. The eggs are on a large base piece of LR so removing the rock is pretty much out of the question. I read that the average hatching timeframe is 6-12 days.

Here are the details on my setup:
75gal AGA Reef (established 2yrs ago)
~80lbs LR + 2" LS
75gal sump w/ ~25gal refugium
~900gph return + 2xMaxijet 900
SG: 1.024
Temp: 81F
pH: 8.4-8.6
NH3: 0
NO3: 0
Display Critters: Yellow Tang, Manderain, Six Line Wrasse, Peppermint Shrimp, Sally Lightfoot, 2 Stars, Hermits, Snails, and two Maroon Clowns

Here are my goals:
1) Protect the eggs so that they can hatch.
2) Feed the little ones and keep them healthy for at least two weeks until I can find them a good home

Here are my main questions.
1) I have several unused tanks so should I setup a tank to raise them in? The other option is to put them in my refugium which has a hermit crab, a few snails, and a peppermint shrimp.

2) If I use a seperate tank, how much flow does it need and do I need filtration? If so, can I use a basic Tetra hang-on filter with a micron filter on the intake? What about substrate: I have southdown and can even put in some LR. Will 130watt 10K PC be enough light? The refugium has 175w MH.

3) For food, can I use phytoplanton or can I make a recipe with mystis shrimp and other stuff? Should I use some Selcon to improve their health or will that just pollute the water?

4) When should I try to remove the little guys? When they are turning silver.... once they hatch,.... or a day or so after they hatch?

Thanks in advance.....Wish me luck
UFANS

 

[steveweast]

I have three pairs of clowns that lay eggs regularly in my tank. I, too, had ambitions of raising them. It is a real PITA....iI wish you luck. Some pointers though...

1) any tank will do...even a lttle 10 gal
2) biological isn't important early on
3) if you can't remove the rock with eggs, you'll have to wait until they hatch
4) the eggs will hatch somewhere around day 12(varies though)
5) they start hatching as soon as the lights go out
6) turn off all pumps before the lights go out and stand vigil
7) place a flashlight pointing into the water, the hatchlings will go to the light where you can scoop them out
8) the fry eat live rotifers
9) you need to raise live rotifers which eat live phyto....so, you also need to have live phyto
10) most will die within a few days... but, you should be able to raise about 10% of each hatch
11) after about 2 weeks on rotifers, the hatchlings will be big enough for live baby brine...so, you need to raise those too
12) for me it was a pain....but, it was cool....once was enough for me though

one more thing...if you miss the hatch...there will be none left by morning...better luck on the next batch

 

[dantodd]

It usually takes longer than one week to get the rotifers and phyto going. Also, you'll need to keep them for much longer than a couple weeks to get them ready for market.

The Best book to get you started is Clownfishes by Joyce Wilkerson.

Once you've picked this up and read it go to the Breeder's forum if you have more questions.

 

[Nagel]

Re: Clownfish laid Eggs.... What now ?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7216815#post7216815 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ufans
Here are my goals:
1) Protect the eggs so that they can hatch.

That's Pappa's job. No need to interfere until the night of the hatch. You would be amazed at how fiercely a small clown can defend its nest. Maroon clowns definately top the list in aggression too, so no worries.

2) Feed the little ones and keep them healthy for at least two weeks until I can find them a good home

Uhm... Try more like 3-4 months for some (ocellaris), and up to 9-12 months for others (perculas). Growout is long and tedious. In about a week they will go thru metamorphisis, this is when they stop looking like a tiny hair with eyeballs to a more fish like creature. at around two weeks old you should have 1/4" - 3/8" fish with some resemblance to clowns. Definately too fragile to sell, trade or give away and have them survive.

Here are my main questions.
1) I have several unused tanks so should I setup a tank to raise them in? The other option is to put them in my refugium which has a hermit crab, a few snails, and a peppermint shrimp.

Refugium = bad. While you probably have some plankton that you didn't mention, the hermit and peppermints would surely devour babies, and lots of other critters that hitchhike in and you don't necessarily see will also like a treat. I have tried and been successful raising a few clutches now, and let me tell you, 5.5g tanks and 10g tanks are the standard. You WILL want to cover all the sides with a dark material, and I have found it is much easier to see detritus on the bottom if you paint the bottom white.

2) If I use a seperate tank, how much flow does it need and do I need filtration? If so, can I use a basic Tetra hang-on filter with a micron filter on the intake? What about substrate: I have southdown and can even put in some LR. Will 130watt 10K PC be enough light? The refugium has 175w MH.

Very little flow, no powerheads unless you want chopped-fish. I use airlines now, stopped using airstones for young juveniles (less than 2-3 weeks old). Definately no filter! Water quality is maintained by water changes. No substrate either.. It will hinder your ability to see detrtitus on the bottom (which you should be carefully siphoning out with your water changes). No live rock either because even seemingly innocent things like mysid shrimp, spaghetti worms and bristle worms will love to snack on your babies. 130w of PC is WAY much light for fry. My current batch of black ocellaris are a week old tomorrow, and there is about 100-120 in a 5.5g tank with a single 7w mini PC bulb over it, and that bulb has a paper towel wrapped around it to lower the light even more. Fry can and will die from Lethal Side or Bottom lighting..

3) For food, can I use phytoplanton or can I make a recipe with mystis shrimp and other stuff? Should I use some Selcon to improve their health or will that just pollute the water?

Phyto isn't a primary food, and the mysis are too large. Selcon at this age is a waste (though its always good when they are older). Rotifers is the first food for the first 6-14 days (depending on species), then you can start to wean them onto BBS. I start working in pulverized flake around 2-3 weeks and by 5 weeks its their main diet.

4) When should I try to remove the little guys? When they are turning silver.... once they hatch,.... or a day or so after they hatch?

That depends. Is the rock they are on removable? If it isn't, you might want to look into building a "Larval Snagger". I use Joyce Wilkerson's design from her book, but there are a few other options to that design. Kathy55g recently posted an interesting one made with a plastic shoebox! There are plenty of photos in this forum on Larval Snaggers. If it is removable, when 1/3 - 1/2 of the eggs turn silver (you can see eyeballs), I pull the substrate they were laid on (in my case, they spawn on tiles), and put it in a 5.5g tank. you need to keep the eggs in motion, and most people use air to do this. In Frank Hoff's book he describes another way, using an airlift and some small diameter tubing, but I havent tried that yet.

HTH

ps. Go out and buy "Clownfishes" by Joyce Wilkerson. Great reading even if you are NOT going to breed, and an invaluable reference if you decide you are serious about raising the fry.

It is very rewarding to see tons of 1/2" perfect miniature clowns swimming around, that YOU raised!