Clowns Quit Spawning?

W

WaffleWalffle22

Zoa Extreemist
I have a pair of Black Ocellaris that have stopped spawning. They haven't laid eggs for two weeks and the female isn't fat with eggs.

About two weeks ago I dosed ChemiClean to get rid of cyano. That was probably the stupidest thing I've ever done. It depleted the oxygen levels in the tank and all of the corals were closed up. I did a 30 gallon WC (over the course of two days) while running two airstones and everything came back to usual. I think that's why they stopped spawning. I know I'm stupid and I've learned my lesson.

So do you think they will go back to spawning? If so, how long will it take?
Thanks in advance for any info! :)
 
By dosing with ChemiClean you oxidized all the organics in the water, which is great for keeping the tank clean. However, it simulated the end of the productive season, aka no more nutrients for phyto and zooplankton. In other-words there is no reason for the fish to spawn as there offspring would not have food. At least that is how the fish "see" it.

My suggestion, feed the crap out of em and don't use Chemi Clean if you want them to breed. Of course, if you want them to breed consistently for you, I would put them in their own tank where you don't have to worry about nutrient levels.

Good luck.
 
MarineBioHSU said:
By dosing with ChemiClean you oxidized all the organics in the water, which is great for keeping the tank clean. However, it simulated the end of the productive season, aka no more nutrients for phyto and zooplankton. In other-words there is no reason for the fish to spawn as there offspring would not have food. At least that is how the fish "see" it.

My suggestion, feed the crap out of em and don't use Chemi Clean if you want them to breed. Of course, if you want them to breed consistently for you, I would put them in their own tank where you don't have to worry about nutrient levels.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

very well put and right on point.
 
MarineBioHSU said:
By dosing with ChemiClean you oxidized all the organics in the water, which is great for keeping the tank clean. However, it simulated the end of the productive season, aka no more nutrients for phyto and zooplankton. In other-words there is no reason for the fish to spawn as there offspring would not have food. At least that is how the fish "see" it.

My suggestion, feed the crap out of em and don't use Chemi Clean if you want them to breed. Of course, if you want them to breed consistently for you, I would put them in their own tank where you don't have to worry about nutrient levels.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

The ChemiClean depleted the oxygen levels in the tank so greatly that it almost crashed the tank. The corals were closed super tight and it was a miracle that everything came back. I never thought above it the way you explained it, so thanks for the explanation on the way the clowns see it. I just like to look at their eggs and record the spawnings for YouTube. I don't have the time to raise their young, but I might attempt it with my SA Fancy Ocellaris in the summertime. :)
 
If it were me I'd chill for a bit.
If you just did the chemiclean due to cyano, I'm not sure I'd just right off the bat start feeding heavy and raise tank temp.
Everything just went through a stress, and sounds like you already had nutrient issues.
Take a breather, let things balance out.
 
davocean said:
If it were me I'd chill for a bit.
If you just did the chemiclean due to cyano, I'm not sure I'd just right off the bat start feeding heavy and raise tank temp.
Everything just went through a stress, and sounds like you already had nutrient issues.
Take a breather, let things balance out.
Click to expand...

I'll do a WC. Would a GFO help at all?
 
I hate throwing chems at problems, WC's are always your best friend in just about any event negative, that, and patience.
I'd chill, not spawning is no big deal.
 
Cool man! Sometimes I find it easier to solve problems with the fish if I try and think like them, weird I know.

davocean: I was trying to say that he should bump the temp and feedings if he wants his clowns to get spawning again, which would obviously increase algal growth, which is why I suggested moving them to their own tank. The nutrient devoid tanks we often strive for is a far cry from mother nature, so it should not come as a suprise that so few things spawn in our tanks. But, I agree that taking such actions is a sure fire way to grow algae.
 
MarineBioHSU said:
...... The nutrient devoid tanks we often strive for is a far cry from mother nature, so it should not come as a suprise that so few things spawn in our tanks. But, I agree that taking such actions is a sure fire way to grow algae.
Click to expand...

Actually the nutrient levels in the water around coral reefs are way lower than anything we could duplicate in an aquarium. If it wasn't for the coral reefs, tropical seas would be deserts. If you are referring to microscopic food organisms, then that is a different story.

To the original poster:
Consider yourself lucky. I dosed Chemi-clean during the Christmas holidays one year and didn't check my tank for a couple days. I lost a pair of clowns that I had for 17 years and were still spawning. Worst day of my reef keeping career.
 
phender said:
Actually the nutrient levels in the water around coral reefs are way lower than anything we could duplicate in an aquarium. If it wasn't for the coral reefs, tropical seas would be deserts. If you are referring to microscopic food organisms, then that is a different story.
Click to expand...

I am a little confused by your statement (not trying to sound argumentative), however you say the water on the reefs is devoid of nutrients yet at the same time if it were not for the reefs the tropical seas would be deserts. Those points seem to contradict each other, but perhaps I am misunderstanding what you are saying?

And I respectfully have to disagree with the assertion that coral reefs are low in nutrient levels, in fact the entire reef biome is driven by nutrients. That is why abundance of life (ie. reefs, tropical, temperate and otherwise) are centered around land masses such as continental shelves or volcanic guyots where they recieve nutrient rich water via wind blown sediments, runoff and upwelling.

And as you said microscopic organisms so prevalent in reefs, which is of course due to the nutrient induced phytoplankton blooms.

Just my $.02
 
just for fun..

Reef waters are highly oligotrophic.. The reef itself quickly absorbes any available nutrients. Although there may be freakent nutrient uprising to support the reef, at any given time the waters surrounding the reef are very low in nutrients.. Much like the soil in the jungle is very low in nutrients despite the abundance of life there.
 
deangelr: Good analogy. I am going to have to seek out some more info regarding nutrient levels/dissolved organics on particular reefs during different times of the year. Most of the work I have done has been on either temperate reefs or very close to shore tropical lagoon reefs, which obviously recieves a lot of nutrient run off.

Thanks.
 
For some reason these guys like to spawn at night. The female's tummy is squared off. Do we use that term in the marine world? I used the term when I kept guppies because the female's tummies would be square-like before they gave birth and I noticed that my female clowns tummy is square before she lays eggs... so yeah. Oh wait... the point I was trying to get to is: I can see the bottom bit of her breeding tube and I've noticed that the breeding tube comes down quite a bit before spawning, so either they'll spawn in the wee hours of the morning or FRIDAY!! :)

Are my clownfish weird for laying eggs at night or do they just want to do their business in private? :worried:
 
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