Enriching Rots for thin clown larva, and which rot strain?

[alaska clowns]

Can anyone tell me how to help out thin occellaris clown larva? The longest I've kept any hatches alive is about 48 hours. The broodstock pair belongs to a friend, and they don't feed them too heavy, so I'm wondering if this could be my problem. Although, the fry appear to have silver bellies before they perish (but they don't have a peanut shape to them - the silver is when you look at them from the side). So, would Selcon be the best way to go, and if so, how can I go about enriching the rotifers? I feed the rotifers Nanochloropsis Phyto.
Also, I begin feeding the larva immediately after hatching, and I tint the water with the Phyto. Last hatch, I only had 25 larva in my 5 gallon tank, and the rots were reproducing well in the tank.

My only other thought is that perhaps I have the wrong rotifer strain? I bought them from Reed, and I believe it was the L strain (I didn't specify which I wanted, so I assume L is the default?).

The clowns laid on the tile again either Monday or Tuesday, and the eggs were colored a very deep orange - so maybe this time I have a better shot? This will be the 5th batch of eggs this pair has produced.

Thank you for your help!

 

[reefstew]

Since your in Alaska I assume you have a good heater in the tank. I keep my fry & breeders 81 -84*. I use roto grow + & just ordered the new product from Reed RG Complete. I also use Roto- Green for green water in the fry tank. The only other thing is make sure the breeding fish are getting feed quality foods & at least 3 times a day.
Good luck

 

[2reefnutz]

The parents usually don't start laying "good" eggs till after 6 spawns or so, they get better each time. And as far as the L type rotifer from Reeds your good to go and they sell several types of rotifer diets, the new craze is RGComplete.

 

[alaska clowns]

Thank you for your replies! Yes, I use a heater Once I tried the room temp method as in Wilkerson's book (to delay morph so the larva would fatten up) - the tank got down to 68!! I keep it around 80, this time I'll bump it up a smidgen.

My friend's clowns (where I get the eggs from) need a better diet, and I'm sure that will help in the rearing department!

I'll look for those products - I haven't heard of RG Complete or Roto Green (is roto green from Reed's?)

Thanks again!

 

[duncaholic]

what's up with your avatar??? I've never seen a blue clown before

 

[alaska clowns]

what's up with your avatar??? I've never seen a blue clown before

I photoshopped a picture of my female occellaris

I just wanted something that looked Alaskanish (you know, blue and cold) but I had no idea that she'd be such a rare find (I've had many people ask).

I bet there'd be a market for blue clowns if I could raise the babies But I don't have a good track record with clown larva.

 

[billsreef]

With a good concentration of rots in the rearing tank, and green water, I'd be looking at parent nutrition. Especially as you seem to suspect that already It's not just how much the pair are fed, but also the quality of the food. For dry foods, I like NL Spectrum pellets and Otohime (the larger pellets are good for the adults). Frozen foods added in a couple of times a day also goes a long ways to improving egg quality.

 

[alaska clowns]

With a good concentration of rots in the rearing tank, and green water, I'd be looking at parent nutrition. Especially as you seem to suspect that already It's not just how much the pair are fed, but also the quality of the food. For dry foods, I like NL Spectrum pellets and Otohime (the larger pellets are good for the adults). Frozen foods added in a couple of times a day also goes a long ways to improving egg quality.

Thank you! They are using the NL Spectrum pellets, but now at your suggestion I'll send over some of the Otohime that I got a couple weeks ago. They also use PE Mysis, and they often enrich the feedings with Selcon. I think the issue must be how often the pair is fed - it's not more than 2X per day, and perhaps only 1.

If the larva are NOT eating, do their bellies still look silver?

I'm gathering that there isn't much one can do to increase survivability of what Wilkerson calls "thin" larva?

It's so crazy, I feed my own pair of occ. clowns at least 3 to 4 times per day with a huge variety of foods, and they haven't spawned yet. But my friend feeds her clowns 1-2 times per day, only with NLS pellets or frozen mysis, and they lay eggs about every 2 weeks! I guess I'm getting good practice in with their fry, and maybe I'll have all the kinks worked out when my pair FINALLY spawns

Thanks again for all the helpful thoughts!

 

[billsreef]

With the food selection, I'd go with frequency. I'd recommend at least 3 feedings a day, to satiation...basically keep feeding them till they slow down in the feeding response at each feeding.

A well fed larval fish should have a slight bulge to the belly in addition the silvery look.

 

[alaska clowns]

With the food selection, I'd go with frequency. I'd recommend at least 3 feedings a day, to satiation...basically keep feeding them till they slow down in the feeding response at each feeding.

A well fed larval fish should have a slight bulge to the belly in addition the silvery look.

Do you mean a "peanut" shape when you look down at them from the top? And is the bulge visible on the first day?

I think the other thing I need to experiment with is lighting the larval tank. It's difficult for me to find the balance of "enough" but "not too much." In my research this week I found a guide that said to use eggcrate and 3 layers of paper towels with a 3 watt fluorescent bulb placed 1.5 feet above the tank for the first 3 days, and then diminishing the layers thereafter. So I think I will try that this time around.

 

[billsreef]

It's sort of beergut sort of shape

With lighting, I just place a typical fluorescent aquarium over the light, and tint the water nicely with phyto. You can see a change in the orientation of the fish when the tint is getting too light.