Feeding Free swimming Clownfish Fry

[CA1]

Hello,

Last night my clownfish larvae became free swimming and I transferred them to a 10 gallon tank to attempt to raise them. I put in some rotifiers and phyto into the tank also.
I have a few questions:

Will they begin to eat the rotifers right away and also how long does their sensitivity to light last (when can I put a small light on their tank so they can see to eat)?

I did not put anything on the side of the tank to block the light, but I have them in a dark spot so there is not much light getting into the tank. I am worried that they will not be able to see the rotifers and to feed in the dark. Will I be ok to put a small light on the tank tonight so that they can see to feed?

Thanks

 

[landlord]

The fry should begin to eat rotifers right away. Everybody does things a bit different but for me a keep an actinic light on for about the first 72 hours solid (or at least until they are done with rotifers), then I have them on from 11 AM till 8 PM.

Have Fun! Kurt

 

[CA1]

Thanks for the reply. I will put an actnic light on their tank tonight when I get home. Hopefully they will be ok until then.

 

[landlord]

FWIW - I just collected about 150 GSM's last night. Dumped them in the tank and popped on the actinic. This AM everyone (NO LOSSES, ok maybe 1 or 2) was out and about chowing down in Greenwatersville! I'll be leaving the light on until Friday evening possibly Saturday which is when I will add the NHBBS, they'll make quick work of any leftover rotifers.

Kurt

 

[CA1]

I transferred over 100 into a 10 gallon tank on Monday night, yesterday the vast majority of them are dead. I have maybe 20 left and those do not seem to be eating rotifiers, so I am not too sure how long they will last.

I am not too sure what I am doing wrong, there seems to be lots of rotifers in the tank for them to eat. I left a light on for them last night but we will have to see how many make it through the day today.

Thanks for you help, Steve

 

[landlord]

How full was the ten gallon tank???? and better yet when you say lots of rotifers, can you elaborate?

Throwing out some ideas...

1. If you only have 10 gallon tanks available - I would fill them LESS than half full. I am now using half filled 5.5 gallon tanks.

2. To me, lots of rotifers (if you cannot calculate their number using a test tube, sheesh, I cannot) means the water column looks like a snowglobe that has just been shaken. or better yet I could suspend a tic-tac (relative sze of fry + or - ) anywhere in the tank and it would not have to move more than a millimeter to find food.

3. Not surte how you built up your rots in the larval tank, but I used to, grow them in the larval tank up to a week before adding fry. This in turn would basically pre contaminate the water with waste so by the time I was dumping in newborm fry the water was just plain yucky. Now, like I did last night, I simply build up my two 2 gallon cultures and literally add them in right before I collect the fry. I pretty much sieve out 85% from each bucket and plop them in. I do tint the water green with rotifer diet but now only for about 3 days. This method in my larval setup did not produce any noticeable ammonia (per the badge) during the first week and now the second.

Some others...

4. No airstone on bubble stream and a very gentle bubble,bubble,bubble not a raging torrent.

5. Salinity and temperature stability (temp being my biggest hangup, most heaters can overpower small water volumnes, my temp is set on the heater at 73 however the tank is 77-79

6. Lastly - Any possible chances aof damage during transfer, how did you transfer???

Just tossing out some ideas to jingle your brain.

Have Fun! Kurt

 

[CA1]

Thanks for the feedback.

The ten gallon tank is half full, and I put water in it the night that I transferred the fry from the breeding tank, using the water from the breeding tank. The temperature is about 80F and I scooped out the fry using a plastic container and then poured them gently into the 10 gallon tank.

I have lots of rotifers in the tank, but maybe not to the snowglobe density. The fry do not have to travel far to get to them though, they seem to be surrounded by them. I added the rotifers the same time that I added the fry, then I added a bit of live phyto.

I looked this morning and there was only a few more dead, I removed all of the other dead ones last night to try to maintain water quailty. The fry do not seem to be eating the rotifers though, at least not that I can notice.

Hopefully I will have some survivors, if not I will just try again with next batch.

Thanks, Steve

 

[landlord]

FWIW - I have never actually been able to witness fry eating rotifers. I can only see that it is happening by the silver color of their bellies.

Sounds like you are doing everything correctly....

Keep working at it --Kurt

 

[jhawkor]

Kurt, how do you transfer your larvae?

 

[landlord]

With this franken-contraption I built from two Lee's specimen containers, a RIO 50, an old return line elbow thingy, an old U-Tube, and a freebie media mesh bag I chopped up.

Works Great!

In Action!

It has been modified a bit since the last photos. I now have it on an adjustable stand so I can raise it and lower it to appropriately get the level set. Using a U-tube makes it somewhat difficult to get the U-Tube at the correct depth depending on which tank I am using and utilizing the hanging plastic part of the Specimen container just didn't cut it. Now that it is on an adjustable stand, I can raise it, lower it, whatever I need for whichever tank is currently in hatch.

Kurt

 

[brako]

youve worked really hard on that well done

 

[landlord]

youve worked really hard on that well done

Thanks - Always happy to put spare parts to use!