First attempt

[saltyjo]

I am currently back at home in Greece for the weekend. As soon as I go back to Denmark I will post all specs of my camera and equipment I am using. (cant remember then off by heart as i got a few lenses i am using)

In the meanwhile my better half send me a picture today



Same procedure with the water change and light as day 5

Thank you! I have been raising clowns for a couple of years now and my pictures are no where near the quality of yours! Because of your amazing photo work my better half bought me some new macro lenses and other great camera accessories for Valentines day. I would only be happier if I learn how to use them and be able to take pictures half as good as yours.

 

[cbitsiaras]

Amazing pictures! I look forward to seeing this thread develop.

From reeds website.

Rotifer vacation mode.

Poura liter or so of your culture into a 1 liter contaiiner, cover loosely to allow oxygen to enter

Add a bit of extra algae to darken the culture

Put the liter in the fridge

After 7 days 50% should be alive

After 14 days 15% should be alive

Restart culture as your normally would, acclimateing the temp slowly.

They're looking nice and fat.

I love your pictures!!! I have a great digital camera with a Macro lens and seem to not be able to get the clarity and focus with the close-ups that you have. Can you share what you are using for camera equipment, lens, settings ect? Thanks!

They look awesome!! I hope one day I can do the same with my clown pair!! Cant wait to see all the little ones grown up. Congratulations on the progress and all the healthy fish. The development that occurs in one day is mind blowing.

Awesome pics, and great detail of what to watch for especially for us amateurs who might want to breed clownfish.
Keep up the great work!

Thank you all for following the thread and for your comments. Sorry for not being very good in replying but I have been very busy with work these past few days. Rest assured though that I read all your comments and makes me happy to share knowledge and experience. Similar to my other thread about my reef tank i decided to be crystal clear and honest so that you dont have to go through the same problems that i have been through or mistakes i made.

I am not keeping rotifers in the fridge and I will definitely try to save some in the refrigerator. Last week in Greece i met a biologist who works in a breeding fish station and he told me that i could put a very very small amount of rotifers in a 1.5L bottle with some phytoplankton. The fear here is that the culture might crash either from overpopulation since i will be on vacation for 2 weeks or from starvation from not enough phyto in the bottle. In either way i will try and share the experience with you. One tip the guy gave me for high nutri value rotifers is to dilute some yeast in water and feed a few ml per day and yes i am referring to the same powder yeast we use for bread. Again dont try this at home - since my culture is about to finish i will try and share info.

Breadman03: Thanks alot for the encouraging message. Although i am awfully busy with work it is rewarding to see people reading the thread and actively participating in the development.

User FDAWG: they look more fat each and every day. We can actually notice differences even on the same day.

User saltyjo: thanks for your patience - so now i am back in Copenhagen and here is what i am using: DSLR camera Canon EOS 650D. All the macro shots have been done with a Tamron Di SP 90mm 1:2.8 Macro 1:1 set on full macro. I am not using any special setting other than the one without the flash. I also use manual focus instead of automatic. To sharpen certain areas of the picture you can use any program as it is a very basic function. i am using photoshop and although it doesnt change the elements of the picture, by sharpening you get a much more dramatic effect that gives you the impression of an even better macro shot.

Users Chrisq0904, ndnreefer: Only a few weeks ago i wouldnt even have thought of starting up such a project. If it wouldnt have been for that sleepless night when i accidentally noticed some newly hatched fry flying all over the tank and feeling guilty for not being able to save it, i wouldnt have decided to get the proper things, research and give it a try with the next available hatch. What i can honestly say is that it is truly rewarding. We are currently spend more time looking at the fry tank than our reef tank! Crazy .. i know I am an amateur myself. This is the very first attempt.

Warm regards
Dino

 

[cbitsiaras]

7th - 11th day post hatching - 15.02.2014 - 19.02.2014

7th - 11th day post hatching - 15.02.2014 - 19.02.2014

I was back home in Greece for a few days so this is an update for the past few days

7th day post hatching - 15.02.2014

Same procedure like day 6 with the water change etc. Today it was noticed that the fry was spending most of the time being a bit inactive and hanging around the corners and the area close to the glass. I read from another users thread that this is a sign of going into metamorphosis stage.

8th day post hatching - 16.02.2014

Same procedure like day 7 with the water change etc. Today it was noticed a further darkening of the body colour and that they start looking for like a fish. They also started doing some of the typical clownfish swim (upwards-downwards-upwards-downwards)

9th day post hatching - 17.02.2014

Same procedure like day 8 with the water change etc. Today it was the first time we tried to feed newly hatched brine shrimp (one feeding before lights went off). 2 of the fish ate a small brine shrimp but it seems that they still prefer the rotifers. Today we removed one more sheet of paper so there is only 1 layer of A4 paper between the top glass and the lamp.

10th day post hatching - 18.02.2014

Same procedure like day 9 with the water change etc. By now more than half of the tank is full which enables a bit more space for the fish to swim. By now we are sure that they have all made it through metamorphosis stage so we have 28 in the tank. Again fed some newly hatched brine shrimp. Hard to tell if they actually eat it or not but they do seem to be more fat than ever.

11th day post hatching - 19.02.2014

As there is alot of brine shrimp in the tank we removed half of the water and fed it directly to the display tank. We replaced with water from the display tank and added some newly hatched brine shrimps. We keep on feeding rotifers as well until we will run dry.

Here are some pictures from today (11th day post hatching)







To get a better feeling of how they are and swim i tried to make a small video. Is not perfect but it can give you a good idea. The small creatures flying all over is a combination of rotifers and brine shrimp. Click the image below to see the video

 

[cbitsiaras]

12th day post hatching - 20.02.2014

12th day post hatching - 20.02.2014

The little ones keep on becoming bigger. They seem to be targeting the surface to find food. Did 50% water change as there was alot "old" brine shrimp inside and wanted to renew it with newly hatched one.

Arent they just adorable?

 

[shifty51008]

Great pics as usual, isnt it just very rewarding watching these guys grow up.

 

[cbitsiaras]

Great pics as usual, isnt it just very rewarding watching these guys grow up.

Is beyond description. I did read that its very rewarding but i didnt think how much it was. I no longer pay any attention to the 757L mixed reef we got int he living room. Most of the time I am in the smaller room with the little babies observing them. Highly recommend it to everyone who also had kids. I already arranged with a couple of friends that have small kids to come over to see how the cycle of life evolves. Thanks alot for the feedback :wavehand:

 

[woodnaquanut]

Arent they just adorable?

Extremely!

Great pic, as usual.

 

[HunterBryan]

are you changing your fry tank waater with your DT water or are you doing WC by mixing new salt water and how much per day? Mine are hatching tonight and was wondering exactly when to do a water change, how frequently, and how much?? Lil guys look big and healthy good job!!!

 

[cbitsiaras]

are you changing your fry tank waater with your DT water or are you doing WC by mixing new salt water and how much per day? Mine are hatching tonight and was wondering exactly when to do a water change, how frequently, and how much?? Lil guys look big and healthy good job!!!

Not sure if I do it the right way but i do daily water changes from the display tank (I am not mixing any new water). I do take care though when putting the new water in as i put it at a rate of approx 2-3 drops per second. I prefer to do this during night so when i wake up in the morning is complete. Good luck with the hatching! :wave:

 

[cbitsiaras]

are you changing your fry tank waater with your DT water or are you doing WC by mixing new salt water and how much per day? Mine are hatching tonight and was wondering exactly when to do a water change, how frequently, and how much?? Lil guys look big and healthy good job!!!

Extremely!

Great pic, as usual.

Thanks alot for the compliments on the picture. The little guys are growing bigger although today i have noticed that they are not as orange as they were a couple of days ago. Their bodies are slightly bigger so i am not sure if this is the reason why i no longer see the deep orange colour. Need to monitor abit more their eating habits tomorrow but i am under the impression that they do not really like the brine shrimp. Ammonia is 0 thanks to frequent water changes. Hope the little ones will be good .. :fun5:

 

[HunterBryan]

I just placed my rock in the fry tank and turned lights off!! waiting for a lil bit.. super excited!! cant hurt to try

 

[cbitsiaras]

14th day post hatching - 22.02.2014

14th day post hatching - 22.02.2014

When I woke up this morning i could see the couple of clownfish making some more eggs on the same spot. This time double as many as the one before. Since we will be going on vacation soon and we are running out of rotifers we decided to let it blend it with the aquarium.

This was not though the only surprise we saw this morning. Paying attention from the top i could see that more than half of the babies had developed overnight a head white stripe. I got totally ecstatic about it and started taking pictures. One of them was the sweetest and a little one was smiling

This one is dedicated to all of you following the thread and the ones attempting to breed clown fish. Here you go:

 

[HunterBryan]

Great pic man! I know it's hard letting batches going knowing how rewarding it is when they hatch! Mine hatch last night and everything is going great so far! How many do you still have from your last batch?

 

[cbitsiaras]

Thanks! I also love this picture and makes me so soft in my heart :bounce2:

Its hard to tell but i think I siphoned around 58 larvae. Each day for the first few days i would siphon out a few dead ones. So nearly 50% has made it for which i am very happy and proud of as first time attempt. The best of wishes for your batch!

:wave: Dino

 

[shifty51008]

very cute smile on the clown, I wonder if that BBS in the pic knows he is gonna be food shortly

50% is very good for your 1st time, you'll just get better at it as times moves on learning from your previous trys.

 

[cbitsiaras]

very cute smile on the clown, I wonder if that BBS in the pic knows he is gonna be food shortly

50% is very good for your 1st time, you'll just get better at it as times moves on learning from your previous trys.

Hahahahahaha probably not! I am actually not ever sure they like BBS. In all forums they are referring to a so called OTO food which is not that easy to acquire in Europe. After ALOT of research i found the equivalent which seems to be from ZM products. I am not advertising any brands but it seems that they love this one: http://www.zmsystems.co.uk/index.php?app=gbu0&ns=prodshow&ref=zm100

Whats too bad is that now that we will go for vacation I will run out of rotifers and the only option is when i come back to buy some more from UK and have the UPS send to me which is COSTLY! But again... the reward is so great that it worths the money

 

[cbitsiaras]

18th day post hatching - 26.02.2014

18th day post hatching - 26.02.2014

The updates will be coming now every few days as the development is not that noticeable from one day to the other.

The white stripe is getting thicker and some dark shading start becoming noticeable on some. There are two that are different than the rest 26. One is developing a grey/black first stripe and another one a very light shade of green instead of white.

Daily 50% water changes to ensure that all the debris is cleared off. Out of my curiosity i measured NO3 and Ammonia. They were 50 and 0 respectively. The high nitrates is yet another warning that the daily water changes might not be necessary but surely assist for a stable environment. We have experienced no further losses after meta and all 28 seem to be doing good.

We feed them the ZM 100 product a few times a day (3-5). Just a small pinch with the finger tips and monitoring. The greatest dissapointment so far has been the decapsulated brine shrimp eggs. They simply take forever to hatch (around 40 hours) whilst the normal one only hatches in less than 24. Due to the inconsistency of the hatching time i think we will be stopping using the decapsulated solution and use only the normal eggs.

Until 2 days ago I had 2 airlines with a stone. 2 days ago I replaced one of the stones with a sponge filter which i have been conditioning in the sump of the display tank for approximately 2 weeks.

Today I doubled up the amount of water reaching now something more than 50% of the total capacity of the tank.

Baby clown fish have been swimming only towards the edges and the top of the tank. Today all of the sudden they swim all over the place and they start showing signs of becoming territorial.

Below are the shots of the day:





And a small video of the little ones. To view it, click on the image below.

 

[shifty51008]

Thats very weird about the bbs takeing 40 hours to hatch. The decap bbs we use are hat hatched within 12 hours. Are you decaping them yourself or buy them like that?

 

[cbitsiaras]

Thats very weird about the bbs takeing 40 hours to hatch. The decap bbs we use are hat hatched within 12 hours. Are you decaping them yourself or buy them like that?

I am buying them like that. Not sure what I am doing wrong. I use water from the display tank i put light on as they recommend and air bubble it. Now its 35 hours and there is nothing other than a white tint on the water. I even "shaken" a bit the bottle but no hatching.. Can it be a bad part?

 

[machote]

Amazing post