Fry project

[longtran]

not sure if I should post here or not, but if I am in the wrong section, please move. Thanks.

Long story short, 5 years ago I bought a pair of clown from Petco. They were not even paired. I just wanted 2 clown, so i picked these guys. I had an eclipse system at the time when I had these. A couple years later I came across a deal on a tank I couldn't pass up, so I upgraded. Thousand of dollars later here we are. 3 years, ago these clowns did not even know what an anemone is. Somehow their natural instinct kicked in and they started to host the anemone we had. The anemone didn't survive. We had the anemone for about 2 years with no problems, all of the sudden it shrunk and disappear. During the time the anemone was around, we notice the clown were doing some weird swimming. Apparently with were mating. Sure enough, we found some orange like eggs on a rock. They were clown eggs. So I went online and read up on how to raise them. The first time we were lucky to scoop out about 30 fry. They survive about 8 days. The ninth day, everyone died. Maybe it was my fault for not watching the water. A couple week later more eggs were laid. I was excited to do it right this time. I was never able to catch them again. Over the year, I gave up on catching the fry out. The time schedule was way off for me.

After the anemone died, I thought the pair would never lay eggs again. The pass month, they laid their eggs against the overflow box. After staring at them for hours, I came up with a plan. Here we are. I will try to document as much as I can. Here are some pictures of my project. hope you guys enjoy.


the tank

the proud parents. you can see the patch of eggs.

home made trap. one way in.

I added a mini hydrometer to make sure the salinity won't go out of whack. My goal is to catch them, and raise them in the catch box. The water in the box will have very little water flow, so I decided to add an airline.

I picked up a mini light for the fry.

rotifers are required. I ordered some from Reed Mariculture Inc. highly recommended. Very easy instructions to culture rotifers.

clean water from Petco

Testing the light for the fry.

I hope this plan work. I am expecting the eggs to hatch tonight. I will add more pics if they hatch.

enjoy

 

[Whip316]

you have a great plan but the fry will not survive in the catcher you made and in the dt tank that you plan on raising them.
you should put them in a separate 10g tank to raise them cause with the rots you also need to feed the rots with the nanno or rotigrow or i would recommend the rotigrow complete to feed the rots with. so in the 10g tank with the fry and rots you also need to feed the rots in that 10g tank as well or the rots will die in less than a day. also in they fry tank you need to check for ammonia. that is probably what killed the babies. with the fry poop, the rots food and the rots waste, you get a ton of ammonia. so get an ammonia badge for the fry tank.

so after you catch the babies, dump them into the 10g tank with an airstone and a heater and add some rots and roti food and the babies will do good. i would start with 4 gal and then on day 2 post hatch add 2 more gal of water and then on day 4 remove a gal while vaccuming out the crap on the bottom of the fry tank to keep the ammonia in check. amquel+ is great to add for ammonia to.

 

[longtran]

you have a great plan but the fry will not survive in the catcher you made and in the dt tank that you plan on raising them.
you should put them in a separate 10g tank to raise them cause with the rots you also need to feed the rots with the nanno or rotigrow or i would recommend the rotigrow complete to feed the rots with. so in the 10g tank with the fry and rots you also need to feed the rots in that 10g tank as well or the rots will die in less than a day. also in they fry tank you need to check for ammonia. that is probably what killed the babies. with the fry poop, the rots food and the rots waste, you get a ton of ammonia. so get an ammonia badge for the fry tank.

so after you catch the babies, dump them into the 10g tank with an airstone and a heater and add some rots and roti food and the babies will do good. i would start with 4 gal and then on day 2 post hatch add 2 more gal of water and then on day 4 remove a gal while vaccuming out the crap on the bottom of the fry tank to keep the ammonia in check. amquel+ is great to add for ammonia to.

I lost you when you are talking about dt, rots, and rotigrow. I do not understand some of these fish terms. please explain.
I am a noobie at this. I honestly do not know much about salt water. My tank is running well and I do not even know what I did right. I have friends that spent thousand of dollars and their tank is not as stable as mine.

On a side note, the eggs did not hatch last night. I guess they will hatch tomorrow.

 

[Whip316]

occy take between 7 to 9 days to hatch depending on the tank temp. so whats your temp?

rotigrow is food for the rots to eat while they are in the bucket. if you dont have food for the rots, they will die. did you buy a bottle of thick green stuff from reeds when you got the rots?

ask some specific questions and i will answer them. or someone else will too.
sorry for dumping alot information on you and confusing you.

 

[longtran]

occy take between 7 to 9 days to hatch depending on the tank temp. so whats your temp?

rotigrow is food for the rots to eat while they are in the bucket. if you dont have food for the rots, they will die. did you buy a bottle of thick green stuff from reeds when you got the rots?

ask some specific questions and i will answer them. or someone else will too.
sorry for dumping alot information on you and confusing you.

I see. My water temp is at 77.7 degrees. I do have rotigrow. They are in the bucket. What did you mean when you said DT tank?

 

[jbax]

dt= display tank
rots=rotifers
bbs=baby brine shrimp
oto=otohime

your temp is to cold and your eggs will take to long to hatch. by 8+ days the larvae are now digging into their yolk sac and when hatched they will either be hungry or not make it. jack that temp up to about 82-84 degrees.

do have a air line in your rots bucket?

 

[longtran]

dt= display tank
rots=rotifers
bbs=baby brine shrimp
oto=otohime

your temp is to cold and your eggs will take to long to hatch. by 8+ days the larvae are now digging into their yolk sac and when hatched they will either be hungry or not make it. jack that temp up to about 82-84 degrees.

do have a air line in your rots bucket?

I will adjust the temp tonight. The temp have always been at 77 degree. Even the previous batch.

Yes I have an air line in the rots bucket. You can see it in the pic.


Thank you.

 

[hvacman250]

I would try 80* and see if they hatch on day 8. I have 6 pair of clowns and have done some experimenting. I have the longest breeding pair in my 220 gallon display with an H. Mag anemone. At 82-83, a few hatched at day 7, but 90% was day 8. 82+ degrees in a reef tank is pushing your luck IMO. As a general rule, I have found that 80* should get you 95% hatch on day 8.

As its been mentioned, any longer and the fry eat their yolk sac and come out starving. Your chances are then diminished.

I also agree you will have no luck trying to raise them in your contraption in the main tank. Try to get the clowns to lay on a tile. Pull the tile on afternoon 8 and move it into a dedicated fry tank. Cheap tiles from a big box store work great.

 

[jbax]

I will adjust the temp tonight. The temp have always been at 77 degree. Even the previous batch.

Yes I have an air line in the rots bucket. You can see it in the pic.


Thank you.

yep i see it now.

 

[longtran]

I'm still wondering why my fry will not survive in this catch box i made. Can someone tell me why? There is a an opening on top to feed them. I am planning to remove old water out everyday do it can be fresh. Thanks.

 

[stevetcg]

I'm still wondering why my fry will not survive in this catch box i made. Can someone tell me why? There is a an opening on top to feed them. I am planning to remove old water out everyday do it can be fresh. Thanks.

Water quality, food density, and most of all, because clown fry are extremly sensitive to light. For the first several days they need protected lighting (no light from the sides or bottom).

You, of course, are welcome to try. I suspect, however, you will find your fry die within 3 days and all you accomplish is frustration.

I would highly suggest doing some reading over at MOFIB and getting yourself a copy of Clownfish by Joyce Wilkerson.

 

[Whip316]

the water volume is to little in that box. between the few hundred fry that hatch and the few hundred thousand rots that will be in there the water quality will become toxic quickly even with water changes and also the O2 levels will drop too low and kill everything. even with an airstone in there it will be too much.

i had a few tank wipeouts with my gsm hatching over few hundred 500+ in a 10g tank. O2 level drop very low and they all die. i have to hatch them in a 20g tank now.

that container is a good collection, but as a fry tank is way to small. collect them when they hatch and toss in a 50w heater, ammonia badge and n airstone in a 10g so they have a better chance of surviving.

 

[longtran]

Water quality, food density, and most of all, because clown fry are extremly sensitive to light. For the first several days they need protected lighting (no light from the sides or bottom).

You, of course, are welcome to try. I suspect, however, you will find your fry die within 3 days and all you accomplish is frustration.

I would highly suggest doing some reading over at MOFIB and getting yourself a copy of Clownfish by Joyce Wilkerson.

the water volume is to little in that box. between the few hundred fry that hatch and the few hundred thousand rots that will be in there the water quality will become toxic quickly even with water changes and also the O2 levels will drop too low and kill everything. even with an airstone in there it will be too much.

i had a few tank wipeouts with my gsm hatching over few hundred 500+ in a 10g tank. O2 level drop very low and they all die. i have to hatch them in a 20g tank now.

that container is a good collection, but as a fry tank is way to small. collect them when they hatch and toss in a 50w heater, ammonia badge and n airstone in a 10g so they have a better chance of surviving.

thank you for the explanation. This is what I was looking for.

 

[longtran]

They hatched today. :bounce3: The catch box worked perfectly. I was at work when they hatched and there seem to be alot more fry there than last time. I took your guys advice and setup the 10 gallon tank.

<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid19.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb184%2Flongtran79%2FVIDEO0038.mp4">

 

[Dukester]

sweet, keep up the good work man.

 

[longtran]

day 1

Found only 1 casualty. :beer:

<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid19.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb184%2Flongtran79%2FVIDEO0039.mp4">

 

[stevetcg]

I would cover the sides of the tank. The side lighting messes with fry. I would also tint the water green with your algae paste for your rots. This has the double effect of feeding the rots in the fry tank and helping the clowns spot the food.

 

[longtran]

I would cover the sides of the tank. The side lighting messes with fry. I would also tint the water green with your algae paste for your rots. This has the double effect of feeding the rots in the fry tank and helping the clowns spot the food.

that make sense, thank you...

Day 2. They are doing very well.

<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid19.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb184%2Flongtran79%2FVIDEO0041.mp4">

 

[longtran]

Day 3 was as day 2 so I didn't get video..

Day 4 They've grown a little bigger. I've added brine shrimp to their diet.

<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid19.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb184%2Flongtran79%2FVIDEO0047.mp4">

 

[Whip316]

if you want an easier way to feed them after rotifers. Reed mariculture makes a product called otohime. they sell a sample pack for like $50 or so. its pellets and you can feed the babies otohime A after day 4 or 5. i have enough trouble keeping rots alive. i dont want to grow and time out bbs.