Future small breeding plan

lotsoftats

lotsoftats

New member
I plan on setting up a new system to breed clowns...Why?...Just to see if I can and can be successful at it....Basically a new challenge.

I have been reading here and I bought Clownfishs by Wilkerson.

Here is what my setup will consist of:

75g dived in 1/2 for a display broodstock tank...each side will house a pair of clowns (not sure which ones yet) and anemones for them....want them to feel at home....LOL

Rearing and growout tanks will consist of 4 20H tanks all connected to a 40l sump....skimmer will be a Eshopps PSK-300.

That's all I have planned so far....I still need to find a place to grow greenwater and Rotifers

When I actually start the build I will start a thread will probably be a few months.

Do I have a sound plan so far?
 
Good start

Good start

Read all the threads here that you can find, I would also reccommend Frank Hoffs book, excellent.

Consider a UV unit for the larval and growout tanks. And include a refugia with chaeto and other plants in case the skimmer malfunctions,

go slow, look at others setups. Besides phyto and rots work out something for pods, your breeders and the nems will enjoy them. I would also consider a setup for artemia, I use two inverted water fountain jugs with the bottoms removed and a tap in the small end, and a long air line into the neck with an airstone, these will grow artemia to adult size, feed it with the phyto, I find two do me well with 24 hr light on the sides, behind then. Both the breeders, your nems and the juveniles will profit from the gut loaded artemia.

Its lots of fun, fascinating, almost more fun then a mortal should so appreciate it.
 
Your setup sounds kind of a split between a display tank and a typical breeding tank. You know what a display tank usually consists of, so I'll just speak to the normal breeding setup.

Half of a 75 gallon tank is plenty big enough for any of the clownfish species. Most people use 10 gallon tanks for the small species (ocellaris, percula, etc) and 20 long or 29 gallon for the large species (Premnas, clarkii, etc). I would decide which clowns you want to keep, and then get the appropriate tank. There is no need to use a very large tank.

The normal breeding setup also doesn't have any anemones. The fish don't need them. There really is no need for them. You should be feeding your fish LOTS of high quality food, and having nitrates is not uncommon. You should also try to get the clowns to lay their eggs on a clay flowerpot, or a ceramic tile. These are removable and you can just put the whole tile or flowerpot in the rearing tank (10 gallon usually). The anemones will probably end up eating some of the newly hatched fish before you can catch them.

While not geared just towards clownfish (why stop with them if you want to have fun?), Matt Wittenrich's The Complete Illustrated Breeders Guide to Marine Aquarium Fishes is an awesome book. It goes into detail with a whole bunch of different species and talks about their requirements.

If you are doing this just for fun, using nannochloropsis and rotifers will work. If you seriously want to give this a go, culturing another type of phyto (like T Iso.) and some copepods will be helpful. I'm currently experimenting with culturing amphipods. Alternately, you could just use instant algae paste. This has pros and cons, but is something to consider.


Honestly, your setup will probably work, but if you want to make a serious go, you are overthinking it. Stick with KISS. I can take a picture or two of my setup if you want. It's not complete, but will give you an idea. There are other internet forums (Google Marine Breeder) that are specifically for breeding marine fish. RC is an awesome resource for Reef tanks, fish, and most everything, but the breeding information is lacking. Check out the other site. All the information you need is there, but still buy books.
 
Forgot to mention. If you really want to culture phytoplankton, rotifers, amphipods, artemia, etc. pick up a copy of the Plankton Culture Manual by Hoff and Snell.

Florida Aqua Farms sells it along with everything else you will need for setting up a breeding system.
 
The plankton culture manual is a little more expensive, but IMO, it is worth it. You can't really just sit down and read it though. It is WAY too technical. It really is just a reference book. When you want to culture rotifers, you read the rotifer section, when you want to culture nannochloropsis, you read that section.

Martin Moe and Frank Hoff have written some good books on breeding fish too.

I'll take some pictures of my setup tomorrow if you want. I have to go check on the ocellaris larvae that should be hatching any minute now.
 
Talfish said:
There are many different ways to design a system. Do some looking around and see what will work for you. You can see my systems here: http://www.mbisite.org/Forums/tm.aspx?&m=43725&mpage=1

I no longer culture live phyto, it takes up too much time and money. The RotiGrow products from Reed work much better and is more cost effective in the long run. Have fun!
Click to expand...

+1 on the RotiGrow products. Saved me hours per day cleaning culture containers. The price may look extreme but it lasts me about four to six months for a one liter bag. I feed two gallons of rotifers, one gallon of O. marina, and use it for greenwater.
 
Zooid said:
+1 on the RotiGrow products. Saved me hours per day cleaning culture containers. The price may look extreme but it lasts me about four to six months for a one liter bag. I feed two gallons of rotifers, one gallon of O. marina, and use it for greenwater.
Click to expand...

The RG products can also be frozen for up to 2 years. That makes a big difference.

I'm not a sales person, just saying what works well for me. :)
 
Zooid said:
+1 on the RotiGrow products. Saved me hours per day cleaning culture containers. The price may look extreme but it lasts me about four to six months for a one liter bag. I feed two gallons of rotifers, one gallon of O. marina, and use it for greenwater.
Click to expand...

Why were you cleaning the culture containers? And why did it take you hours? Once a 2 liter bottle gets that film on it that won't come off, I just recycle it and replace it with another.

The RG products have quite a following, so that is always an option too. The one benefit to live Phyto is when using it in larval rearing tanks, it actually helps keep the water in a little better quality.

I spend maybe 5 minutes a day on Phyto culturing.
 
Zooid,what is your use of Oxyrhis marina?.
All,see: http://www.marinebreeder.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=145&t=324
Algae culturing has been always fun and very little work for me,and I am doing this for some long time now;)
But it is true that the new paste products could make that hobby culturing dissapears in the near future.Yet I am not aware of published results concerning their use.I am starting comparative experiments with these products;Roti Grow plus,Roti Green and the old NAN paste.
 
Nirvanafan: I was using glass half gallon jars...Two liter bottles didn't work as well for me because my house is REALLY dusty (hazards of Colorado).

Luis: I'm raising O. marina to feed Apocyclops. I like to feed my clown larvae some of these pods along with rotifers. Ummfish is trying to see if he can raise parvocalanus with O. marina also just in case I want to try some Centropyge or Goldflake angels :D
 
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