Im about to be a daddy

[xxxbadfishxxx]

After 3 years my clowns have finally spawned, these eggs look like they are just about to hatch, you can clearly see the fish in the eggs. I have a lot of reading to do on how to raise them, i used to follow the breeding forum closely and seems like the Rotifers is one of the hardest parts. Stay tuned, plan on getting some supplies together and maybe try in the next couple of batches.

 

[oscarsdad608]

Good luck, if you don't have rotifer on hand you are to late for this batch.

 

[xxxbadfishxxx]

yeah, i am going to wait a couple of batches before i try, need to do some reading up.

From the information i gathered its best to get routifers from Reed Mariculture and feed the routifers the concentrated alage.

 

[agsansoo]

Since your on the east coast I would try Seahorse Source . Great customer service !

 

[xxxbadfishxxx]

thanks Andy, do you know how much they charge for shipping?

 

[agsansoo]

Shipping is around $20, due to it being a live product. Your shipping might be less, since your closer. Give them a call.

 

[xxxbadfishxxx]

Ok, i guess i will start off with asking the experts. I have done reading but of course getting conflicting results. Please, if you have any success breading them please add your comments if you have the time.

Removing the Fry
I have read that it is good to let your clowns spawn before trying to remove the fry. I am obviously not going to even attempt to raise these guys. I heard that you should let them lay eggs 3-4 times before you attempt to remove the rock and do an in the tank fry hatch. I read that if you remove the rock this might cause the clowns to not spawn anymore. I have read that removing the rock the night of spawn is good, and bad. I will probably attempt to siphon the first time as a test. then once i get the hang of it trying moving the rock. I plan on putting down a piece of clay pot so they get the hang of laying on the clay pot.

Routifers
read that this is the most difficult part but it is getting easier with the option to by live and feed concentrated foods. I will most likely get them from Reed since my local fish store deals with them and can get them for me. I read its best to split your culture between two 5 gallon buckets in case one crashes. I read you are and are not supposed to heat and also light. Which is best. if heat at what temp? if light, for how long? FYI it would be in my basement where water would be in the high 50's this time of year. read you are supposed to airate them with a pump with slow bubbles. Not sure what it means to culture them, from what i gather you take 1/3 of the water and strain it into a coffee filter and replace with fresh saltwater at same salintiy and temp, best to drip. Easiest to feed concentrated paste several times a day. once you strain the routifers, you just wash the filter off in the fry tank? (reef tank until i get fry tank up). once you put the rots in the fry tank, add a little concentrate to keep those going.

Raising the Fry
feed rots morning and night for 5 days. Keep all things stable and monitor ammonia as after a couple days it will start to show up. Have a water change at same temp and salinity always ready and drip when you do a change. Days 5-7 feed rots and baby brine then switch to just BBS, but for how long? When do you start introducing other frozen foods. How long until you move to grow out tank? take out dead bodies when they show up.

Baby Brine shrimp
when you hatch Brine, how long are they considered baby before you start a new hatch?

Setups

(2) 5 gallon buckets for Rots, with maybe 2 heaters. one light for both buckets?

(2) 5 gallon fry tanks. 50 watt heater, ammonia indicator, Light, thermometer, airstone with sponge filter for each. 2 tanks so i can attempt to raise two different batches at the same time. Whats a good sponge filter to use?

(1) ten gallon grow out tank with all that is listed in fry tank but with power filter

(1) air pump that services all tanks and rot buckets with valves to control bubbles. Any recommended brand.

Anything i am missing, Tips, and tricks?

 

[FB]

A couple of problems I encountered when I started.

Rots - I crashed several culture by over feeding. A light green tint is more phyto than you think. PS get Instant algae for what you pay and the amount it feeds it is well worth the price. I have a heated culture with a sponge filter in it and it is not doing as well as my none heated none sponge filtered rotifer tank. Not sure why, I'm still trying to get good at rotifers even after a year.

Tile. Get them to lay on a tile. Luckily mine took to the tile immediately and this make things A LOT easier.

Take is slow. If you rush something the results will most likely be bad.

Get a sponge filter or 2 and start running them in your existing tank. That way they are ready to go when you need them.

BBS - Only feed bbs that are less than 24 hours old. They should be very orange. When they get bigger they can rupture the larvae stomach.

READ READ READ. If you have not done so already get Joyce Wilkerson's book Clownfishes. It is a great read. Also read as much hear on RC. There are tons of threads with tons of advice. Don't forget to look at the archives. You have done the right thing starting your own thread. There are enough peopel around here to help you out.

Later

FB

 

[xxxbadfishxxx]

thanks FB i was hoping you would respond, can you recommend an air pump and sponge filter? I have followed most of your thread, how many succesful batches have you had?

i have had Joyces book, but regading Rots it seemed like she concentrated mostly on feeding raised phyto. I plan on finishing it in the next couple days where i am sure most of my questions will be interested.

Does my equipment list sound right? Do you light your rots. I found some 7 watt heaters, you think that is good enough for the rot and fry tanks? or should i go with 50 watt heaters?

 

[agsansoo]

The problem with using live phyto is it might crash. Chances are high if your new at it. So if you culture crashes, what do you feed the rot's and with no rot's, what do you feed the clownfish larvae. So to make your life easier use instant nano algae to feed the rot's.

 

[agsansoo]

Also I won't remove the rock. I would try to bet your pair to lay their eggs on a tile. If you can't ... build a larvae snagger (read my thread for design tips).

 

[agsansoo]

Double post.

 

[xxxbadfishxxx]

well i missed my first hatch last night. Lights went out and before i went to bed they were still there, this was at least 2 hours after lights out. I have blue moonlights go on after lights out, and sometime in the middle of the night the blues turn off and white moonlights come on, i think this is probably when they hatched. I think i should probably switch those.

I have a 12 gallon nano that i was thinking about taking down. You think this will be good for a growout tank? I have sponges in my sump that i can easily put in the chambers. would that be enough filtration? any negative effects to using that tank? It would save me from buying another tank, lights, and heater. Plus it is also covered which is virtually no evaporation.

Would like to get recommendations on the following equipment.

1 - Heaters for Rot tanks, what wattage?
2 - Ammonia inicators in rot tanks?
3 - heaters for larvae tank, what wattage? will be a 5 gallon glass tank.
4 - cover larvae tank with glass?
5 - lights for rot tanks? simple shop clamp lights with CF bulb?
6 - lights for larvae tank? simple shop clam lights with CF bulb?
7 - Sponge filter for larvae tank? what size? i realize u dont add this right away.
8 - i assume i can use one air pump for rots, brine, and larvae tank, whats a good model/Brand?
9 - what kind of airstones, bubble disks, bubble rods.....

thanks for all your input.

 

[agsansoo]

Ok .. I like the numbered list of questions.

1. never used one in rot tank (I don't use tanks for rots).
2. no need to test ammonia in rot tanks.
3. 50w stealth heater (doesn't have a light).
4. Yes, keeps heat in, when it's cold.
5. No light need in rot tank if you feed daily.
6. Low tech light is OK. I used blue or white moon light.
7. I add a sponge right away. Won't hurt. Small 10g rating is OK.
8. I use many small Fusion 300 air pumps. Less noisy than a big pump.
9. A bubble wand is perfect for circulation in a larvae tank. It makes a wall of bubbles that the larvae face to look for food (rots).

 

[xxxbadfishxxx]

thanks Andy for your quick response. The reason why i asked about a heater for the Rot tank is because it willl be in the basement where i had standing water in the high 50's this time of year. Is that ok?

what about the nano for a grow out tank?

im starting to get really excited.

How early should i start my rot cultures before i attempt to raise the fry? How many days before the hatch?

 

[billsreef]

I've got the same basement problems in the winter. I find a 50watt heater in a 5 gallon rot culture is adequate. While the rots will handle the low temps, the reproduction rate is very slow, so heating will boost production.

 

[agsansoo]

As stated in the Breeder Net article (first thread in this forum).

"optimal conditions can be obtained between 68-88 F. Cultures grown at higher temperatures grow faster than cooler temperature but with one caveat. Cultures grown at higher temperature are unstable and more prone to problems, because the nutrient balances are being produced/consumed at a greater rate. Again, try to match the temperature of your rotifer culture to that of your larvae tank; however, keeping a slightly lower temperature rotifer culture will ensure more stable conditions."

And yes the nano tank would be fine for a grow-out tank. As for the rots and hatch fry. The Reed's rotifers is a large enough culture to start raising clown larvae right away. You will need a strainer or sieve to harvest your rots. I'm not sure if Reed's sells those.

 

[xxxbadfishxxx]

Just went to Petco to look at the 5.5 gallon tanks, i was suprised to see that they are more expensive then the 10 gallon tanks. Would it be better to use a 10 gallon tank with half the water, then later convert it to a grow out tank?

went to pick up a tile at HD so they would hopefully spawn on that later, i got a 6x6 sandstone tile, is this safe to use? can i break it so its not so huge?

 

[billsreef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14264224#post14264224 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by xxxbadfishxxx
Would it be better to use a 10 gallon tank with half the water,

That's what I do. Can't see spending more money for a 5 :lol:

 

[sandyc]

I have had much better luck with 10 gal than 5 gal. The 5 gal foul to quickly. I do daily water changes on my fry tank and still the 5 gal fouls. I use approx 3 gal in the 10 gal to start and raise the level as they grow.