Landlords Log - Breeding Tomato Clowns

[landlord]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14776225#post14776225 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rkelman
That's ok. I've seen them take the oto over Rotifers. The Oto does sink eventually. If you have a ton of Rotifers still I'd either thin them out or stop adding if you are.

The larval tank is pretty much a rotifer culture. I could stop adding them but then I'd have to dump them down the drain It just doesn't seem right, I am finally comfortable with culturing them :lol: I think I may even have to thin them out a bit, it's rotifer soup in there.

I am wondering what would happen if I simply stopped feeding the larval tank with the rotifer diet. I'm guessing the rot population would crash and foul the tank, is this true? Better to try and sieve them out? Any thoughts here would be welcomed.

Thanks Again

--landlord

 

[rkelman]

I would start thinning them before they crash and take your fry with them. If you stop feeding them they will thin but so will your fry because without the Roti Diet they will have very little nutritional value. Don't waste them put them in your reef.

 

[landlord]

Well I've made it to day 10 with batch II. Haven't had any losses for awhile now. Most of the 30 or so fry have already got stripes some even have started to show off some color as well. It is amazing how fast they mature. There is a runt in this batch that is still hanging on but is now dwarfed by his counterparts.

I stopped applying Rotifer Diet a day or so ago to begin to reduce the rotifer population in the larval tank. I am also struggling with Ammonia in this tank as well. I really believe that a water change of some significance is due but I am leary about doing it for fear of shocking the fish. I really do not have a way (or know how) to drip in fresh saltwater effectively. There is also gobs of detritus at the bottom of this tank that I need to remove. I have been currently trying to use a turkey baster to suck it up. I have a siphon vacuum on order from FAF (10 days ago) but it couldn't come soon enough. Apparently it had to be built, IMO the customer service there could use some help. Apparently items need to be built and they must only have one person doing the building. In the end I'm sure I'll be happy but I would have rather had some expectations set regarding time of shipment from the get go.

Well batch III is due Friday night and I am pumped to see if I can get better survival rates after the first night. I will have lights on and try and make the switch from the DT to the larval tank in a shorter time frame. I got another 5.5 gallon tank and have it all set up and running. Running it with greenwater and getting the rotifer numbers in there beefed up. I should be in good shape food-wise by Friday eve.

It has become apparent that I need to get a dedicated workplace set up. Wife is complaining and using words like "Ghetto Petstore" :lol: I'm going to wrok with my Father-in-Law to get an oak cabinet built, matching the decor, my reef tank stand/canopy, etc. I should be able to hide the rotifer buckets, hatchery equipment (pumps, lines, ballast, etc) inside with the tanks sitting on the top for viewing. We're also gonna incorporate some storage space into it for all of my Reef Tank supplies. These are currently in an old standalone cabinet. It will definitely clean the place up for sure

I opened up some dialog with a local LFS today regarding possibly offloading some of the babies. Glad I did, this guy was great. He has been in business for 25 years, very easy to talk to, cool as heck. He currently gets stock from ORA, but from his tone (and undertone) for that matter seems to be a bit dissatisfied. I got the impression from him that ORA was just like any other business focused on moving lots of product. I guess that's par for the course these days. He said he would be happy to work with me. He went so far as to offer up some egg laying broodstock of a more marketable species for me to try my hand at. He said he simply does not have the time but would love it if someone local did. He was pushing GSM's as one of his top sellers. Needless to say I was very pleased with the visit and glad I had the opportunity to talk. 25 years worth of knowledge in the industry is a real treasure trove of information, not too mention his connections with the local pet store owners.

Oh well - Let's post a few pictures from day 10. Not the best focus but you can now see the stripes on these fellas and they are finally starting to look like clowns

Have a Great Day!

--Kurt

 

[FB]

With that many rots it's not doubt you are struggling with ammonia. I would do a water change to remove most of the rots. They are probably not eating them anymore.

FB

 

[landlord]

I take it then my initial worries about not having enough rots were kind of unfounded :lol:

FB - Sounds like it is time to refocus on water quality now. What mechanism do you use for dripping a water change??

Many Thanks

Kurt

 

[FB]

An airline tube with a knot tied at the end. I have also run it through a airline tube wide open with no ill effects. It really depends on how big of a change you are doing. Also check your PH. By adding new water with a higher PH you can actaully make the ammonia in the water more toxic as PH and Ammonia doxicity are directly linked. The lower the PH the less Toxic ammonia is!

So if you do a 50% water change cut the ammonia in half but raise the PH by two points. The 50% ammonia may actually be more toxic than the 100% ammonia at the lower PH.

Check out the graphs in this link!

http://www.dataguru.org/misc/aquarium/AmmoniaTox.html

FB

 

[landlord]

FB - Doesn't seem to terribly difficult. Thank you sir.

Kurt

 

[FB]

Do you have a seasoned sponge filter ready to go?

If not I would start one ASAP as you are going to need it soon!

FB

 

[landlord]

It is not seasoned but it exists. I remember that seasoning it involves more than just putting it into my DT. Does it need to be running to season? and when would you suggest I begin using it?

Thank you kindly

 

[landlord]

One more thing -- Does the sponge filter replace the air stone or do you run them together?

Thank you again

Kurt

 

[FB]

A seasoned sponge filter works better as it starts working immediately, however you can use a new one you just need to be sure to continue to monitor you ammonia. You can certainly add it by day 10. Pretty much anytime post-meta is fine to add a sponge filter. I usually use the airline from the airstone on the sponge filter. I don't think it really matters much!

FB

 

[rkelman]

Put the new sponge in your sump and have it running. Just throwing a new one in the sump doesn't work. It seems to be able to keep the bacteria up on a used one but it won't establish a new one. (unless you leave it in there forever) I made a siphon for the larvae tanks with a piece of airline tubing jammed in the end of a baster. I just pulled the ball off. It works great to siphon the bottom without catching the larvae. Recently I found a really small siphon at my LFS and it works even better.

 

[landlord]

Day 11 - Finally got my order from FAF. OMG the 53 micron sieve is like a slice of heaven on earth. I was ready for it to be a PITA like the coffee filters I have been using, NOT!

Love that thing to death.

Now the vacuum siphon I ordered, not so much. I guess if I was vacuuming out a 3 meter long tank it would be great. Live and learn. I think I like rkelman's idea using an inverted turkey baster.

Got the sponge filter all hooked up and running last night, we'll see how long it takes to start becoming useful. Also took FB's advice and did a 50% water change. I did have an unfortunate loss. The stupid FAF vacuum drained so fast and I was so busy trying to get the crud off the bottom I didn't notice that one of the fry was stuck between the ammonia badge and the tank wall. He was high and dry for about 2 minutes. DOA.

Well I think that I am as ready as ever for batch III hatching tonight. New larvae tank is up and running with a nice thick soup of rotifers. I increased the bubble rate from my last go around for better oxygenation and will run an actinic PC lamp 24/7 to keep the buggers swimming. Hopefully I can keep them all from headstanding at the bottom of the tank, we'll see how it goes. The biggest trick is going to be how quickly and safely I can get them siphoned out of the DT into their new place, temp an pH are darn close, sg is identical. Need to try and keep the holding bucket temp equal is another matter all together.

Here are some day 11 pictures for your enjoyment.

The guy below thinks he's safe behind the badge!

Nice Closeup

Early signs of a mated pair :lol: so my wife likes to think!

Getting better with the focusing

Thanks for the help folks. Have a Great Week-end!

Kurt

 

[rkelman]

They look great Kurt. As for the ammonia badge. I've had problems with fish getting stuck behind them even if there is water. I pull it off the suction cup and flip it over and stick it back on the suction cup but don't slide it all the way on the peg. I have it so it sits at about a 45 degree angle from the wall of the aquarium. This way it doesn't kill any fry. I did try laying it flat on the bottom too but they wiggled under it and died.

 

[landlord]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14797796#post14797796 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rkelman
They look great Kurt. As for the ammonia badge. I've had problems with fish getting stuck behind them even if there is water. I pull it off the suction cup and flip it over and stick it back on the suction cup but don't slide it all the way on the peg. I have it so it sits at about a 45 degree angle from the wall of the aquarium. This way it doesn't kill any fry. I did try laying it flat on the bottom too but they wiggled under it and died.

Thanks rkleman! I wish I could capture their color but the actinic light I use coupled with poor photo skills prevents it. I figured out your badge trick also, now it kind of flows out from the glass instead of right up on it. Live and learn.

 

[rkelman]

Yes the Actinics are messing with your pictures big time. You might try manually focusing. You can also adjust your white balance to bring more natural colour to your pics. I'm glad you figured out the badge thing I've lost alot of fry to those things. I found if you get it down right before the elbow on the suction cup it will stick out for you. These are the tricks we share to help each other along

 

[landlord]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14797881#post14797881 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rkelman
Yes the Actinics are messing with your pictures big time. You might try manually focusing. You can also adjust your white balance to bring more natural colour to your pics.

I got close to the same camera as FB used on his trip to Cozumel - Olympus 1050SW Point and Click with a bunch of preset white balance filters, no manual focus that I can find either. I cannot bring myself to pony up for a Nion D60 or D90. Although it might help me sell my corals quicker

 

[agsansoo]

Great photos landlord. What are you feeding them now ?

 

[rEd86]

Curt,

I just found your thread - WOW you have been busy in such a short time. You've had some great success. We are fortunate to have the knowledge and experience to learn from with everyone here on Reef Central. I have been taking notes and wanting to breed clown fish for a while and hope to start this summer once everything is done with my new 700g office tank.

Even better to see someone in the Cincinnati area doing this. Let me know if you need any help setting up the new cabinet or anything else.

--Ed

 

[landlord]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14797981#post14797981 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by agsansoo
Great photos landlord. What are you feeding them now ?

The only direct food offering I am giving them is Oto A, but I am not sure that they are actually feeding on it. It is still difficult to tell with all them darn rotifers in the tank. I stopped using the "greenwater" approach in the hopes that they would die back, did a big water change. I am sure they will start disappearing soon. The good side to this is that some of the fry are not progressing as quickly as the others so the rots which are left could still be being consumed by the fry still in meta??

Thanks for the photo comments they are starting to hold still better