My Black Ocellaris pair are spawning!!!

wow, i agree with others, that looks purty nasty. i'm sure you'll have him back up and running before long. hope you find the culprit
 
The gash is clean through. Its just as bad on one side as the other. I'm concerned with trying to net him into a QT tank for a few reasons. The stress could kill him. They may stop laying all together. I don't have a QT running or an extra seasoned filter. I'm battling a bacteria bloom in my larvae tanks so I can't use one of those filters. I don't know what I'm going to do yet. I'm leaning towards nothing and hope for the best.

Yes polarized camera filters. Sunglasses won't work :)
 
I will have to look through my camera bag and see if any of the ones i have are polarized or not.

When i first read your post i thought ah a qt would be easy to setup but with the bacteria bloom i can see why that is not an option.
 
I wouldn't worry about a biofilter for a QT in this instance, the antibiotics would knock out the biofilter anyway ;) IMO, if you wait till the lights have been out for a bit and then use a bright flashlight to momentarily stun him, you will be able to get him out with minimal stress. The odds for a wound like that to get infected are high, and with a deep cut like that an infection would go systemic quickly. Worrying about the next spawn would be a low priority IMO.
 
I just read this whole thread start to finish to see how it turned out. Your persistance i commendable. I thought maybe you would have gotten out of it by the end but instead, you've expanded! You've come a long ways. Congrats!!

I have a Maroon clown pair that hosts a GBTA. I've had the BTA for going on 4 years now. The Maroons I've had for about two years.

They started laying eggs on the back glass about 9 months ago. I get a new large batch of eggs about once a week. I've never stayed up to watch them hatch because everything I've read says they hatch in the early morning hours. I didn't even know if they would hatch because of my moonlight (which replicates moon phases but can be bright). I also didn't know if the male was doing a good enough job fanning them.

Well, last night, I went to feed some of my acan lords about 30 min. after lights out. For the first time, I found the tank was swarming with clown larva! They were a little bigger and more active than I would have imagined. The corals were feeding on them. But I did dip some out into a cup.

I've thought about trying to raise them before. I do have Wilkerson's Clownfish book and have read the whole thing. If I make a go of it, I think I would probably go smaller than your setup.

I don't think I would try to raise every batch. I think I would end up with way more than I could handle. Plus, I don't know how hard it would be to sell them or move them if I needed to.

Maroons will start to fight with each other after they get too old. I'll have to read up to see how long I could keep them together. I would probably use my 24 gal. Aquapod for a growout tank.

I'll have to look in to that instant rotifer food that you spoke about. Not having to keep phyto going would be a huge relief. I would probably spend the extra money on decapsulated BBS instead of fighting the shells as well.

I definitely want to try a few small batches just to see if I can do it. Thanks for all the great photos. I have an old, cold, limestone basement too. It's good to see you're making it work down there. I have a small house and will have to plan where to arrange everything. I envision using all 3 levels of the house!! Wife is excited now, but I have a feeling she won't be once she sees the reality of it. lol

Maybe I'll start a thread to when I get around to it. I've always got a new batch of eggs coming.

Sorry to see that gash on your male. I hope he recovers. I guess on the bright side, if you lose him, it's not like you have a shortage of juvies to take his place!

If something happens to him, will you look for anything special in the fish you choose to replace him with? Like demeanor or color? Or will it be a random, lucky winner?

Also, do you think if you replaced him that the newbie would catch a disease in your display?? I'm glad you brought that up because I hadn't thought of it and I am concerned by that aspect. Wouldn't most of the clowns the store sells go to a mixed tank? Is there anyway to rear them that would prepare their immune systems better??

(Sorry for the long post and all the questions!) But thank you for your time.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14483159#post14483159 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by vessxpress1
....

I've thought about trying to raise them before. I do have Wilkerson's Clownfish book and have read the whole thing. If I make a go of it, I think I would probably go smaller than your setup.

I don't think I would try to raise every batch. I think I would end up with way more than I could handle. Plus, I don't know how hard it would be to sell them or move them if I needed to.

Maroons will start to fight with each other after they get too old. I'll have to read up to see how long I could keep them together. I would probably use my 24 gal. Aquapod for a growout tank. ....
I breed maroon clowns and as long as you don't disturb them they will continue to lay eggs (so you will have many chances), and I haven't had any problems with the male fanning the eggs.

About them fighting, this is true however they start fighting very early on, right after metamorphosis. However if you have enough of them they usually spread out the fighting enough that not one gets picked on. If you have couple smaller ones it is good to separate them so they grow better. I put a couple of the smaller ones I had in a breeders net in the same grow out tank.

If you have a local fish club that is how I sold a lot of mine. Also talk to your LFS and you might be able to make a deal with them.

I have to say once they are about 3 weeks to 1 month old they are pretty hardy and it's just a matter of them growing. It's the first 2 weeks that are the hardest.

If you do choose to raise them good luck. O and to boost their immune system make sure they get DHA.
 
Billsreef- The next spawn isn't really what concerns me. They did quit for a few months once. He appears to be tending the nest ok and acting normal for now. I think I'm just going to observe him closely and wait and see.

vessxpress1- "I just read this whole thread start to finish to see how it turned out. Your persistance i commendable. I thought maybe you would have gotten out of it by the end but instead, you've expanded! You've come a long ways. Congrats!!"

Thanks I appreciate it. Its alot of work. But its worth it.

"They started laying eggs on the back glass about 9 months ago. I get a new large batch of eggs about once a week. I've never stayed up to watch them hatch because everything I've read says they hatch in the early morning hours. I didn't even know if they would hatch because of my moonlight (which replicates moon phases but can be bright). I also didn't know if the male was doing a good enough job fanning them."

Mine hatch with moonlights on. No problem.

"Well, last night, I went to feed some of my acan lords about 30 min. after lights out. For the first time, I found the tank was swarming with clown larva! They were a little bigger and more active than I would have imagined. The corals were feeding on them. But I did dip some out into a cup."

That's a pretty cool sight isn't it? Your corals I'm sure love them.

"I've thought about trying to raise them before. I do have Wilkerson's Clownfish book and have read the whole thing. If I make a go of it, I think I would probably go smaller than your setup."

Well as you've read I started alot smaller. The demand in my area has allowed me to expand.

"I don't think I would try to raise every batch. I think I would end up with way more than I could handle. Plus, I don't know how hard it would be to sell them or move them if I needed to."

With maroons you are probably right.

"Maroons will start to fight with each other after they get too old. I'll have to read up to see how long I could keep them together. I would probably use my 24 gal. Aquapod for a growout tank."

That would work. I don't know how long they could be kept. I'd think after they reach 6 months it would be a bloodbath..

:I'll have to look in to that instant rotifer food that you spoke about. Not having to keep phyto going would be a huge relief. I would probably spend the extra money on decapsulated BBS instead of fighting the shells as well."

I love the Roti Diet. I also as you've probably read stopped using BBS. Otohime is a great replacement and much easier.


If you try definitely start a thread. You'll get lots of help here.

"If something happens to him, will you look for anything special in the fish you choose to replace him with? Like demeanor or color? Or will it be a random, lucky winner?"

Oh yeah. I'm a picky bugger. The replacement would have to be a "Perfect" fish.

"Also, do you think if you replaced him that the newbie would catch a disease in your display?? I'm glad you brought that up because I hadn't thought of it and I am concerned by that aspect. Wouldn't most of the clowns the store sells go to a mixed tank? Is there anyway to rear them that would prepare their immune systems better??"

No I think you misunderstood something I said.. I would just QT him and drop him in after a month.

"(Sorry for the long post and all the questions!) But thank you for your time."

No problem any time :)
 
well I had more time to read through the thread I would say you have masterd the art of raising fry. good work and dedication. I think this has thread of the month written all over it. Also if you are looking to unload any of those babys I am very interesed.
 
Thanks FUA. I don't think anyone ever Masters it. There are always curveballs thrown at you that sometimes cannot be explained. Right now I have a bacteria bloom in 2 tanks of very young fry. I treated them both and one cleared in 2 days the other one is still a little cloudy after a week. Its the same water / heaters / filtration / Fish, bioload. It doesn't make sense.
 
Just to let you know. It was after my bacteria bloom the the flared gills came out with a vengance. I would be careful and watch for that!

FB
 
He appears to be healing ok. I'll take a pic tomorrow and post it. I'm pulling the tile tonight so I'll wait until that's done. He's nervous and I don't want him to eat the eggs on me.
 
I finally got some pictures. He's healing nicely and appears to have no infection. This is quite a relief.

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On a side note: My cleaner shrimp have eggs! :) I know breeding shrimp can be pretty hard. I might make an attempt in the future. I'm keeping an eye on them so I have an Idea of the incubation period.

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