My Black Ocellaris pair are spawning!!!

[rkelman]

Well its been a REALLY long time since I've updated. I'm on holidays now so I figured I should give an update. Since I've added the Percs to my display the Black O's have only laid eggs once. They haven't laid in almost 2 months now. They are cleaning the tile now so its coming in the next few days. I've started dosing vodka so perhaps that has helped him out some

Its funny the BTA was a beautiful light green. (which should have been my first clue) It was bleached. Now its back to its natural colour I guess which is not that nice. He's grown like crazy and hasn't moved from the rock I bought him on. Here's a pic.

I just got these guys from a local reefer yesterday and they are beautiful. He splits them to sell. The green guy has stayed where I put him. The red one ran for cover last night. Its further down the tank peeking out of a hole. My wife thinks it looks good on me because I put the Red one (I wanted) out front in a prime location and the green one (she wanted) is hidden behind my large finger leather. I actually didn't do it on purpose as I fully expect they will move around anyways.

I put some Caulerpa (2 types) in my fuge and it grew like crazy then died a few weeks later.. Very strange. My next generation pair is doing well. The female is noticeably larger. The fuge looks gross because of all the nutrients in the system. Its likely a waste of time as the volume of fuge I would need to do any good on a system like this would be huge.

Here it is the way it looks right now. Its really not a bad thing they haven't laid in a while. Unless I make my bathroom sink into a growout tank I have no where to put them anyways.

I also had a total Rot meltdown. I couldn't save anything. I think I need to be careful not to get any of my main tank water in with them as there is something there that seems to prey on the Rots. I put some of the crashed culture in a jar and I could see white specks that weren't rots. I added phyto / clean water and nothing happened they just went away. Obviously whatever it is doesn't filter feed but eats Rots. I begged some from the guy I got the BTA's from again last week and I have 2 buckets going strong now. I'll start another one probably tomorrow so I'm ready for this batch. Which BTW I haven't decided to raise yet...

Oh I almost forgot. I kicked the problem I was having with the 2-3 month old guys getting skinny and dying.. Melafix.. Go figure.

 

[landlord]

The last picture is what happens when a zebra falls in a blender



You still got some room in there! That tank on the left is 10 cm from the top. Pleanty of room for more.

Looks very nice

Kurt

 

[rkelman]

Lol. Thanks Kurt. As these guys get bigger there is less and less room. Soon they won't be able to turn around

 

[dazed]

:eek1: rkelman they look great. No need for them to turn around

I wish we did not have to deal with the whole customs thing i would take a pair in a second.

 

[rkelman]

Thanks Dazed. Ya customs is a pain.

Good news I have eggs! They laid today.

 

[gotfrogs]

And on the tile!

 

[rkelman]

Yup. They always lay on the tile in the exact same spot.

 

[rEd86]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15448337#post15448337 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rkelman
Yup. They always lay on the tile in the exact same spot.

I put a tile in my display near where they hang out at night, hoping she'll find that a more suitable place to lay her eggs instead of on the return nozzle.

Is there anything I can do to make it more appealing to her?

--Ed

 

[landlord]

I would try making the return nozzle less appealing, if possible. As long as it's available she'll probably use it.

Kurt

 

[rEd86]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15449658#post15449658 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by landlord
I would try making the return nozzle less appealing, if possible. As long as it's available she'll probably use it.

Yea, I was thinking that I might need to make the return less apppealing - just not sure how to do it. Maybe wrap it in some type of tape or saran wrap that makes the surface unavailable and not conducive to her clutch.

--Ed

 

[landlord]

Wrap it in filter sponge material. Eco Aquatics or Aquatics Eco (some florida aquaculture company) sells it. Locally Just About Fish has rolls as well.

 

[rkelman]

I would do the sponge thing as well. Its strange for them to lay on plastic to begin with... maybe she'll like your tile. I can't think of anything to make the tile more attractive... You could try a clay pot if she won't lay on the tile. The pot becomes more of a "home"

 

[rEd86]

Well I just got back from lunch and it looks like she's cleaning the return and getting ready for another batch. You can see it on the web camera when you look at Clown Nest in the dropdown. (it won't last more than a day) I think I'll let her lay them there this round since it's only her second or third batch and it isn't likely to go anywhere. The male appears to be a little more engaged this time, so maybe they are getting their act together.

I'll take your advice and put the sponge/foam around it to discourage her in the future.

--Ed

 

[rEd86]

Not to hijack your thread rkelman but I wanted to let you know that she's laying eggs RIGHT NOW and this time it's on the bottom of the return so you can see it in the web cam. You can see her profile and the eggs attaching on the return. The camera doesn't stay in perfect focus all the time since there are particles in the water but the detail is there if you're patient.

Pretty cool stuff.

--Ed

 

[rkelman]

Dang I missed it. I think its gone already... the drop down thing didn't do anything.

 

[rEd86]

Yea, she was done by 6pm. They both picked the eggs off this time.

I captured some of the video and will be putting it up on my thread early next week.

BTW: You first have to "Request control" before changing the camera location. If not then the first menu item you select gives you control and you have to change the menu a second time to make it move.

--Ed

 

[rkelman]

Ah ok.

 

[rkelman]

Its been a long time since I updated. Really its been pretty boring. The Black O's haven't layed in a while. They laid that last clutch then nothing since due to me disrupting them with my Perc pair. Its too bad they were getting along well. But its fine because I still have probably 2000 in growout. I removed the Percs about 4 weeks ago with their nem.

I picked up a breeding pair of Regular O's on the weekend. I put them where I had the Percs and banished the Percs to the growout system sump they are paired pretty good so I'll keep them probably and hope for eggs. The new pair is in with the BTA that the Percs were with as the nem can't go into the sump due to lower salinity. Its not liking the small tank and low lighting though. I also knocked over the rock with the nem and since its taken a turn for the worse. If it doesn't look up shortly I may have to make a move with it. Here's some pics wish me luck!

 

[john68camaro]

overflows

overflows

Can you post a picture of your overflows in your tanks? Do you ever have any deaths from fish getting sucked into the overflows?

How soon do you normally move your fry to growout? I was figureing at the 28-30 day mark. As I get a batch every 14 days so I could get away with 2 fry tanks and the rest growout.

 

[rkelman]

I have pictures of the overflows earlier in the thread. I rarely have any issues with fish in the overflows. If they go down I can usually just net them out and put them back. I wouldn't put a fish any younger than probably 30 days at least in growout.