Perc clownfish pair help

[Devvo131]

I have a mature pair of Perc clownfish that are paid, not sure on their exact age but I imagine they won't get mush bigger, a friend of mine has a 2 pair clowns (Perc) and they are about half the size of mine. I'd guess my clowns are about 3-4 inches. Female is 3-4" & male is roughly 2.5-3".

I have had these clowns for about 6 months and they won't lay eggs, they have a plant pot that they love, almost similar to a clownfish hosting an anemone. These clowns were in a 6ft tank (500L) and way away from other fish, and they failed to lay eggs, also they were showing the right signs, non stop cleaning the pot and also looked like they were vibrating across the pot cleaning, but no eggs.

So about 2 weeks ago i moved the clowns + their pot to an empty 90L tank, they have the pot and a few fake anemones in the tank as I read it makes them feel safe. But no eggs! Help anyone? Don't know what else todo.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

What are you feeding them? Also I suggest that you go do some reading in the fish breeding forum http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=86

There is lots of information in there about breeding and how to raise the fry.

 

[Devvo131]

I feed then 'New Era' flake food and the occasional bit of frozen chopped muscle

 

[ItsTheNano]

let nature do its thing. mine didnt start laying eggs until about one & a half year after getting paired. they also started cleaning the rock for about 5 months before they laid anything.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

You need to feed a better quality of food. Go read the breeding forums and you will see what they are feeding their breeding pairs.

 

[Devvo131]

Thanks mate, I'll take a look.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

I would feed them NLS pellets and frozen mysis shrimp and LRS frozen foods. They need a mix of high quality food and I don't think they'll get that from flake

 

[ThRoewer]

It can sometimes take a year or more. I found it helpful to add a pair of Pseudochromis or Calloplesiops. Those start spawning quickly when mature and all the sex going on in the tank will get the clowns in the mood to get going themselves. In the past it worked for my percula pairs like a charm every time.
Though my current percs are still a bit too small. But the fridmani can hardly contain themselves - I hardly ever see the male and the female always looks like an inflated puffer fish.

 

[Devvo131]

I'll give it a try, thank you! I understand it can take a while, but I know people who have done it in under 2 months.
I'm used to breeding freshwater fish but this is my first try at saltwater and well... It's difficult

 

[ThRoewer]

...I'm used to breeding freshwater fish but this is my first try at saltwater and well... It's difficult

No, freshwater is way more difficult: almost every fish comes from a different river with different water parameters and it is really tricky to do it right for all. Also usually the fish are way less hardy. I had them dying on me all the time.

Reef fish on the other hand need all the same water (the minimal salinity variations of some areas are not really an issue). I also find saltwater fish to be hardier once settled in.

The hardest thing with breeding reef fish is finding and cultivating the right food.

I bred my first clownfish 34 years ago and managed to raise two individuals on the first attempt in a little hang on tank inside the parents tank.
It's a bit harder if you want to raise commercial quantities, but even that can be done with a bit effort and technology.

 

[Devvo131]

So what food would you recommend exactly and what feeding times/ quantity?

Thanks for all the help also.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

NLS pellets are hard to beat. My male is kind of picky on pellets and only eats the .5mm size I'm trying to make him eat the larger 1mm size which still isn't very big. Also feed frozen mysis and LRS frozen mix. Give a variety of good quality food for them to be healthy and happy.

 

[Devvo131]

Any idea if that stuff is possible to get in the UK? I can only find US stores that sell it, any UK sites to get them from?

 

[Dkuhlmann]

I did a Google search for NLS pellets in the UK and came up with a bunch of places. If this link doesn't work for you to order from just Google it.

http://nlspectrum.co.uk/range

http://nlspectrum.co.uk/contact

 

[Devvo131]

Alright thanks mate also I have a carribbean anemone (white with purple tips) and the upper tenticals have started to get a shade of brown on them, just wondering if you would know why that is? ( it's in a differnt tank to the clownfish)

 

[Dkuhlmann]

What do you have for lighting, where is the anemone in the tank, what are the water parameters of that tank?

Remember to use Google for anything you are looking for. It's a great tool to have and the most widely used search engine by far

 

[Devvo131]

White/BLUE LED, the anemone sits perfectly between 2 rocks facing up to the surface, iv had it for about 6 months. So it's just a recent thing, the only obvious thing is that my nitrate level is too high, I read somewhere that anemones turning brown could be due to high nitrate levels so it must be that. I have a 500 Litre tank but currently only have a fluval 306 external filter hooked up, so I'm gonna be setting up a trickle system sump soon.