Ok, I've gotten a little further each clutch that I have gotten from my ocellaris. I have 7 still from the first clutch that are almost 9 weeks, and another 16-17 black ocellaris that are 2 weeks on thursday. In other words, I must have done something right...
I received a pair of True Percs from Traveller7 a little over a month ago. They settled back into their breeding rhythm, and gave me a nest a week ago. They laid it on tile, so it made for easy removal.
I did these steps last night, pretty much the same as I did with my successful Ocellaris clutches.
Removed about 4 gallons from my main reef system, put it in a 10g tank, setup a bubbler on each end (stone bubbler, so the bubbles aren't too fine). Let that sit with the heater for 3 hours to make sure it was adjusted right. Temp matched the reef (80F), pH was between 8.2 and 8.4 (my normal day / night swing), SG was 1.024. Set the tile up so the bubbler aerated the eggs, same way I did for the ocellaris, not too much, not too little, just enough to keep the eggs moving without bashing the fry.
Woke up this morning to find half the clutch dead on the bottom. Siphoned them out, and replaced the cup or so of water with fresh water from the reef. Dripped the replacement water, checked the parameters, all were the same as above. I then added "L" strain rotifers to the tank. Tonight I look in, and the other half were dead on the bottom. Once again, I check my numbers, still, same as above. My routine was the same as for the ocellaris, and each clutch of ocellaris I keep increasing my numbers (early clutches were learning curves, mostly I didn't have enough rotifer density). Lighting wasn't the issue, as when I checked them this afternoon, the remaining fry were swiming all about, middle and top 1/3 of the tank. I use a 7w mini flourescent for lighting, with a paper towel taped to it so the intensity is fairly low. The fry tanks have black sides, so its not side lighting.
Bad rotifers? I dunno, the Ocellaris fry did just fine. Too large rotifers? (I didn't think Percs need "S" strain) If so, that still doesn't explain the half that were gone this morning. Is it possible that it was just a weak clutch, as this is the first clutch they laid for me since they were shipped to me?
Wilkerson suggests the following for Day 1 losses:
1. Transfer damage (not the issue, as I transferred the tile, and they hatched in the fry tank)
2. Improper physical environment (Airstones were set the same as they were with my successful ocellaris clutches)
3. Lethal top lighting (see above, I doubt it was the case)
4. Improper food size (could be for the survivors, but how about the original losses?)
Thoughts?
I received a pair of True Percs from Traveller7 a little over a month ago. They settled back into their breeding rhythm, and gave me a nest a week ago. They laid it on tile, so it made for easy removal.
I did these steps last night, pretty much the same as I did with my successful Ocellaris clutches.
Removed about 4 gallons from my main reef system, put it in a 10g tank, setup a bubbler on each end (stone bubbler, so the bubbles aren't too fine). Let that sit with the heater for 3 hours to make sure it was adjusted right. Temp matched the reef (80F), pH was between 8.2 and 8.4 (my normal day / night swing), SG was 1.024. Set the tile up so the bubbler aerated the eggs, same way I did for the ocellaris, not too much, not too little, just enough to keep the eggs moving without bashing the fry.
Woke up this morning to find half the clutch dead on the bottom. Siphoned them out, and replaced the cup or so of water with fresh water from the reef. Dripped the replacement water, checked the parameters, all were the same as above. I then added "L" strain rotifers to the tank. Tonight I look in, and the other half were dead on the bottom. Once again, I check my numbers, still, same as above. My routine was the same as for the ocellaris, and each clutch of ocellaris I keep increasing my numbers (early clutches were learning curves, mostly I didn't have enough rotifer density). Lighting wasn't the issue, as when I checked them this afternoon, the remaining fry were swiming all about, middle and top 1/3 of the tank. I use a 7w mini flourescent for lighting, with a paper towel taped to it so the intensity is fairly low. The fry tanks have black sides, so its not side lighting.
Bad rotifers? I dunno, the Ocellaris fry did just fine. Too large rotifers? (I didn't think Percs need "S" strain) If so, that still doesn't explain the half that were gone this morning. Is it possible that it was just a weak clutch, as this is the first clutch they laid for me since they were shipped to me?
Wilkerson suggests the following for Day 1 losses:
1. Transfer damage (not the issue, as I transferred the tile, and they hatched in the fry tank)
2. Improper physical environment (Airstones were set the same as they were with my successful ocellaris clutches)
3. Lethal top lighting (see above, I doubt it was the case)
4. Improper food size (could be for the survivors, but how about the original losses?)
Thoughts?
