think my clowns are breeding?

[7808]

i noticed yesterday my larger clown has a fat belly its alot fatter then the other one, that usually a good sign its gona lay some eggs lol ?

i have 2 petstore tank bred clowns (1.5yrs or so) one larger more agressive one small they get along i have a 20gal tank with just some snails a crab and live rock and some wild sea star i found, theres alot of algae in there right now because ive been neglecting the tank for a couple months only doing a few changes and water tests to make sure its liveable, maybe they think the algae is a good place to lay eggs? what happens if a bunch of babys show up in my tank is it too small?

 

[Toddrtrex]

The algae wouldn't be a good place for them to lay eggs --- just the opposite, a clean surface is where they usually lay their eggs. If they are getting ready to spawn you should see them cleaning off a spot to lay the eggs on.

If they do spawn, and the eggs are fertilized they will hatch in about 10-14 days, they will become food for anything else in your tank, and won't survive unless you remove them to a rearing tank.

 

[7808]

the only thing i have large enough to eat them would be the crab, and of course the clowns them selfs (do they eat there own? ) couldnt i just section off the crab or do they forsure need a seprate tank ?

 

[Jamie1210]

you would need to move them to their own tank. these guys are just too tiny and delicate to handle the current from a filter, not to mention that they can easily get "lost" within crevices of live rock, etc and suffocate.

 

[broberts]

They also require special food because they are so small. You will have to move them.

 

[Wolfmann81]

yea, wouldn't survive in this environment. I am surprised that the clowns are breeding at all, being the conditions might not be completely favorable (they tend to be pretty temperamental whether or not they will breed).

 

[Chiefsurfer]

could just be a fat stomach. Just a thought. I would tend to think also that if the tank was neglected some, the conditions are probably not optimal. For this reason, I would think she probably just ate a lot. And yes i think the parents would eat the babies. Almost all fish are canabalistic in this regard.