Uncommon Spawning

[phender]

I'm thinking there might be only a handful of you left on this board that have ever seen this species in person. The pics aren't great and they don't show the true carmel color of the fish, but its the best I could do without scaring them.
Here is the evidence. They are not done laying yet.

The female making her pass.

Male making his pass in the background.

I've had these fish for 6 years. I bought them as juveniles. They never showed much bonding behavior, but they didn't beat each other up. At one point the male started to catch up to the female in size and I thought that maybe he was turning into a female. They usually stayed on separate sides of the tank. About a year ago I gave them an anemone. She went in it right away, but wouldn't let him near it. About a month ago, he decided he wanted in too. It took about 2 weeks of hanging around before the female let him in. With a week they were laying eggs. This is their second spawn.

No, I won't be raising the babies. Although they have their own subdued beauty, there is not much of a market for "brown clowns". In addition (if I remember right) the babies hatch out very tiny (too tiny to eat regular sized rotifers) and are difficult to deal with.

I have an older pic that shows the carmel color a lot better, but the site is taking waaaay too long to load it.

Almost forgot to tell what they were. They are A. akindynos (aka: Barrier Reef clowns). They are pretty common in Northeastern Australia. However, I think these were collected in New Caledonia.

 

[nino4u]

Congrats on the spawning... Unfortunately you dont want the fry... If I was closer ill take them...

 

[Fishboy42]

Very cool Phil; thanks for sharing!

 

[celamb89]

congrats!

 

[Reefvette]

How big are they phender?

My breeding pair was huge when they started the female was close to 5 inches and the male 3.5.

Phender they are fine with rotifers they are large enough to eat them.

They are currently at a aquaculture facility breeding. The reason i didnt raise babies is because they dont get that awsome coloring until they are over a year old.

Too long for the regular hobbyist to wait.

 

[phender]

How big are they phender?

My breeding pair was huge when they started the female was close to 5 inches and the male 3.5.

Phender they are fine with rotifers they are large enough to eat them.

They are currently at a aquaculture facility breeding. The reason i didnt raise babies is because they dont get that awsome coloring until they are over a year old.

Too long for the regular hobbyist to wait.

I was very surprised to see them spawning. The female is only about 3.5" and the male is about 3". Maybe its a function of them being in a "smallish" 50 gal. tank. I figured the female would have to be much bigger before she spawned.

Right now I have A. sandaracinos eggs (they've been breeding for several years) and A. akindynos eggs. Both are great fish. Unfortunately in both cases the babies from one spawning pretty much floods the local market for over a year. You know how long it takes to find homes for 300 orange skunk clowns? Wholesalers don't even want more than about 20 at a time.

Its just not worth setting up the rotifer cultures and stuff. If I already was raising ocellaris or fancy percs then it would be easy to mix in the skunks and akindynos every once in a while, but setting up a little hatchery just for one or two spawns isn't really worth it, at least not for me.

Here is a old pic of the female's caramel coloring. Before anyone asks, no, I don't still have the green gig. It was in bad shape when I got it, but I took a chance because of the nice color. It only lasted about a month.

 

[deangelr]

:thumbsup:

 

[Reefvette]

Good job, When the parents get bigger that head stripe will seperate and it it will look like a misbar.

I wish some of mine would hit the market so i can buy some babies.

 

[phender]

Good job, When the parents get bigger that head stripe will seperate and it it will look like a misbar.

I wish some of mine would hit the market so i can buy some babies.

I'm thinking you should qualify for free babies.

 

[Reefvette]

Nope i dont own a business so i gotta get them retail.

 

[fingerwrinkles]

I actually have a pretty amazing story about this species. Back in 2002/03 I had a pair that spawned pretty regularly but aside from the novelty I didn't raise many of them to market size. I decided to find them a new home and I think it was MarinaP that was looking for some at the same time. Although I was a little nervous shipping them cross-country due to their size, we decided to give it a go.

The pair was packed up and sent on their way, and if my memory is correct I think just for kicks I sent along some of the fry (or perhaps a nest) from the pair's most recent hatch. I don't recall whether the fry / nest survived or not, but I do recall this part ... upon arrival each fish was put into a conditioning container for the adjustment period. In the case of the female, she was put in one of those tall round plastic pitchers that you might use in the summer to make kool-aid or ice tea. Anyhow, after the conditioning period the new owner tried to gently release the female into the QT tank with the male. However, the female wouldn't come out of the pitcher and even insisted on swimming back into the pitcher when the water was poured out. As this was rather odd behavior the new owner let the female back into the pitcher and then turned the pitcher up to look inside. At the bottom side of the pitcher there was some light colored material which initially appeared to either be regurgitated food (although they were purged before shipping) or waste. However, upon closer examination it became apparent that they were eggs. So, while the female was being conditioned into her new home, she proceeded to put down a nest in the holding container!

Needless to say, this was a really cool story and last I heard (a few years back) the pair had adjusted well and continued to produce.

 

[tpdpercula]

Congrats, beautiful pair!

 

[LesMartin]

My LFS has a pair of these in at the moment and they have been there for a couple of months. I guess they aren't as popular as ocellaris, percs etc

 

[Dan]

I was very surprised to see them spawning. The female is only about 3.5" and the male is about 3". Maybe its a function of them being in a "smallish" 50 gal. tank. I figured the female would have to be much bigger before she spawned.

Funny, my Latz just spawned also. They are less than 4 inches (in a 60 cube). I guess that, while we tend to use size to judge maturity, it is only a generalization. When they are ready....well....they are ready. Congrats Phil.

Dan