will clownfish larva eat alternitave foods?

[spamreefnew]

Has anybody ever got newborn clowns to eat anything besides rotifers? They must eat more than just one thing in the wild no?

 

[DesertBandits]

I tried everything and failed. They are just too little to eat most things, and will only eat something they recognize as being alive.

 

[mscarpena]

They do eat more than just rotifers since rotifers are brackish water and not saltwater. Rotiers are just the easiest to culture for food and they work. I have raised clowns many times and I have used frozen rotifers and flake food with minimal success. You can do it, but it will drastically reduce your survival rate to the point it is not worth your time or effort. I was able to get about 60% survival rate, but when I used "alternative methods" it was less than 1%.

 

[billsreef]

They cue in on movement, and eat things the size of rotifers. Copepods nauplii are high on the list, but it's hard to produce enough nauplii of a small enough size in the quantities needed in a reliable fashion. Rotiferes, however, are easily cultured in large quantity on demand, and work as a first food for clownfish.

 

[spamreefnew]

ok is there a way to get a culture going cheap I am on a very tight budget but it would be a shame to watch all the little buggers just die every time

 

[jeff@zina.com]

ok is there a way to get a culture going cheap(

Ask at your local reef club, lots of people will have extras at times and they love to get a second person started in case theirs crashes.

Jeff

 

[deangelr]

good suggestion.. and culturing rotifers is probably cheaper than any "alternativ method"

 

[vono]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but how do you culture rotifers?

 

[billsreef]

There is a good thread on raising phyto, rotifers, etc, in the Breeding Forum.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135137