Xth attempt raising clownfish

Thanks Steve! so far so good....

When I was expecting 400 to hatch, I was not concerned about these few premies. Now that they are all I have, their importance is increased!
 
Kathy,

Every one is important :) Glad you got a few to survive. Looking forward to hearing about your next batch too :)

Brian
 
fed them some NHBS last night, and their little bellies got big fast. At least 2 of them did. Not sure about the third. He is either advanced, and getting ready to metamorphose, or on death's door, hanging around the bottom of the tank. Maybe both....

The 2 swimmers are starting to change a bit. Fuller bodies, etc. Probably will metamorphose this weekend.

I have to get them out of the tiny tank they are in. It is so small, it is hard to clean. There is apparantly no ammonia (yeah!!!!) but there is lots of schmutz, algae, etc. And no matter how many rotifers I remove, I can't get the concentration down below 20/ml... They just love it in there, and thrive on the 80 degree temp, and the abundant live nannochloropsis.

If i can get the system started the weekend, and I hope to do so, I can move them to a 10 gallon, and start the flow! I will take some pix soon of the developing system, and post pictures in another thread. I am new to plumbing, and this is one of the things one wants to get right the first time.....

Cheers,
Kathy
 
Good luck Kathy, may the plumbing gods smile on you ;) I can't wait to see pics of your system all set up and running.

I'm trying to plan out a rearing system with a central sump, I too love a good challenge. I'm building a test overflow that I will start a thread on soon, I think it just might work for the tiniest of babies, but I want to test it on my latest hatch (closely monitored) first and see how it does.

Good Luck!

Jason

P.S. At the rate I'm going, I'll probably be down in the 10% range too when it's all said and done ;)
 
Kathy,

Good luck with the plumbing. Had to start mine over again as I have forgotten the space required for the drains from the tanks. But have new bits and will look at getting this all sorted out.

Good luck with the next hatch, looking forward to the progress.

How has the vacation time been?

Steve
 
Steve, vacation is all good. Not much time to work on the tanks, though with the kids and the holidays, but some progress has been made.

Sadly, but not unexpectedly, one of the new larva died today. The other two are doing well, getting some pigment, and seeming to grow very fast. My brine shrimp did not hatch this evening, I hope nothing is wrong. Hopefully, it is just that the basement is cooler now, and the hatch is a bit delayed. I think the larvae will last on rotifers until tomorrow.

I pick up eggs tomorrow, so wish me luck!
 
I do wish you luck! I hope that I too have good luck with my eggs that were layed this afternoon. There are a lot more of them this time, probably close to two-hundred.

I still have 11 from my fist hatch, I hope you get a lot more than that!

Jason
 
It's gonna be hard to beat you Jason! For a newbie, you sure are doing well! (We really are not competing...)

Good luck with your eggs!
 
Collected eggs today. They look ripe!
2 little premies hatched amost as soon as I got them home. One egg fell off the tile, and I captured a short video of it under the microscope. It's little heart was beating, but I am NOT throwing it at Ed.:)

How do I post movies here?
 
You have to host them somewhere and post a link.

I have a theory -- sometimes preemies hatch when you move the nest because of the increased activity. The babies think it's dad's signal to hatch. Well, at least my dads seem to give the eggs the go ahead signal. (Either that or the eggs are talking to dad saying 'help us out.')
 
Kathy, I maintain the web server for my reef club, and could host a short video or two for you. I'll PM you.

Jason
 
Thanks, Jason!
Here's a picture of a clownfish preemie:

It's yolk sac is so big, it can't do anything but lie on its back. This one is still alive, and I think it is one of the two that survived the iodine incident.
56462Preemie_0516.jpg
 
Now is the bewitching hour. I think I have a hatch. I crept downstairs with a shielded flashlight and counted about 4 larvae in the tank, and its still early. I'll leave them alone now that my curiosity is settled.

I guess I counted the days right this time. Tonight the majority should hatch!
 
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