Xth attempt raising clownfish
- Thread starter Kathy55g
- Start date
jnowell
New member
Awesome Kathy! Looks like this may be the big one! I have high hopes for my new nest too, but I think the proverbial "don't count your eggs before they hatch" definitely applies here. 
It's great to hear that so many have fat little bellies, and are actively hunting, sounds like a good batch. Best of luck to ya'!
Jason
It's great to hear that so many have fat little bellies, and are actively hunting, sounds like a good batch. Best of luck to ya'!
Jason
I go to the hardware store, Home Depot is the big box one here. There is an area where they have 4 inch by 4 inch ceramic tiles that people use in their bathroom or kitchen to prevent water damage to their walls, or just to decorate. It is made of kiln fired clay with a glassy glaze on one side, ususally. Actually, the one my friend is using is not glassy, but kind of rough on the finished side. Anyway, the friend's clownfish laid their eggs on the back wall of his 100 gallon tank. My friend just hung this tile over the spot where they last laid the eggs using fishing line tied around the tile and slipping a loop of it over the overflow teeth to secure it in place. He has 2 tiles, which is good, because his fish spawn again the day after a hatch, so when he removes an egg filled tile he replaces with the duplicate empty tile right away.
Of the large hatch, only 2 dead ones this evening. Some are focusing on the dark walls of the tank, but the way the light hits them, they have large silver bellies, so they must be eating. Many are swimming in the middle.
The other earlier hatch two are in a small tank to the side. The larger one has a nice white band on it's head, and is clearly metemorphosing. The smaller one was swimming nicely this evening, looking a little plump on the belly. I was thinking that it was eating bbs now, finally. I went back to look in the tank SECONDS later, and the smaller one is GONE. I did not take anything out of the tank, but that larvae is no where. I looked everywhere. I even found a dead fish body, but it was too decomposed to be my little guy. I do not know what happened to him--a complete mystery....
In sum, I have 10 gallons in a 20 gallon tank with 100+ larvae, Day 3, and 2 gallons in a 10 gallon tank with one lonely juvenile. Next week, when the big hatch larvae have metamorphosed, I'll move him to join them. They should all be eating the same things then.
Cheers,
Kathy
The other earlier hatch two are in a small tank to the side. The larger one has a nice white band on it's head, and is clearly metemorphosing. The smaller one was swimming nicely this evening, looking a little plump on the belly. I was thinking that it was eating bbs now, finally. I went back to look in the tank SECONDS later, and the smaller one is GONE. I did not take anything out of the tank, but that larvae is no where. I looked everywhere. I even found a dead fish body, but it was too decomposed to be my little guy. I do not know what happened to him--a complete mystery....
In sum, I have 10 gallons in a 20 gallon tank with 100+ larvae, Day 3, and 2 gallons in a 10 gallon tank with one lonely juvenile. Next week, when the big hatch larvae have metamorphosed, I'll move him to join them. They should all be eating the same things then.
Cheers,
Kathy
It won't be long for you!
Lonely Larry looked good this morning, having gone to ground the way I have heard they are supposed to during metamorphosis. He still has a full belly.
The baby larvae are doing very well. Only a couple dead this morning. Most have very full bellies-its a wonder they can swim.
I have to remove rotifers once or twice a day. Even though there are so many larvae, they cannot keep up with these prolific critters. This morning I took some out, then I took some more out and fortified them with rotifer diet before returning them to the tank, since I cannot add rots from my culture jug, and I wanted to introduce more fatty acid diversity than just the nannochloropsis that I use to cloud the rearing tank.
Still have some that are not peanut shaped. They are running out of time. I will not be surprised if I come home today to a lot dead. The yolk sac is only supposed to last 3 days or so. This is day 4...
Cheers,
Kathy
Lonely Larry looked good this morning, having gone to ground the way I have heard they are supposed to during metamorphosis. He still has a full belly.
The baby larvae are doing very well. Only a couple dead this morning. Most have very full bellies-its a wonder they can swim.
I have to remove rotifers once or twice a day. Even though there are so many larvae, they cannot keep up with these prolific critters. This morning I took some out, then I took some more out and fortified them with rotifer diet before returning them to the tank, since I cannot add rots from my culture jug, and I wanted to introduce more fatty acid diversity than just the nannochloropsis that I use to cloud the rearing tank.
Still have some that are not peanut shaped. They are running out of time. I will not be surprised if I come home today to a lot dead. The yolk sac is only supposed to last 3 days or so. This is day 4...
Cheers,
Kathy
massive death, night of day 8
massive death, night of day 8
The larvae had been doing very well. Only a couple of dead each day. The living were divided into two camps. One group hugging the back wall, and another group swimming in the middle. Hoff's book says that wall huggers are doomed, but they all had full bellies yesterday. Everything seemed to be OK. I fed them some finely powdered cyclopeeze and formula 1 several times throughout the day, there were tons of rots in there, and I fed them some bbs, but not a lot. Ammonia seems to be climbing slightly, so I thought it would be OK to introduce a sponge filter that has been running in my other tank's sump for a couple of weeks. It was kind of funny, when I put that in, I noticed that most of the larvae swimming near it stopped swimming, like they were resting. There was not a strong current near it, but a trickle of water coming out of the top.
Last evening everything looked good. The larvae were swimming around fat and happy.
It was Day 7, and many of the larvae were doing the tail curling thing that Joyce's book says is indicative of impending metamorphosis. Good! Some were getting some dark pigment, and I imagined seeing a tiny white band on top of their little heads.
This morning, half of them are dead. There are hardly any on the back wall. The ones swimming looked thin and fatigued. Feeding powdered food caused some activity, but not as much as I would like to see. I fed them bbs, but I am afraid it may be too big for their tired mouths to get around. I did a rotifer count on the tank water, and for the first time it is down less than 8 per ml. I am enriching some to add right now. I also added a little choramX to help detox the ammonia. I don't understand what happened. My previous batch from September had no losses at this time in the life cycle.
My guesses:
1. Joyce says metamorphosis can kill them all by itself, although my September hatch had no losses before or during metamorphosis.
2.Something wrong with the sponge filter
3. I didn't feed them enough last night.
4. The wall huggers were, as Hoff says, doomed, and this is their time to go.
Anyone else have a thought about this large die off?
Thanks in advance,
Kathy
massive death, night of day 8
The larvae had been doing very well. Only a couple of dead each day. The living were divided into two camps. One group hugging the back wall, and another group swimming in the middle. Hoff's book says that wall huggers are doomed, but they all had full bellies yesterday. Everything seemed to be OK. I fed them some finely powdered cyclopeeze and formula 1 several times throughout the day, there were tons of rots in there, and I fed them some bbs, but not a lot. Ammonia seems to be climbing slightly, so I thought it would be OK to introduce a sponge filter that has been running in my other tank's sump for a couple of weeks. It was kind of funny, when I put that in, I noticed that most of the larvae swimming near it stopped swimming, like they were resting. There was not a strong current near it, but a trickle of water coming out of the top.
Last evening everything looked good. The larvae were swimming around fat and happy.
It was Day 7, and many of the larvae were doing the tail curling thing that Joyce's book says is indicative of impending metamorphosis. Good! Some were getting some dark pigment, and I imagined seeing a tiny white band on top of their little heads.
This morning, half of them are dead. There are hardly any on the back wall. The ones swimming looked thin and fatigued. Feeding powdered food caused some activity, but not as much as I would like to see. I fed them bbs, but I am afraid it may be too big for their tired mouths to get around. I did a rotifer count on the tank water, and for the first time it is down less than 8 per ml. I am enriching some to add right now. I also added a little choramX to help detox the ammonia. I don't understand what happened. My previous batch from September had no losses at this time in the life cycle.
My guesses:
1. Joyce says metamorphosis can kill them all by itself, although my September hatch had no losses before or during metamorphosis.
2.Something wrong with the sponge filter
3. I didn't feed them enough last night.
4. The wall huggers were, as Hoff says, doomed, and this is their time to go.
Anyone else have a thought about this large die off?
Thanks in advance,
Kathy
ediaz
Active member
Try to keep one of those digital termometers on top of the tank that way you have the temp on your face at all times that is what I do.
I don't know if that will kill them since it has never happened to me but if an enviromental factor was the culprit it will kill more than half.
It seems they are not getting enough artemia? 8 days that is pretty big.
I'll go for nutrition or underdevelopment.
Ed
I don't know if that will kill them since it has never happened to me but if an enviromental factor was the culprit it will kill more than half.
It seems they are not getting enough artemia? 8 days that is pretty big.
I'll go for nutrition or underdevelopment.
Ed
jacob30
Member
Not sure. I would say the temp since they're still larvae (if juveniles then definitely not since I kept 5 at around 68deg F for a week recently). If their stomachs looked full I would rule out the rotifers. Maybe a nutrition issue. Were you still keeping greenwater in with them? What are you feeding your Rots? IA right? Had you started them on BBS yet??
Good luck with the rest!
Jacob
Good luck with the rest!
Jacob
I was keeping greenwater in there. I feed the rots rotifer diet, which is nanno and something else, I forget, paste.
I had started them on bbs, but not enough, I think.
I had started them on dry cyclopeeze and formula 1, and I think they were eating it, because their stomachs turned golden, but I am not sure I fed enough. It is hard to know how much. I pulverized it in a mortar and pestle, and then put it in a pill bottle with organza stretched over the top. the organza can also be used to strain bbs, so I thought anything that gets thru would be appropriatly sized. It is a very fine dust like powder. Hard to know how much to put in.
Need advice, anyone got some?
Kathy
I had started them on bbs, but not enough, I think.
I had started them on dry cyclopeeze and formula 1, and I think they were eating it, because their stomachs turned golden, but I am not sure I fed enough. It is hard to know how much. I pulverized it in a mortar and pestle, and then put it in a pill bottle with organza stretched over the top. the organza can also be used to strain bbs, so I thought anything that gets thru would be appropriatly sized. It is a very fine dust like powder. Hard to know how much to put in.
Need advice, anyone got some?
Kathy
ediaz
Active member
My larvae would not care about cyclo or F1 at that age, 8 days even when they should be bigger than yours, I keep them at 84 deg.
I offer artemia at day 4-5 and watch them eat, the stomach will go from a mix of silver/pink to just pink (or orange)
feed them more artemia and watch them
Ed
I offer artemia at day 4-5 and watch them eat, the stomach will go from a mix of silver/pink to just pink (or orange)
feed them more artemia and watch them
Ed
