ZC's clownfish breeding thread
- Thread starter Zero Cool
- Start date
duncaholic
New member
Hey great looking fish! I have a question about the Otihime A. My larvae are at 7 days, and I'm trying to start feeding the oto. Mine are in a bucket with the water tinted, so I can't get a side view right now, But from the top it looks like the oto sits on top of the water and never sinks. My larvae aren't coming up to feed, so I'm a little concerned. Do you know if it sinks and/or stays suspended in the water column? When your fish ate it did they come to the top to feed?
Thought about mixing it up with some water from their bucket and trying to get it in the water column that way. Do you think that's a good idea?
Thanks in advance for your answers, and for this thread!!
Thought about mixing it up with some water from their bucket and trying to get it in the water column that way. Do you think that's a good idea?
Thanks in advance for your answers, and for this thread!!
Zero Cool
New member
The otohime will quickly drop down into the water column and float around in there. Most of it will be picked off by the larvae in that time, but some of it will settle on the bottom, which is why bottom siphoning is so important. My larvae never did eat it from the surface until they were a in their second week.
Just drop it onto the surface like you're doing because if you pre mix it with water it will end up on the bottom even faster.
HTH!
Hatched another clutch last night, 1000+ eggs. Most of them are swimming around, maybe 100-200 died before the light even came on, and maybe 100-200 still haven't hatched. The ones that are swimming around seem to be doing better than those from the last batch I attempted. We'll see how they do!
Just drop it onto the surface like you're doing because if you pre mix it with water it will end up on the bottom even faster.
HTH!
Hatched another clutch last night, 1000+ eggs. Most of them are swimming around, maybe 100-200 died before the light even came on, and maybe 100-200 still haven't hatched. The ones that are swimming around seem to be doing better than those from the last batch I attempted. We'll see how they do!
duncaholic
New member
That's awesome. Congtats on the new hatch, and thanks for the 411.
Atticus
New member
Wow, you are doing awesome for this being your first time. You are also very lucky that your pair continued to spawn after shipping. Many times it can take a month to a year before a pair will spawn again once they are moved. Keep up the great work!!!!
Side note: In my growout tanks I used to cover the heater lights with electrical tape or buy heaters without lights. I also put an airstone under the heater to keep the fry from trying to cuddle up to the warm spot in the tank. The problem is that the heated water has lower oxygen content and you can also cook your fry if they get stuck next to the heater. As for sponge filters, I had mine in the tank from day one, but would not turn it on until you are done with rots.
Side note: In my growout tanks I used to cover the heater lights with electrical tape or buy heaters without lights. I also put an airstone under the heater to keep the fry from trying to cuddle up to the warm spot in the tank. The problem is that the heated water has lower oxygen content and you can also cook your fry if they get stuck next to the heater. As for sponge filters, I had mine in the tank from day one, but would not turn it on until you are done with rots.
Zero Cool
New member
Thanks guys!
Atticus: Yeah, I was glad my first pair only took about a month before they started spawning again. My b&w/snowflake pair arrived yesterday and despite overnight shipping and good packaging, the male snowflake was DOA, but the b&w female is fine. Hopefully I'll get a replacement snowflake in the next month or so and also hope they pair up real quick.
The new hatchlings look really good, hunting and already working on the tailcurl/lunge hunting technique, a LOT better than the last batch. The two things that I changed this time were not adding LR and I tinted the water a much darker green, just as I had the first time.
I was reading up one of the breeding forums and it seems that tinting the water green is not only to keep the rotifers well fed, but also to aid the larvae in finding the rotifers, by narrowing their field of vision I'm assuming. Neat stuff!
Tonight the rest should hatch (or not) and I'll put the pot out tomorrow and clean it up to go back into one of the parent tanks, then I'll move the airstone to next to the heater (Atticus, I just thought about it and that may have been the reason why so many fry died before this morning) because it does have a pretty strong indicator light. Hmm, must fix that. Then I'll siphon the dead off the bottom.... yuck! :/
Atticus: Yeah, I was glad my first pair only took about a month before they started spawning again. My b&w/snowflake pair arrived yesterday and despite overnight shipping and good packaging, the male snowflake was DOA, but the b&w female is fine. Hopefully I'll get a replacement snowflake in the next month or so and also hope they pair up real quick.
The new hatchlings look really good, hunting and already working on the tailcurl/lunge hunting technique, a LOT better than the last batch. The two things that I changed this time were not adding LR and I tinted the water a much darker green, just as I had the first time.
I was reading up one of the breeding forums and it seems that tinting the water green is not only to keep the rotifers well fed, but also to aid the larvae in finding the rotifers, by narrowing their field of vision I'm assuming. Neat stuff!
Tonight the rest should hatch (or not) and I'll put the pot out tomorrow and clean it up to go back into one of the parent tanks, then I'll move the airstone to next to the heater (Atticus, I just thought about it and that may have been the reason why so many fry died before this morning) because it does have a pretty strong indicator light. Hmm, must fix that. Then I'll siphon the dead off the bottom.... yuck! :/
Atticus
New member
Just thought I would point that out as a lot of us have lost fry to the indicator light. Make sure to use black tape to block out that light. Another tip is to make sure you are feeding the parents extremely well and a varied diet. If they get behind on nutrition it is hard to catch up and the fry will suffer for it. You will have weak fry and a lot of unexplained die off.
As for your other pair. Be glad the male died. I know it sucks, but it is much easier to replace a male than a breeding female. You need to find a juvenile clown to replace the male. Preferably a clown that has never been away from other clowns. Do not get a wild clown or a clown that has been in a wild caught system. Nothing worse than losing your female to brook while trying to add a mate.
As for your other pair. Be glad the male died. I know it sucks, but it is much easier to replace a male than a breeding female. You need to find a juvenile clown to replace the male. Preferably a clown that has never been away from other clowns. Do not get a wild clown or a clown that has been in a wild caught system. Nothing worse than losing your female to brook while trying to add a mate.
Zero Cool
New member
I've been worried about 'weak fry' and now it looks like that may be the case. I'm feeding the parents a variety of foods (flake, spirulina, pellets, cyclopeeze, frozen) ~4 times a day, but maybe I'm not feeding enough at those times. I'm going to start turning off all pumps and just feeding them until they can't take anymore, lol.
A lot of die-off overnight. There are less than 200 still swimming around by my guesstimate, but funny thing is the one fry with a bent spine is one of those still kickin'!
duncaholic
New member
any updates?
Zero Cool
New member
Not much to update.. Lost a couple of juvies this past weekend, probably from aggression, but the rest are good and growing... around 1/2" now! 
I've been feeding the parents a LOT more food in hopes of beefing up the fry and they laid a new clutch tonight. The eggs look a little better than last time, but still not a bright orange like I wish they were. Nonetheless I'll probably try to raise this clutch.
I've been feeding the parents a LOT more food in hopes of beefing up the fry and they laid a new clutch tonight. The eggs look a little better than last time, but still not a bright orange like I wish they were. Nonetheless I'll probably try to raise this clutch.
Tahoe Reefer
New member
Sorry to hear you lost that male clown. Atticus is right on the money about getting a juvenile. I had a breeding pair of B&W and lost the female, I replaced with a juvenile, the male became female and the juvenile the male. It was 8 months before the new combo was breeding and I'd consider that fast. It was interesting to breed the same fish as a male and then as a female.
Zero Cool
New member
Spot is working on more spots, lol:
And a bunch of these guys are already starting to show black!:
Current batch of eggs should be hatching Wednesday night.. They looked pale when they were laid but I still might give them a try. I've been feeding the parents a ton and hopefully we'll see better quality eggs in the next month or so.
Also, finally got around to working on plumbing the growout tanks. The drain pipe is all cut out and fit together, just need to clean it all up and glue it together and hang it. I'm about to go out there and start on the return piping, weeeee! Hopefully we'll have it all hooked up and testing/cleaning before the end of the week. Don't worry, I'll have pics for you guys.
And a bunch of these guys are already starting to show black!:
Current batch of eggs should be hatching Wednesday night.. They looked pale when they were laid but I still might give them a try. I've been feeding the parents a ton and hopefully we'll see better quality eggs in the next month or so.
Also, finally got around to working on plumbing the growout tanks. The drain pipe is all cut out and fit together, just need to clean it all up and glue it together and hang it. I'm about to go out there and start on the return piping, weeeee! Hopefully we'll have it all hooked up and testing/cleaning before the end of the week. Don't worry, I'll have pics for you guys.
three fish
New member
You have totally inspired me to do this but I may have one problem right off the bat. My job keeps me away from home for 24hrs at a time. About 10 days a month but never more that 24hrs straight, away from home. Is this even possible for me?
DeathWish302
Clown Hoarder
ZC: You started pushing Cyclopeze to those month old juvies? That will punch their color right up.
Zero Cool
New member
Thanks! How are the nems?
Hmm, I suppose it would be possible but it would be tough at times. You would need to have autotop-offs and auto feeders going on the broodstock tank, which is easy, but the hatching tank is different. If you can time it to where the first couple of days after the eggs hatch won't fall on one of your long work days you should be fine. In the first few days you need to keep a close eye on them, and during metamorphasis.
While you're away for an entire day just make sure you have some sort of top off system (I use a milk jug with a tiny hold in the bottom sitting on eggrate) and add enough rotifers to last them until you get home.
Your rotifer cultures should be fine as long as you harvest a little extra the next day.
All in all it should be doable. You'll just have to figure out timing.
Ya, they've been chowing down on cyclopeeze for the last month or so (they'll be 2 months old next week!) along with pulverized flake and some frozen foods. Little piggies.
duncaholic
New member
I haven't been able to keep a hatch alive since the first one. Nothing has changed and still no luck. I'm down to thinking it must either be underfed broodstock or possibly too dense/large rotifers. My rotifer culture is basically out of control. Even with a daily harvest, one scoop with my 53micron seive yields so many rotifers in the larval tank that the fry have no effect on the density. The rotifers multiply substantially faster than the fry can eat them. I'm wondering how you control the quantity you put in your larval tank? Do you shoot for a certain density? Do you add new rotifers daily? and possibly most importantly, do you pass them through two sieves to keep from adding larger rots? If so what size sieves do you use? sorry for the long list of questions, but I'm getting sick of watching hatch after hatch die by day three. Thanks in advance.
-Mitch
-Mitch
Zero Cool
New member
Hey Mitch, I hear ya! I've been having the same trouble with my hatches since the first one. I've noticed the color of the yolk in the eggs has become really pale when they should appear bright orange, so my main problem is feeding the parents enough, which hopefully I'm in the process of correcting.
The larvae have been so weak from these last few hatches that they haven't really had enough energy to learn to hunt the rotifers properly before they die. Really frustrating. I think the key will be making the eggs healthier.
As for the rotifers: my cultures are getting really dense despite daily harvesting, but the juvies still love them and gobble them up greedily so I add enough to the larval tank to keep them fed for almost and entire day... if they were actively eating and reducing the rot population... and feed the rest to the juvies. Add too dense a population of rots to the hatching tank and they can consume the oxygen in the water. It's easier to add less than you think is needed then add more later on.
I try to stick with Wilkerson's method of keeping the density of the rots steady to where the larvae have to travel no more than their own body length to spot a target. As they become more proficient in hunting you add less and less rots until you ween them onto something else.
When I harvest the rots I use two sieves, a 120 micron and a 52 micron. The 120 catches larger particles and algae and also some of the rots which I guess might be larger. The 52 catches the rest of the rots. I usually dump what is in the 120 into one of my reef tanks.
I don't mind answering questions at all! And I'm in the same boat. Current batch of eggs should hatch tomorrow night but I have a gut feeling some of them are ready to go tonight.. I just didn't take the time to get the hatching tank ready. We'll see how many are still on the pot tomorrow. And even though the yolk looked pale, I'm still going to give them a try.
The larvae have been so weak from these last few hatches that they haven't really had enough energy to learn to hunt the rotifers properly before they die. Really frustrating. I think the key will be making the eggs healthier.
As for the rotifers: my cultures are getting really dense despite daily harvesting, but the juvies still love them and gobble them up greedily so I add enough to the larval tank to keep them fed for almost and entire day... if they were actively eating and reducing the rot population... and feed the rest to the juvies. Add too dense a population of rots to the hatching tank and they can consume the oxygen in the water. It's easier to add less than you think is needed then add more later on.
I try to stick with Wilkerson's method of keeping the density of the rots steady to where the larvae have to travel no more than their own body length to spot a target. As they become more proficient in hunting you add less and less rots until you ween them onto something else.
When I harvest the rots I use two sieves, a 120 micron and a 52 micron. The 120 catches larger particles and algae and also some of the rots which I guess might be larger. The 52 catches the rest of the rots. I usually dump what is in the 120 into one of my reef tanks.
I don't mind answering questions at all! And I'm in the same boat. Current batch of eggs should hatch tomorrow night but I have a gut feeling some of them are ready to go tonight.. I just didn't take the time to get the hatching tank ready. We'll see how many are still on the pot tomorrow. And even though the yolk looked pale, I'm still going to give them a try.
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