Breeding Clownfish

bang guy

Moderator
Lighting a Rotifer tank when using live phyto is a good idea. It gives more phyto because it still grows in the rotifer tank and lowers the ammonia.
I use dead phyto so I keep my rotifers in the dark.
 

oceana

Active Member
yes it does lol. with everything running at once it really does. but i if i recall right you also wanted to raise these as well. this should give you an idea as to what you would have had to do .
 

oceana

Active Member
day 6 of rotifer culture as you can see there are ALOT of these things now.
the pic is not full of static those are the rotifer in the water.
Attachment 184992
also a pick of the clownfish eggs at the 6th day. tuff to get the pick but it get the job done
Attachment 184993

 

bang guy

Moderator
Looks like your Clownfish will hatch tonight. Don't be afraid of adding some phyto to the rearing tank to help keep the Rotifers in there fat & nutritious.
 

oceana

Active Member
well the eggs did not hatch last night but they did change color. not sure if this is good or bad. here is a pic from about 10 min ago. if they where laid on Sunday night that would make them about 6 days old at this point
Attachment 184995
also a pic of the newest batch of phyto started yesterday
Attachment 184996

 

oceana

Active Member
hey Bang.
I think there is a problem. some of the eggs are turning pink in color. i have never seen that in any book but i think they my be dead or dying. not sure why. temp is about 79. just a hair more. maybe somthing was wrong with the way I moved them.
let me know if you know what that might mean . its not all of them but its mroe even now then it was this morning
 

oceana

Active Member
around 250 so far but i also had ALOT already.
i did not have to buy tanks, tubing, airstones. bottles,heaters,lighting or valves
all i had to buy was rotifers, brine hatcherys, phyto cultures, collection screens, salt lake cyst. microscope glass viewer, density gauges. and a few otehr odds and ends
 

bang guy

Moderator
If the eggs become cloudy then the larvae have died. That would probably look pinkish.
Can you describe how you moved them, when, and what the hatching tank is.
 

oceana

Active Member
well the clown lay the eggs on a mag float.
we waited untill we felt the eggs look ready to hatch and then i took the mag float out and put it into a bag filled with water from the tank they came from.
i drove them home and placed them into a 6 gallon eclipse system that has been guttede to remove the filter. I fitted the tank with heater and wood air stone.
i placed the eggs right next to the air stone so that they are softly brushed by a light stream of very fine bubbles.things we payed special attention to when moving the eggs
kept under water the entire time
close tank temps
never bumped or jerked around the eggs
tank info is
temp is 78-79
SG is about 20-21
0 trites, trates
0 amonia
2 gallon water change every day.
lights out at 9 on just before 10. same as my main tank
any info/tips you have would be great
 

bang guy

Moderator
How long were they in the bag?
I've had best luck placing the eggs right at the water surface in the hatching tank and then having the airstone situated so that the water flows over top of the eggs but the air bubbles don't.
 

oceana

Active Member
they were in the bag about 35-40 min just on my way home.
the mag was placed about mid tank.
maybe i will try higher with the next batch.
how much flow do you use?? i used a regular coralife wood airblock. i put a valve on it with very little flow. should i leave it wide open
 

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by oceana
they were in the bag about 35-40 min just on my way home.
Try using a bucket with an airstone next time.
I give them a pretty good flow. I think it helps them escape the egg sac. Once hatched I put the flow a LOT lower. I also use something with bigger bubbles than limewood gives.
 

oceana

Active Member
Hey there bang
Ok as you know the eggs of the first batch have died. We have decided that it’s due to the water changing to completely different water. In reading I find that even slight changes in water quality can and usually will kill the eggs. So this time here is my plan
I will take enough of the host tank water to fill my rearing tank. I will set that tank up with a ten gallon sump. The bulk head will have 50 micron filter pad over them to provide protection and also to give a VERY minimal flow. Just enough to say its there. I will then have the air stones in the rearing tank and a filter in the sump. I think this would give me great water quality and the right flow.
My only concern is the bulkheads. In MORE reading I find that the best set up is a tank with a center stand pipe with the min of 100 micron filter pad over it. But what I don’t under stand is wont the fry just get sucked up against the pad? I plan to keep the flow as light as light can be but I can’t seem to find anything about why the fry don’t get sucked up against the pad. Wish I could find a pick of a rearing tank set up this way but I can’t seem to find one.
BTW my bulk heads are on the very top of the tank. They would be taking water from the very surface at about a few gallons an hour. You can see them in the pic of the rearing tank above
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
Try using a bucket with an airstone next time.
I give them a pretty good flow. I think it helps them escape the egg sac. Once hatched I put the flow a LOT lower. I also use something with bigger bubbles than limewood gives.
i chose the limewood becasue i read that the fry can get cought in large bubbles?? do you find this to be wrong??
 
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