I lost my first batch of clownfish after day three. I had heater set at 81 degrees. A small LCD light was shining on a towel which covered half of the tank. The 10 gallon tank was half filled with water from my reef tank. I fed them rotifers which I filtered and then added RG complete to the tank. I could see the rotifers in the tank. I changed 1.5 gallons of water twice a day and vacuumed off the bottom of the tank each time. I then added new water from the reef tank each time. The bottom of the tank was on a white towel and the sides, back and front were covered with a black plastic bag. I had two tiny ceramic air stones barely bubbling a tiny stream of bubbles. One of them was under the heater. I hatched my eggs by moving them to the tank on a piece of slate. I had a great hatch rate. Any suggestions for my next hatch would be greatly appreciated.
Assistance for keeping baby clownfish alive.
- Thread starter DRW
- Start date
I kept the light on 24 hours. I had 5 gallons of water in the tank and filtered out 3 solo cups of rotifers two time per day and added after each water change. The water looked pretty dense with the rotifers. I then added a few mL of RG complete to the tank to tint the water to a light green. Any ideas and thank you for your help!
I got that from notes that were passed on from Joyce Wilkerson. It makes it easier to vacuum the debris from the bottom of the tank because it is more visible. I have a 3 watt LED light suspended about 10 inches above the tank. I put a towel directly over half of the tank to diffuse the light. I left the light on 24 hours each day. I could replace the towel with paper towel to allow more light to get through to the babies. Should I dose the baby tank at the same rate 11 mL of the RG complete for 5 gallons ? I did add some RG Complete to the baby tank, but I was afraid to add too much so I just added enough to tint the water light green.
bang guy
Moderator
I do trust Joyce, she's been at it longer and she wrote an excellent book. Just for frame of reference...
I've actually had the best luck with a point light source. ie. not diffused at all. I've found that it causes the larvae AND the rotifers to congregate directly under the light source. This puts them all in the same place at the same time.
Another technique I had excellent results with was using a round black container and set up the waterflow into a circular pattern using an air bubble driven sponge filter. That's a complete setup change for you though.
I've never tried the white bottom so I can't give advice there. I am however; wondering if the rotifers get confused and swim to the bright bottom instead of to the light.
I always grew my own phyto to feed the rotifers so I have no experience with RG Complete.
You know this is going to be trial and error for a while, right? LOL If it were me the first thing I would do is double the amount of rotifers in the larval rearing tank. The young larvae have terrible hunting skills and need the rotifers moving right in their face. Once you see them doing the tail curl-rotifer dart thing you can back off on the rotifers.
I've actually had the best luck with a point light source. ie. not diffused at all. I've found that it causes the larvae AND the rotifers to congregate directly under the light source. This puts them all in the same place at the same time.
Another technique I had excellent results with was using a round black container and set up the waterflow into a circular pattern using an air bubble driven sponge filter. That's a complete setup change for you though.
I've never tried the white bottom so I can't give advice there. I am however; wondering if the rotifers get confused and swim to the bright bottom instead of to the light.
I always grew my own phyto to feed the rotifers so I have no experience with RG Complete.
You know this is going to be trial and error for a while, right? LOL If it were me the first thing I would do is double the amount of rotifers in the larval rearing tank. The young larvae have terrible hunting skills and need the rotifers moving right in their face. Once you see them doing the tail curl-rotifer dart thing you can back off on the rotifers.
Thank you for your help Bang Guy! I think that I will make three changes next time around. I will use white paper towel to cover the light, dose the baby tank with RG Complete and make sure the rotifers are abundant and well fed. I know I should only change one variable, but wish me luck Sunday night!!!
Today I have lost all but four baby clownfish at the end of day one. I noticed the majority of them died between the time I fed them this morning 5 am and 9 am. After filtering the rotifers, I added them and then dosed the tank with about 10 mL of RG complete. The fish were in 5 gallons of water. I am wondering if I put too much RG complete in the tank???