Clownfish Eggs - Day 8

[bang guy]

Looks like about 1/4 of the eggs have reflective eyes now. They usually hatch during the night after 1/3 - 1/2 of the eggs have reflective eyes. This makes it a close call. I want to wait as long as possible to move the eggs. Dad takes MUCH beter care of the eggs than I ever could. On the other hand, if I wait one more night and they hatch tonight then all will be lost. There is no way to recover Clownfish Larvae from my display tank.
I choose to wait the extra day and hope they don't hatch. I've heard that they won't hatch with the lights on... perhaps I leave them on all night to make sure they don't hatch tonight.
Any comments from the experts out there?

 

[aarone]

that is awesome bang! How are you ging to remove the eggs without losing any? Also how are you going to prevent the Female form biting your finger off?
aaron

 

[bang guy]

I have a set of 30" AquaTongs The eggs are on a removeable rock. I'll place the rock in a container and transport it to the fry tank.
Anyone else notice Dad baring his teeth??

 

[aarone]

he looks mean! lol ever been bitten by the banggai or clowns....

 

[therock0861]

Good luck with the eggs Bang hopefully it all works out for you. And thanks for the update.

 

[karajay]

Originally posted by Bang Guy
Anyone else notice Dad baring his teeth??
Guess he means business

 

[cincyreefer]

Well you can try leaving the lights on, but I have seen three things happen if you do that on day 8. One, they might go ahead and hatch out anyway, since that is when they are ready. Two- they won't hatch since their instincts tell them that it needs to be dark if they want a better chance to survive. Three- they wait until it is dark to hatch. There are obviously many factors that affect which course would happen, but it has always seemed to me to be purely random. Do you have good rotifer colonies to feed them, or are you going to try powder food?

 

[bang guy]

I have a good supply of Rotifers right now.
Hmmm... food for thought... thank you!
Perhaps I'll just leave them and hope they don't hatch tonight. I don't think they're ready but it looks really close to me.

 

[bang guy]

Just had to share this...
On day 1 I had some inquiries about the Brittlestar in the background. Apparently it got too close to the eggs today:

 

[karajay]

Told ya he meant business

 

[ty_05_f]

Ouch, I bet it learned it's lesson

 

[goldmar00n]

yea those brittle stars are little scavengers...mine just ate my duster.. damn star

 

[elfdoctors]

The starfish picture was great!
This series has been fascinating! Keep it up.
I hope they don't hatch before you move them so we can see the babies grow!
I assume you have to put the rock into another container to transfer the eggs so the eggs don't come in contact with the air. Is this correct?
Will you post pictures of your rotifer setup soon? Are the rotifers large enough to be seen on a photograph?

 

[joejubee]

Bang,
Thank you so much for this amazing set of posts, it is a real joy to follow. Keep up the photos and the neat story of the overprotective parents...
Philly Joe

 

[m.rogers]

bang guy i think we will all have our fingers crossed that they don't hatch tonight this has been one of the best group of post that i have ever saw on SWF.com.
good luck
mike

 

[khourglass]

what happens if you move them too soon?
Im almost sure you coverd that in a previous post, but I went back through them and couldnt find it .
Kristi

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by elfdoctors
I assume you have to put the rock into another container to transfer the eggs so the eggs don't come in contact with the air. Is this correct?
I've read that it doesn't matter. It's just as easy for me to transport them in whater so that's what I do.
Will you post pictures of your rotifer setup soon? Are the rotifers large enough to be seen on a photograph?
My rotifer setup is a 32 gallon rubbermaid for my continuous culture and a couple of 7 gallon buckets (salt buckets) for batch culturing. The big container has a low density of Rotifers but can be used if one of the high density batches in the buckets crashes.
I'll try to get a picture. They're only about 200 microns across though...

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by khourglass
what happens if you move them too soon?
Hi Kristi,
If I move them too soon then more of them probably won't hatch. Dad constantly cleans and fans them so that stops as soon as I remove the eggs.

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by waterfaller1
That is cool..do the clowns attack the tongs?
oh yes! Last time I got bit pretty good.

 

[blue dew]

Still think this is one of the best series of posts yet. Can't wait to see those little guys hatch.
Dew