Clownfish husbandry

rangermonroe

rangermonroe

Member
I have a couple of questions regarding clownfish husbandry.
Once again I have a batch of eggs. Every time I have attempted to move them to the nursery tank, all of the eggs die within a day or two. I have tried several different ways of doing this, all with the same result.
I once was able to get a few of them to hatch, but they were gone within days.
I have a refugium in which I could place the eggs, but I am unsure of how to do this .
1. Should I move thm now? They are still in the pink phase but beginning to elongate.
2. should I move one or both of the parents?
3. I have a brittle star in the display tank, could he be eating them before they hatch?
Thanks for any input.
 
thegrog

thegrog

Active Member
OK, you need a setup for the eggs to hatch and one to rear the young fry and another to raise food for them. I usually leave the eggs in with the parents until the day before they hatch and then transfer to a hatching tank. Young fry will only eat live rotifers for the first few days. In addition, they are very fragile creatures so they can get hurt and killed very easily (even by rough water movement).
Do NOT move either of the parents with the eggs. You have a good cycle of egg laying going on and that will seriously interrupt it....not to mention that the parent left alone with the eggs most likely will eat them.
I suggest getting the book entitled Clownfishes by Joyce Wilkerson. She outlines how to hatch the eggs, care for the young fry and how to raise the food for them. After you read that, if you still have questions just ask!
 
B

billb

Guest
I suggest getting the book entitled Clownfishes by Joyce Wilkerson.
I second this. I just got the book last week and have read it (skimming) and now will go thru a serious read. It's a great book and has where you can get what you need to breed them if you wish. It's all do-able, just a bit critical (ie. Pay attention to all the parameters involved)..I think if yours keep breeding, you should/can probably just leave a batch or two alone (they will just get eaten) while you read the book, and set up some equipment you will need. I'm planning on setting somthing up within the next few weeks myself, so when the time comes, I'll be all set...
Best of luck and let us know what happens...
Bill
 
rangermonroe

rangermonroe

Member
I appreciate the suggested reading materials.
Mine have been breeding for about a year now, and I have a set-up filled with tank water, tht I have been been keeping "ballanced" with the water rotated from the display.
Obviously, it is more difficult keeping the salinity exactly the same due to different evaporation rates. But, the bugs and such are doing alright in there, as are the plants.
But something keeps going wrong. So I guess I will just place them in the fuge in a few days.
We'll see what happens.
 
joebuckmaster

joebuckmaster

Member
I have been doing it for about 4 months now. I have a bath of percs. that are about 70 days old they have a second stripe and are starting to get the third stripe by their tail. Then i have batches that are twelve days younger all the way down to just hatched. Read and read and read learn all you can, it is alot of work but also alot of fun seeing the little guys grow.
 
B

billb

Guest
Joe,
do you have a sight or any photos etc. of all this? are you keeping some sort of log/stats somewhere we can look at?
thks b.
 
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