Pregnant Clown.. Preparation help please?

thatdarndragon

thatdarndragon

Member
Hey all
I've had a 10 gal reef set up for about 3 years now, and had my 2 paired Ocellaris clowns for over 2 years. In the 10 gal, I have several mushrooms, a colt coral 3-4 peppermint shrimps, some snails and several blue legged hermit crabs and a chocolate chip star. Lots of live rock and plants (forgot what its called, looks like weeds).
Anyway, today I noticed my female clown is looking rather.. fat and rounded. Im thinking she may be bearing eggs.
If she is holding eggs, I want to be prepared to rip apart my 5 gal fresh water tank (I just have a betta in it, who can be moved) and quickly change it into a fry tank for the babies. I would love to get a larger tank set up, but there's no room. websites says 5-10 gal will do fine until they come of age for new homes.
My question is.. how do I go about this.. whats the best way to clear it out fast and get it ready for the potential babies?
There wont be any time to establish the tank.. Im thinking of taking a LR and some water from the already established 10 gal and moving it into the 5 gal fry tank.
The gravel will be taken out.. should I leave the bottom bare, or put live sand there?
There's an air pump in the tank, which will stay there, and a regular filter. What do I need to do to make it work for a saltie? Switch filter bags from the established tank into the 5 gal?
Help? Any advice is greatly appreciated. I am very new at breeding Clowns and this was very unexpected for me and I want to do it right.
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
once she starts layign eggs she will do it about every two weeks so there is no rush, your actually better off letting the first couple of batches hatch and get consumed by tank mates, as the first couple matings generally arent great fry, let tehm get the hang of mating and laying a couple times. do your research and set the tank up right and take your time on making sure its established properly otherwise the fry wont stand a chance.
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
not off hand I only know what I know about breeding from casual conversations with friends over at the aquaculture program (they really know what they are doing when it comes to breeding, I'm semi clueless), and the questions I asked when my clowns first started laying. I personnally dont feel like raising the fry right now so I did very limeted research. BangGuy breeds clowns if he is around maybe he will have a few tips for you, or some reccomended reading.
 
thatdarndragon

thatdarndragon

Member
I've never heard of Rotifers.
When you say 'live' food, does that mean I have to take care of them to keep them live? Is that like those sea-monkeys that one take care of?
if so, where can I find more information? and how do I order them? I dont think a petstore near me would carry them.. maybe the reef store..
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
this will shock you, if you have bnever heard of rotifers before.
Rotifers are multicelled animals. Because they are so small most people have never heard of their existence. They are about the same size as the larger unicellular organisms. They don't have a lot of cells, less than 1000, but they have some very special attributes. They are wonders of miniature design.
At the front of the body they possess a crown of hair-like cilia. They locomote by using the crown of cilia (the corona) to propel themselves. Some species walk with head and foot. Their foot can secrete a sticky substance that enables them to attach to a surface.
They also use the crown of cilia to wave food into their mouth. There the food is passed into the 'mastax' where two so-called 'trophi' process the food before it is directed towards the gut. Rotifers are so transparent that all these organs can be observed easily.
They have one or two light sensitive red eye spots.
There is an enormous variety of spectacular body shapes, all to suit the different lifestyles or environmental conditions.
Because many species make so-called resting spores which are easily carried by the wind, they can be found anywhere if there is a little bit of water. Even in a roof gutter or in birdbaths.
Google rotifers. I'm sure you can find a way to grow or buy them.
 
oceanlover

oceanlover

Member
The book I found to be most informative was "Clownfishes" by Joyce D. Wilkerson. There are chapters called "The Broodstock Aquarium," "Clownfish Reproduction," "Spawning," "Managing Eggs & Larvae," and "Metamorphosis and the Juvenile Period."
My LFS sells rotifers in a small bottle (about $20). This is the main food the babies need. Look on the website here to see if you can mail order some. The book I mentioned also tells you how to culture and grow rotifers.
Good luck! And keep us posted on any arrivals (and pics would be GREAT)!
 
thatdarndragon

thatdarndragon

Member
really? well, this should be fun to try out, something new :)
I will pick up that book.
I also placed a terra cotta pot in the tank, and have it facing to the side where I can peek in here and there, and where they one be disturbed, that is, if they decide to use the pot
 
dawman

dawman

Active Member
Another good book to read is Plankton Culture Manual . Very good info and and tips . You can get the phytoplankton and rotifers from other breeders or at Florida Aquafarms . You will need to grow phyto to feed to the rotifers so they grow and multiply . Then feed the rotifers to the fry . There are some good threads here on how to set up culture stations .
 
dawman

dawman

Active Member
Kinda depends on her . What are you using for her to lay the eggs on ? Tile , rock , slate , or ?
A good sign that they are going to lay is that they will be cleaning the surface where she plans to lay the eggs .
 
thatdarndragon

thatdarndragon

Member
since there isnt really a possible flat surface for me to put in a tile or flat rock, I fitted in a terra cotta pot. its facing out the side where they wont be disturbed too much. Im hoping they'll take on that so it'll be easy to remove the eggs/larvae when its ready.
Should I make room to put a slate in? I have a narrow flat slate in the fresh water tank I can try to fit in, but that would result in moving things around in the tank and I dont want to do that. The pot I was able to fit in without moving anything.
 
thatdarndragon

thatdarndragon

Member
yep, another curious question..
close look at my female, looks like she's got some poop in her hole. I noticed it there last night and it looks like it hasnt been moved. is it possible she's just constipated?
 
dawman

dawman

Active Member
Originally Posted by thatdarndragon
yep, another curious question..
close look at my female, looks like she's got some poop in her hole. I noticed it there last night and it looks like it hasnt been moved. is it possible she's just constipated?
Not sure about that . Has the clowns been cleaning the pot or anything else ? If not , probly not going to be laying soon .
 
thatdarndragon

thatdarndragon

Member
she's been eating alot more than usual, more aggressive than usual over the food, that gave me an idea she was pregnant.
she's been picking at areas, but not cleaning it up.
 
thatdarndragon

thatdarndragon

Member
A few pictures.. doesnt show how fat she is, but maybe you guys with expert eyes can see what Im seeing..

Obviously the bigger one is her..




this one you can see the bulge on her side..
 
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