Clownfish laid 1st clutch of eggs

[Rob A]

I'll describe my first experience with clownfish eggs, including some dumb mistakes...

 

My clownfish pair mated (I assume this is the first time) and I found a small clutch of eggs the other day, probably not more than 75-100 eggs. By Sunday I could see the glow of their little eyes and they didn't hatch that night so I figured Monday was the day. Monday morning I ordered rotifers (Overnight shipping) but I guess you need a few days to get them gut loaded... Anyway, Monday night after lights out I turned off all the pumps and sump lights and waited a bit and a few babies showed up at the surface. I rigged up a small night light to attract them but I illuminated the nest which I guess was a mistake because they stopped hatching. I I turned off the light and sat ion the dark for another hour but no more hatching. I took the 5 or so that had hatched and put them in a 2.5 gal with a slow bubbler and heater, wrapped to keep it dark.

In the morning (Tuesday) I discovered that the tiny heater had overheated them to 94 but they were still swimming, also there was still one baby swimming in the collection vessel. I stayed home from work and got the temp back in line and reunited the lone straggler with his siblings. I received the rotifers at 11am. I dumped some in with the babies and started a rotifer growing tank (5 gal bucket). I got some DT Phyto to feed the rotifers. The rest of the eggs were still in the display in the nest at that point (12pm) so I left the room for a about 2 or 3 hours. When I came back the eggs were gone!?

The 5 babies were still moving last night but by this morning (Wed) they had died. I don't think this is unexpected-Besides the fact that I had slightly overcooked them, I didn't have the food properly prepared yet. It's my understanding that the first batch or two isn't very strong, plus I get the impression that the more eggs there are the more likely that some will survive. I didn't think I could possibly be successful with this first 5 babies but I thought I should try and that if I went through the motions it would make me better prepared for the next batch and if I got lucky maybe some would make it. 

 

I ordered a #53 Sieve to strain out rotifers and I'm going to start a green water culture.

[Jason Rhoads]

Awesome info.  I have been unsuccessful with this in the past (all I did was place the "nest" into my refugium once I saw eggs, but they all disappeared after that and I never saw any hatch).  Good luck on the next attempt! 

[Rob A]

Thanks!

Here is a video of the eggs. You can see the eyes glowing. I forgot to mention they are just regular perculas.

 

http://youtu.be/JbUFLtBHf4o 

Edited December 10, 2014 by Rob A

[YHSublime]

Very cool, I hear it's a lot of work, you will nail it next time!

[gmerek2]

oh cool! I bet the clown ate the leftover eggs. Haha hes going to town on that nem in the background.

[DaveS]

Don't worry, the first time for mom, dad and you will be full of learning mistakes. It was good that you went throught the motions so you know more now.

 

2 suggestions

 

1) there's a guy that makes larval traps that you stick on the tank glass and has a little light and very light suction to collect the larvae. I bought one before I was able to get mine to lay on a tile. But I never used it so if you want it before my guys figured out the tile. I'd be happy to part with it. Much better than the midnight flashlight process. Just wake up next day and work is done.

 

2) skip the green water and get some concentrate. http://apbreed.com/products.php Makes doing rots much easier as they don't pollute as much and are one less thing in the food chain to crash. Shipping is kinda expensive since its fedex from CA. I need another bottle soon so if you want, we could do an order together and save on shipping.

[Rob A]

Thanks for the info. I'm interested in the trap, but budget is tight this close to Christmas...

Also interested in quality food for the babies.

I thought you needed a ton of green water...but then again I don't know how long I need to keep the rotifers going, maybe just long enough to raise one batch of fish? Maybe forever to feed the tank? If I successfully raise a batch of fry I don't know that I would keep doing it for subsequent hatches, but who knows? So many variables!

[Mattiejay6]

Hey Rob awesome to hear! If you really want to try and raise some babies I would suggest buying Joyce Wilkersons book on Clownfish. It is like the Holy Bible on breeding! There is also this guide as a great reference.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/269202-pickles-guide-to-breeding-clowns/

 

For the first couple hatches I would let them go so mom and pop really learn what their roles.

 

I would also get a ceramic tile piece to place in or near their nesting area and this way you can just pull the tile on hatch night. Makes life alot easier.

 

The other couple things is get your AP concentrated solution instead of green water and I would also suggest the ap breeder food kit with otothime that will save you some money.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rob A]

Thanks for the info!

 

Confirmed presence of rotifers! Here they are at 100x magnification.

 

 

and a video!

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/87816634@N03/15834490997/

[Jason Rhoads]

Very cool, Rob!

[Rob A]

Clownfish laid 2nd clutch of eggs!

[Brewski]

My clarkii's just laid their first clutch and I prob am going to lose them.  will try to learn in the future though

[Rob A]

My 3rd hatch just happened a few days ago. Only saw 10 to 20 actually hatch. It's my understanding that the first few batches are not in very good shape. It's a good idea to practice your rotifer raising skills so that you are prepared for when you are ready to try and raise the clowns.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Rob A

[ReeferMadness]

Just set up my mini nursery . This is a great post. Thanks for sharing.

[Rob A]

Thanks! I hope it goes well!

 

5th clutch laid yesterday (3/2/15)! Link to video...and some notes on my rotifer culturing.

 

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10204774532137161&l=8881809180532256113

 

They were cleaning the rock like mad for the last couple of days, ignoring the very nice piece of tile I had placed in their usual egg laying spot. I actually caught them in the process of laying the eggs yesterday but when I got too close they would stop. The laid this batch a few inches away from the normal spot.

 

I have maintained 2 batches of rotifers using RG Complete for about 6 weeks now. I gave up on using the greenwater that I had made with DT's Phyto and Miracle Grow liquid fertilizer. The first few phyto cultures were kind of dark but subsequent batches didn't seem to be getting very dark.

I bought a nanochloropsis (ha, I can't believe i can remember how to spell that) disk from Florida Aqua Farms to try it again, along with their F2 fertilizer.

 

I have kept one of the batches of rotifers in 2-1/2 gallons of water (5 gal white bucket) at 1.019sg at about 74 degrees for 6 weeks so far. I add 1 cap of prime each week and do a complete water change every 3 weeks or so. I harvest a 1/2 gal to 1 gal a day depending on how dense they look. I feed 3ml of RG complete 2x a day (approx 12 hr apart). I harvest in the evening before feeding the bucket and put the harvested rots in the frag tank. When the clownfish larvae are ready I guess I need to feed the rotifers before harvesting...

 

The second batch of rots are also in a 5gal bucket but without heat. They are around 66-68 degrees or so (basement is 68-70) and same sg. They are not as dense as the heated culture. Using a small glass beaker you can scoop them out and put it by a light and see the density. I harvest about a quart of that water each day and feed 2ml of RG Complete twice a day. The first couple of weeks they had started out in a glass, 2.5 gal larvae tank and when the couple of larvae that I had kicked the bucket, I moved these rots to a bucket (after a couple of weeks).

 

Both cultures develop a lot of green detritus on the bottom of the bucket which makes it hard to tell if I'm maintaining an appropriate level of green tint. I haven't tried hanging a piece of filter floss in there yet, as suggested by Reed Mariculture (where the RG Complete came from). The detritus is pretty annoying. I could filter some of it out by stirring the bucket before harvesting I guess. Reed recommends 11ml or RG Complete per million rots a day! I use between 4ml and 6ml. I can't imagine how much crap would be in there if I used 11ml a day...

So far I have been reusing the water that gets strained off from harvesting, and only adding clean RO for top off.

 

I keep a small fridge in my basement for fish stuff (and soda). In the past, before putting a fridge down there I had on occasion left a refrigerated item sitting out over night because I forgot to take it back upostairs to the kitchen. I'm afraid it would ruin this RG Complete if I did that so I have a strict rule with handling it. I leave the fridge door open while the bottle is out and I do not set the bottle down while feeding the rots. Lets hope I don't set the bottle down and forget the fridge is open and leave it like that overnight...

[DaveS]

Glad to see the Rots and RG Complete are working out for you.  Couple of tips:

 

1) to check density, instead of looking at bottom of bucket, just look to the side, near the bottom.  The detritus won't accumulate that high and it's close enough for eyeballing tint.

2) I used to siphon the detritus off the bottom into a 1G bucket.  I would then let it settle and dump most of the 1G back in, leaving only the bottom part.

3) Don't worry that much about the detritus.  Many just leave it for a long time.  It contains cysts that will repopulate your culture if it ever crashes.

4) You should worry about leaving that bottle of RG Complete out overnight.  I did that with a $40 bottle.   If you don't want to go the premeasured ice cube route I mentioned, just split your bottle of RG complete with another container that stays in the fridge.  This way you can contain your losses if you do leave things out after feeding.

[Rob A]

All good tips! Thanks! I have contemplated the ice cube thing, I just haven't bought any ice trays yet, lol. You said you mixed it at 5:1 or 4:1 with saltwater? 

[DaveS]

The ratio will depend on your ice cube tray!  You said you feed 3ml of RG Complete.  So measure out how big the cubes are and then adjust the ratio so each cube contains 3ml of RG complete.  I measured out my cube size just by filing the tray up and then pouring it into measuring cup. 

 

Also, make sure the cubes are somewhat big (like 1/2 a golf ball).  I thought I would be smart and use really small ice cubes with this:  http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/1/1/221599-mini-cube-ice-cube-trays-set-of-2.html

 

But between the syrup like RG Complete and the saltwater diluent, the cubes won't be as solid from a normal freezer as freshwater ice.  The cubes broke up in to tiny shards when I tried to get them out of the tray.

 

It's better to get a flexible tray so you can pull the cubes out.  Kinda like this: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/1/1/279307-lekue-slim-star-ice-cube-tray-green.html .  I found one at Safeway that was rigid mostly except for a section of silicone on the bottom. was perfect for my needs.