Egg Laying Tiles for Clowns

[davelin315]

OK, so I have a breeding pair of black ocellaris clowns that host in a green bubble tip anemone that is about 12" from one side to the next. I am interested in getting some of the eggs so that I can pass them along to Doug to raise, but I am unsure of where to place the tiles. I know where they laid eggs before, do I simply put it down there? Also, is it harmful to the eggs if the anemone tentacles get dragged across them? At what point do I take these out of the tank and how do I transfer them? Do I need to remove them and run water over them to keep them free of debris?

[traveller7]

I tend to add more then one tile in the area at a slight angle. One where they tend to lay eggs and one on the other side of the anemone. Many clowns will skip at least a cycle when you "mess" with the area. IME Black ocellaris are more prone to such interruptions.

 

Temperature has a significant impact on time to hatch. If you are going to move tiles, before day 5 would be my initial target. Tupperware or bucket with a bait bucket style aerator for the drive will be fine if you are just tile swapping.

 

Host anemones touching eggs will not be a problem.

[davelin315]

Thanks! I'll toss some tiles in there and see what happens.

[Ziggy953]

My O. Clowns took to the tile immediately after putting it in the tank. I put it right next to the frogspawn they were hosting in and the male started cleaning it right away. A few days later I had a nice sized nest laid on the tile.

 

Where did you get the Black clowns from? My wife is begging me to get a true mated pair.

[davelin315]

Believe it or not, I got them at PetCo a few years ago. They had a bunch of them in and were selling them for under $20 so I bought 5 of them. One died in QT, I traded 2 others for some other fish (which ended up dying in QT, had a nasty case of ich despite being told they didn't have anything), and these are the two that I kept. They spent a very long time (I am thinking between 6 months-1 year in QT in a 10 gallon tank, got moved into the 50 gallon frag tray/pre-tank corals tray, and finally into the main display. They started laying eggs right when things went south in my tank from the toilet leaking above the system. I stuck some tiles in last night (finally) and the male has been preparing one surface in particular and shaking around the anemone like mad. As soon as I notice eggs I'll let them sit for a day or two and then pull them.

[dbartco]

yeah!

[Mountaineer]

DO NOT PULL THE EGGS until the night before they hatch!

 

If you take them out too soon they will likely not make it. The male will tend to them and keep them moving. The night before they hatch you move them to a hatching aquarium (5-10 gallons) and you must be prepared to feed live rotifers then.

 

An excellent resource is the book CLOWNFISHES by Joyce Wilkerson.

 

I am a new WAMAS member currently residing in the Chesapeake/Virginia Beach area. I am moving back to the area soon and will be more active on this forum in the coming weeks. I would be more than happy to anyone with interest, but this book is a must read for anyone interested in breeding clownfish.

Edited April 13, 2009 by Mountaineer

[Mountaineer]

I guess I should have added that for Ocellaris you should expect the hatch to occur at about day 7-9. You will know when you seen many of them change from the initial orange color to eggs with silver tips. The time is dependent on things like water temp IME, but you should be seeing a new batch of eggs every 21 days or so and careful observation will clue you in to when to expect the hatching.

 

......and GOOD LUCK! Lots of fun, lots of work, but it is so worth it and rewarding when you pull it off.

 

If you pull the tiles sooner, do like traveller said and have them aerated well, but with experience I find taking them out the night before yields a higher percentage of success at least for me.