Any luck breeding Yellowtail Damels?

[Doctorgori]

Anyone? I could use some help/pointers

I have “some experience”: many sea horses and I’ve had Marine Bettas spawn in the DT…I have a 900xxl with the 2nd sump setup, should I move the now and how often do they re-spawn.
..I have bbs but no rotifers and zero photo/gut load…
no clue how to raise or feed fry, what to buy …I’m guessing this batch is lost

appreciate it Ken

 

[Silly clownfish]

I have not done this, but did research in the past. In the 90s I had blue devil damsels spawn and hatch live fry regularly. Back then it was too hard to find a source for rotifers and live phytoplankton, so I did not manage to raise any.

My clownfish spawned every 9 days. I would expect damsels to be about the same since they are closely related. The book below has a good explanof how to raise fry.

Clownfishes by Joyce Wilkerson

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

What species of yellowtail damsel are you working with?

 

[Doctorgori]

I don’t know, ORA is the source

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I don’t know, ORA is the source

Hard angle to say for sure from the pic, but if it has a yellow head and is from ORA, then I'd guess that's a Lemon Damsel, Pomacentrus moluccensis. Does that look right to you?

If so, I know some Pomacentrus species have been reared with ~70% survival by feeding S-Strain Rotifers (Brachionus rotundiformis) for 3 days, then weaned onto L-Strain Rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) and fed those until day 9 or 10 post hatching, at which point they're weaned onto Artemia nauplii (Baby Brine Shrimp) over the next 3-4 days.*

I know P. moluccensis specifically has been reared with an ~10% survival rate to day 15 post hatch with just rotifers,** so I suspect weaning them onto the Artemia nauplii would improve survival to that point and enable survival beyond it too.

Anyway, assuming this feeding routine works for your fish, you should be able to start weaning them onto a traditional aquarium diet (i.e. frozen, pellets, etc.) at some point - I'd probably hold off until the fish start reaching settlement though.

Also, P. moluccensis reportedly lays batches of eggs every ~10-15 days, so you should have another chance if you miss this one. The eggs should hatch in the evening ~6 days after they're laid.**


For the rearing aside from the food, the first source below has good info for large scale rearing, but basically:

-Setup a little, simple tank.
(The larval rearing tank).

-Add the larvae.

-Add the larval food and enough phytoplankton to tint the water green.
(The phytoplankton helps dim the lighting so it's not too bright for sensitive larvae, it makes it easier for the larvae to see the feeders, and it gutloads the feeders so they're more nutritious when eaten).

-Adjust feeding as needed as the larvae grow; you typically should start feeding regular fish food in addition to the larval food around settlement.

For the larval rearing tank, you'd probably want something a bit bigger than the example below, but it should give you the general idea:

For a very simple larval rearing tank, take a container, put saltwater in it, add an airstone/gentle sponge filter, and - if needed - a heater that is blocked off by a fine mesh (preferably less than 40 microns).

For an example of a simple larval rearing setup:

Breeding Palaemon Elegans (Mediterrane Rock Pool Shrimp) Guide

Hi, Im going to post a breeding guide of palaemon elegans shrimps here. Two females are preparing for spawning so if you are interested you may want to stick with me. This breeding guide will be interchangable for every kind of shrimps but i stick elegans because: - With cleaner shrimp we are...

www.reef2reef.com

Some species require lighting, others don't; running a light that's bright enough to ensure the larvae can clearly see the feeders in the tank without being overly bright is generally a safe option. A 12 light:12 dark or 14 light:10 dark lighting schedule is suggested; some people also run dim "night lights" in the room away from the tank for the larvae.

If you see larvae headbutting the wall of the tank, that's a sign the light is reflecting off the tank wall and attracting the larvae, causing "head-butting syndrome" where the larvae ram into the wall often until they die - if you see this, you'll need to blackout the tank, but I haven't seen this be a big issue for most people.

*Source:

https://spccfpstore1.blob.core.windows.net/digitallibrary-docs/files/a5/a5b51f004ab22fa7905120eb76e56cf7.pdf?sv=2015-12-11&sr=b&sig=aVL4YYQ96mr2B1nOrc%2FCYQh1eF1%2FfuOM34IL%2BxhSVok%3D&se=2024-10-23T17%3A11%3A09Z&sp=r&rscc=public%2C%20max-age%3D864000%2C%20max-stale%3D86400&rsct=application%2Fpdf&rscd=inline%3B%20filename%3D%22LRF4_43_Job.pdf%22

**Source:

Breeding Journal, Species: Pomacentrus moluccensis

Breeding Journal DataSheet This first post should be updated regularly to include new information as events take place or changes are made to your system General Species: Pomacentrus moluccensis Social S...

www.mbisite.org

 

[Doctorgori]

@ISpeakForTheSeas …that was thorough, thank you…
I’m thinking these are Lemons, tank is a hot mess and really chippy thanks

 

[areefer01]

Are these already spawning in your system and you want to take the hobby to the next level? Or is this something you are looking to try?