Any thoughts as to why my clown eggs are white

[Justanotherfishweirdo]

My clowns have finally paired up and laid some eggs. But they were not orange when laid.
They were not there when I fed the fish and went to bed next morning they were there. They were white though.
My googling has told me they should have been orange when laid and that if infertile or if fungus had grown they would turn white. These eggs didn’t have long enough to be affected by fungus. But I guess they could be infertile however from what I’ve read they should have still been orange when first laid and the. Turned white...

The pair have been removed from the display tank and placed in a nano to do their thing. In the hopes they will attempt to lay again.

I feel I should also note that these guys were only together for around a day before they laid. The male we have had for only 3 weeks and he is a juvenile close to adulthood. The female lived alone with a triggerfish first a few years before we got her from another reefer.

 

[JasonK84]

I’m going to guess snail eggs and not eggs of clownfish origin.

Do you have any snails in the tank?

 

[Justanotherfishweirdo]

I have

I’m going to guess snail eggs and not eggs of clownfish origin.

Do you have any snails in the tank?

I have some snails but they live in the substrate. They’re nassarius snails. Usually all I see are their little eye stalk above the substrate.

What makes me further think they’re clown eggs was the males behaviour. He is very protective of them. Often grooming and hovering around them.

 

[Katrina71]

My guess would be infertile. @dantimdad might have insight as to the frequency with which it happens.

 

[Tahoe61]

It takes practice, but I do not think those are clownfish spawn. When ready clowns will spawn no intervention required. The pair might not get it right initially.
Putting the clowns in a nano will probably delay an successful spawn.
Unless you are prepared to raise the larvae I would leave the clowns be.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Katrina is correct. Infertile eggs. Generally happens when during fertilization, parents become distracted and miss their task. Other reason which is rare would be too much current around eggs

 

[dantimdad]

As Katrina stated they are infertile. IME it's either they are too young and don't know what to do yet or something may be off in chemistry but that is very rare. If you are ready to raise the fry, just be patient with them. They will eventually give you a good clutch.

 

[Justanotherfishweirdo]

Thanks guys. Yes I have ordered rotifer cultures and plantin cultures and I do intend to raise the fry.

There is fairly high flow in the main display so that could be it. Chemistry is good.

 

[D-Nak]

Were the eggs flat and round, or more oval like a grain of rice? If they didn’t look like small grains of rice then they weren’t clownfish eggs.

If they were clownfish eggs and the pair were only together for a day, then the female was already pregnant, and the male didn’t fertilize the eggs. If you’re lucky she may lay again.

However, everything you said leads me to think that they’re not clownfish eggs: the short time the pair has been together, that the eggs were white (most oftentimes at least some will remain orange for more than a day), and that they appeared after dark (females typically don’t lay eggs in the dark as it probably makes it harder for the male to fertilize them).

If you can cancel your rotifer order, I would do that. This will allow you to monitor the pair to see if they can even produce a viable clutch. Patience is key when raising clownfish.

 

[Justanotherfishweirdo]

If you can cancel your rotifer order, I would do that. This will allow you to monitor the pair to see if they can even produce a viable clutch. Patience is key when raising clownfish.

Why cancel the Rotifers? Surely they are still beneficial to my corals and reef tank in general. I also bought Copepods.
Wouldn’t it also make sense to learn how to and to establish cultures of the only food these fry can even eat before it’s a life or death situation if I don’t have them?

 

[D-Nak]

Why cancel the Rotifers? Surely they are still beneficial to my corals and reef tank in general. I also bought Copepods.
Wouldn’t it also make sense to learn how to and to establish cultures of the only food these fry can even eat before it’s a life or death situation if I don’t have them?

I was thinking that you could save some money for the time being. While they may be beneficial, there’s no need to culture them for your tank. I also found that maintenance of the culture can be somewhat time consuming and not really worth the effort if you don’t have babies to feed them to. Lastly, you can get rotifers from Reed delivered overnight, so it’s never a life or death situation. If it gets to that point, then it’s just poor planning.

 

[D-Nak]

Have you figured out if they were indeed clownfish eggs, or something else?

 

[OrionN]

Those are not clownfish eggs. The clown fish eggs are elongated sphere with height about 4 times the width, fully fill with yoke, attached to the substrate on one end. Your eggs are snail eggs. To expect the clowns lay eggs after 24hrs been with each other is not reasonable.
Here is a copy of the clownfish egg image I found on the internet to demonstrate what clownfish eggs look like. Just the shape. After a few day , then we can see the fish develop inside, which is the case here. Still the shape and how eggs attached to the substrate do not change with time.

 

[Justanotherfishweirdo]

Lastly, you can get rotifers from Reed delivered overnight, so it’s never a life or death situation. If it gets to that point, then it’s just poor planning.

That’s where I’m jealous of the USA. Here in Australia there’s only one place online I’ve found that sells Rotifers live for less than $40 a culture and we don’t have overnight. We have express but that’s still 2 days and they only post on Monday incase there’s a delay. Plus the bushfires that’s wiped out most of the east cost are making things even more difficult.

 

[Justanotherfishweirdo]

. To expect the clowns lay eggs after 24hrs been with each other is not reasonable.

I didn’t expect anything. I was merely surprised it happened. Though knowing the female is a few years old and had lived alone it wasn’t a great leap to assume she may have already been full of eggs when we took her on.

 

[Justanotherfishweirdo]

I never did find out what eggs they were. But when I moved the clowns into their own tank (this was done for a few reasons NOT simply to encourage reproduction) and the male was no longer defending and caring for them they disappeared overnight.

So either Nassarius snails hatch in 5 days (maybe 6?) or once they were undefended the chromis or trigger ate them?

 

[D-Nak]

Ah, sorry I assumed you were in the US.

I'm guessing that they were snail eggs. They looked too flat to be clownfish eggs.

When your pair lays you'll know immediately. The newly laid clutch is bright orange. The female will lay the eggs and the male will follow closely behind to fertilize them.