Best pods for raising clownfish fry?

[mattshell81]

what would the best pods be for raising clownfish fry be? I know rotifers are the usualy go to but I wanted to try to culture pods since they don't need to be loaded up like rotifers. Is there a pod that fits this criteria or would I have to feed the nauplii of a certain pod and then feed adults later on before switching to dry food? Doing my own research I was having trouble finding what pods would be a best all arounder for this or which combination of 2 would work best for this.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Pods are way to large for fry to eat. Need rotifers

 

[James M]

You’ll want to stick to rotifers and artemia

 

[((FORDTECH))]

After fry are large enough like 2-3 weeks old then you can feed fresh hatched baby brine shrimp daily hatched

 

[mattshell81]

Thanks for the response. I saw a lot of info on pods being more nutritious and how some people have do it with podw but I imagined only the early stages of certain pods would fit the size criteria making it difficult to get enough from a culture.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

First few weeks not much choice

 

[ThePurple12]

I haven't tried it before, but aren't most copepods smaller than artemia?

 

[ThRoewer]

You can raise Amphiprion larvae with Artemia nauplii alone, no rotifers needed. Key is to let the larvae get seriously hungry before giving them the first feeding. You should also let the Artemia nauplii reach the instar 2 or 3 stages (usually 24h after hatch) so that they are actually smaller, eating (so that you can enrich them), and better digestible. I have raised thousands of Amphiprion (clarkii, ocellaris, percula,...) without any rotifers.
After a week or two, you can start adding smaller Tigriopus stages to the mix. By week 3, the latest 4, they should start going after flakes (pushed through a strainer to get them to the right size).

 

[ThRoewer]

As for pods - adult Apocyclops would be a possible substitute for L-strain Brachionus as adults (unfortunately!!!) have roughly the same size as the adult rotifers. And eggs and juveniles of Brachionus are on the same size level as Apocyclops nauplii (which makes it unfortunately nearly impossible to strain them out from each other.)
The real problem is that you would need a great number of pod cultures to get the numbers you need to feed just one clutch of Amphiprion larvae.

 

[ThePurple12]

You can raise Amphiprion larvae with Artemia nauplii alone, no rotifers needed. Key is to let the larvae get seriously hungry before giving them the first feeding. You should also let the Artemia nauplii reach the instar 2 or 3 stages (usually 24h after hatch) so that they are actually smaller, eating (so that you can enrich them), and better digestible. I have raised thousands of Amphiprion (clarkii, ocellaris, percula,...) without any rotifers.
After a week or two, you can start adding smaller Tigriopus stages to the mix. By week 3, the latest 4, they should start going after flakes (pushed through a strainer to get them to the right size).

That's really cool. I think I'll try Artemia with my next batch of ocellaris eggs. How long do you wait before feeding the clownfish?

 

[ThRoewer]

That's really cool. I think I'll try Artemia with my next batch of ocellaris eggs. How long do you wait before feeding the clownfish?

Usually a few hours, but right away might work as well. I just raised a batch of bicinctus that way.

 

[ThRoewer]

First few weeks not much choice

First weeks? It's days at the most! They start metamorphosis around day 14 after hatch!
At the most, you need to feed rotifers for a few days before switching to Artemia or start feeding Artemia from day one in parallel (or alone). Usually, by day 4 or 5, you can stop the rotifers and just feed Artemia. I start adding Tigriopus around day 8 to compensate for the poor nutrition of the rotifers and Artemia.

 

[MyTonyTiger]

I raised a few babies back in 02/03 and it wasn't too difficult at all. I used 2 liter bottles to make my green water and a couple of bottles for the rotifers and a 10 gallon tank for the fry. Had a 4 inch clay pot my clowns would lay in so it was easy to make the transfer. It was a lot of fun and very rewarding. I'm hoping to do it again this fall or next spring.

I Wish you the best in raising them.