Clown breeding advice?

[trvsty]

Anyone who's had success breeding clowns, please dump all of your advice on me. I have a pair of clowns that have bonded and once in a while i see them exhibiting some pre-mating behavior. They are the only fish in their tank but i have an empty tank I can move them to if it's better to have them around less visual stimulus. My biggest question is what age/size do they actually start breeding, since everyone has something different to say about that. Any and all advice is welcome though.

 

[terraincognita]

Anyone who's had success breeding clowns, please dump all of your advice on me. I have a pair of clowns that have bonded and once in a while i see them exhibiting some pre-mating behavior. They are the only fish in their tank but i have an empty tank I can move them to if it's better to have them around less visual stimulus. My biggest question is what age/size do they actually start breeding, since everyone has something different to say about that. Any and all advice is welcome though.

I hope you're successful and start a thread here.

But I imagine you'll have a lot more success googling videos on it.

Of all fish bred, it's your best bet to find good videos on.

You'll get way more help on something detailed like this from a video than I think anyone here could ever type. Or would want to :P.

If after you study it all you have specific questions, then you should come back here and I think you'd get a lot better help.

 

[trvsty]

I hope you're successful and start a thread here.

But I imagine you'll have a lot more success googling videos on it.

Of all fish bred, it's your best bet to find good videos on.

You'll get way more help on something detailed like this from a video than I think anyone here could ever type. Or would want to :p.

If after you study it all you have specific questions, then you should come back here and I think you'd get a lot better help.

lol i just watched this video right before i posted this

 

[terraincognita]

From what I’ve learned from when I researched it is you either need to turn your flow waayyyyy down, or provide them with a place where there’s little to no flow they can go in to breed.

 

[trvsty]

my main questions:
what is the typical age they start breeding?
ideal tank parameters, temperature, etc for breeding?
is it better for them to be in a quarantine type tank with no rock/coral in the tank?
what is the best surface for them to lay eggs on?
should i be feeding anything specific? vitamins/etc? should i feed more/more often to encourage breeding? (i'm currently feeding frozen mysis/brine mix soaked in selcon and ab+ plus some chroma boost and a little reef roids since the tank they're in has coral in it)
is there anything else i can do to encourage breeding?

 

[ichthyogeek]

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[ichthyogeek]

Age depends on the species of clownfish, as well as temperature of the tank, feeding schedule, water quality, etc.

Tank parameters: keep the nitrates low, do your water changes, and if you want consistency, 78-82 F works quite well.

There're some anecdotes about clownfish breeding when "bored", and of people successfully breeding them in tanks that are bare after being in tanks that are significantly more decorated.

The "best" surface is subjective. People like using clay pots, slate tiles, and PVC pipes, in addition to live rock as well. It also depends on if you're removing the clutch or not.

Feed. Then feed some more. Then feed some more. If you can feed them multiple smaller meals, that's better than feeding one large meal. Varying diet, and using something like LRS Fertility Frenzy (which was designed specifically for clownfish) can also be useful. Getting them the energy reserves they need for breeding is important.

 

[ThRoewer]

There is no typical age when anemonefish start spawning as their size and sexual maturity isn't related to age but rather to their position in the social hirarchy. I had some that took 5 years until they spawned for the first time and others who got busy right away.
Some seem to do fine in a bare tank with just a ceramic flowerpot while others seem to insist on having an anemone and a tank with at least some decorations.
I actually found that keeping the anemonefish pair with a pair of another species that readily spawns helps to get them into the mood. It may be the hormones the other spawning fish release or watching the others having fun...

 

[Dbichler]

Mine took 5 years at least for me to see them actually produce eggs. Have heard of as early as a year and a half. Earlier if you have a female already.

 

[ThRoewer]

My bicinctus spawned for the first time about 3 months after I got them - and I didn't buy them as a pair but picked them out of the 5 the store had in different tanks. Though, I may have by chance reunited a pair that had been separated at the exporter. The way how they acted after I put them together in the QT would support that theory.