Getting closer to clownfish breeding… separate tanks or dividers?

[CKnight216]

We’ve been doing our research and fatting up our harem… ages 6m-6 years. Breeding clownfish May be part of my daughter’s seniors project on oceanography.
Next step growing a bunch of rotifers
Question for breeding pairs because they live in harems together now in 2 display tanks… when I pull them to put the pairs in a breeding set up, can you help me understand the pros and cons of a divided breeder tank v separate tanks. This is just for the breeders. Still working on figuring out the grow out set up.
thanks in advance.

 

[Timfish]

As far as keeping the fish I don't see it matters much either way. Multiple tanks could be put on a single sump making water changes as easy as a single system with dividers. I'd be inclined let what best optimizes the space available and facilitates maintenance decide

 

[CKnight216]

@Timfish Thanks for the reply. My inclination is one tank divided because of the maintenance but truly it's because I do not have a comprehensive understanding of sump set ups yet. We'll figure it out... If money weren't an issue, I would love to set up both and see what I like, but alas, I am not blessed with unlimited funds! lol

 

[Timfish]

. . . but truly it's because I do not have a comprehensive understanding of sump set ups yet. We'll figure it out . . .

You're welcome! Don't get too wrapped up with all the different ways people set up their sumps/refugiums. Martin Moe who was raising clownfish in commercial quantity's back in the 70's was using tanks with undergravel filters and airpumps.. (You might check out his book "Breeding the Orchid Dottyback.) I've been quite successful keeping systems for decades with just tanks for sumps without any dividers or chambers. And overflows don't have to be fancy boxes with toothed weirs and over designed space consuming plumping. An overflow can be as simple as a bulkhead fitting with a piece of PVC for a standpipe and a bit of cheap gutter screen form a home improvement store to keep fish from going down it. Also, if you haven't thought of this yet, dividers can be made with eggcrate and plastic "canvas" from hobby supply stores hot glued to the egg crate.

I haven't yet tried raising any of the fish I have breeding in my systems but a friend of mine once was raising the clownfish larva from his clowns in his display tank with a very basic setup. He did have a pretty high loss but he only used a 10 gallon tank and some glass jars and air pumps in addition to his display system. He would order rotifers to arrive the day before the eggs hatched and several times more during the first two weeks. The evening the larva hatched he would tyrn off all pumps in his diplay tank and use a flashlight after the lights turned off and carefully scoop out the larve drawn to the light. They would be placed in the 10 gallon that already had water from the aquarium and started adding rotifers. For circulation he would only use air pumps and rigid airline (no airstone) in the jars with the rotifers and the fry tank. He did daily 50% water changes using an airline to carefully siphon out as much detritus without sucking up any larva. After about a week he'd start trying baby brine shrimp. He only raised a handful of batches but he had sold a couple hundred ~1" clowns to a LFS when he stopped trying to raise them.


Here's a video of the sump for a system I set up in '97. I've had Turkey Wing Clams successfully breed in it and many of the inverts, corals and fish were bought in the '90s and 2000s so complex isn't necessary.