How long will it take new Clownfish parents to get good at raising eggs?

[D E N I N O]

Hi all,

A couple of months ago my clowns began to lay eggs, something I've wanted to tick off my reef keeping bucket list for a while is raising them.

I don't expect them to be good parents from day 1 but I'm on the 4th clutch of eggs now and approaching hatch day and once again only about 6 - 12 eggs are left

Is this normal? Are they bad parents? Is there a clownfish social services I should be calling?

Thanks

 

[HankstankXXL750]

What else is in the tank with them?

 

[D E N I N O]

What else is in the tank with them?

2 small clown gobies, algae blenny and a silver belly wrasse

 

[HankstankXXL750]

It is possible that it is your Algea Blenny, I’m assuming it’s a sailfin or lawnmower blenny. All the same fish by common names. They have been known to eat eggs.

This is a guess on my part, as I just recently hatched my first set of Clownfish eggs. Interestingly it was the first spawn that I had ever seen from them and they did a great job of protecting it. But it is possible that I missed previous spawns.

I’m suggesting the blenny as oddly enough, I found my lawnmower blenny dead shortly before I found these eggs. I am now wondering if my clowns killed it to protect their eggs. There have not been new fish added to the tank and everyone got along.

Depending on size, your clowns may be doing their job right, but just not able to protect the eggs well enough.

Do you have an anemone with them?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi all,

A couple of months ago my clowns began to lay eggs, something I've wanted to tick off my reef keeping bucket list for a while is raising them.

I don't expect them to be good parents from day 1 but I'm on the 4th clutch of eggs now and approaching hatch day and once again only about 6 - 12 eggs are left

Is this normal? Are they bad parents? Is there a clownfish social services I should be calling?

Thanks

For me was about 4 months and was if I recalled 6-7th clutch. Its harder when there are a bunch of other fish in the tank. The parents just cant keep up with resisting other occupants

 

[D E N I N O]

It is possible that it is your Algea Blenny, I’m assuming it’s a sailfin or lawnmower blenny. All the same fish by common names. They have been known to eat eggs.

This is a guess on my part, as I just recently hatched my first set of Clownfish eggs. Interestingly it was the first spawn that I had ever seen from them and they did a great job of protecting it. But it is possible that I missed previous spawns.

I’m suggesting the blenny as oddly enough, I found my lawnmower blenny dead shortly before I found these eggs. I am now wondering if my clowns killed it to protect their eggs. There have not been new fish added to the tank and everyone got along.

Depending on size, your clowns may be doing their job right, but just not able to protect the eggs well enough.

Do you have an anemone with them?

That's interesting, I've not noticed the blenny being an issue but I'll keep an eye on it.

There is an RBTA in the tank but the clowns prefer to host a leather coral (don't ask... )

For me was about 4 months and was if I recalled 6-7th clutch. Its harder when there are a bunch of other fish in the tank. The parents just cant keep up with resisting other occupants

Interesting. I'll see how things progress then and if needed I'll pull them out into a breeding tank.

Thanks

 

[HankstankXXL750]

That's interesting, I've not noticed the blenny being an issue but I'll keep an eye on it.

There is an RBTA in the tank but the clowns prefer to host a leather coral (don't ask... )


Interesting. I'll see how things progress then and if needed I'll pull them out into a breeding tank.

Thanks

Each pair could be different. Yes many will host something different.

In my 75 gallon tank I had the lawnmower plus a purple tang, melanurus wrasse, exquisite wrasse, big eye squirrel, Cuban hogfish, and a blue spot puffer. That being said if you can get them to spawn on a tile or terracotta pot you could remove the eggs and clowns to a hatching tank.

 

[vetteguy53081]

That's interesting, I've not noticed the blenny being an issue but I'll keep an eye on it.

There is an RBTA in the tank but the clowns prefer to host a leather coral (don't ask... )


Interesting. I'll see how things progress then and if needed I'll pull them out into a breeding tank.

Thanks

Wont ask. Clowns will try to embed themselves in a stick of dynamite of you offered it

 

[FinsNgills808]

With my pairs I've noticed the clutch sizes are much larger (in quantity, size, and healthy vigorous fry) if the parents are fed well. They should have some form of shell fish (mysis shrimp) and high nutrition pellet food fed several times a day, 3 at least. Feeding well will also cause them to spawn on a regular basis, normally within 3-4 days after hatch they lay another batch of eggs. My broodstock are kept alone, no other tank mates, so I'm not sure if the other fish in your tank maybe causing them stress or eating the eggs. I was having trouble in the beginning with small hatches and weak fry, feeding them pellets 3 times a day made the difference. I feed them TDO medium size pellets. The pellets are nutrient dense so you do not need to feed them a lot, just often, I use a cheap amazon auto feeder.

 

[D E N I N O]

With my pairs I've noticed the clutch sizes are much larger (in quantity, size, and healthy vigorous fry) if the parents are fed well. They should have some form of shell fish (mysis shrimp) and high nutrition pellet food fed several times a day, 3 at least. Feeding well will also cause them to spawn on a regular basis, normally within 3-4 days after hatch they lay another batch of eggs. My broodstock are kept alone, no other tank mates, so I'm not sure if the other fish in your tank maybe causing them stress or eating the eggs. I was having trouble in the beginning with small hatches and weak fry, feeding them pellets 3 times a day made the difference. I feed them TDO medium size pellets. The pellets are nutrient dense so you do not need to feed them a lot, just often, I use a cheap amazon auto feeder.

I feed them constantly to be fair, every time I walk past the tank they get a small pinch of flake, some pellets or a cube of frozen food. They must get fed 6 times a day in small quantities.