Sailfin11
Well-Known Member
About 1.5 years ago, I got two small Clarkii clowns from Sustainable Aquatics (coralreeftn.com). Over that time, they have grown from yellow juveniles to a breeding pair! I wanted to document by journey with these fish and share what I learned. Here is a picture from when I first got them (pardon the poor quality):
I'm by no means a clownfish expert, but I did notice some changes in their behavior before they started breeding. Ever since I had gotten them, the female had been very aggressive towards the male and oftentimes chased him around the tank. In January, I moved a rock of anemones into the tank, and the female took to it within hours. However, she would not let the male go into them (even though there were about 15 RBTAs). This persisted for about a month. The family made jokes about her kicking him out, because the poor guy had to sleep by the overflow while she enjoyed their "rosy" home.
Out of the blue one day, I saw the male with her! It was exciting to see them together for a change! During the following weeks, I noticed that all of the chasing had stopped. After that, they really seemed like a pair. I'm not sure if that is an indicator of real pairing for all clowns, but it certainly was with mine!
On April 5, they had their first clutch. Somehow, even though I've never seen clownfish eggs before, I knew what they were. There weren't that many, those orange beads are hard to miss. For first time parents, they were quite doting and even kept those eggs safe from my "anemone resistant" six line wrasse (that fish literally dives into the nems unscathed) and coris wrasse.
Clutch number 2 was laid just 9 days after on April 13! The first eggs hadn't even hatched yet. There was almost 4 times as many eggs this time around. After they had their first clutch, I decided to increase feeding to give them all the fats and energy they would need. Ever since I started that, my serpent star has been looking really full
Here's a picture of round 2.
And today on April 23, they laid once again! This time 10 days after. Clutch number 2 looks about ready to hatch out as I can see their eyes (in the picture below they look silver and shimmery). I circled the #2 eggs in yellow and today's in red.
One of my goals with these guys is to mimic the wild family group of clownfish you see in the ocean. I was thinking about having 3-5 tiny juvis with the two of them and trying to recreate that especially with all the RBTA real estate. I have done some research on rearing the fry and it seems a little bit challenging. I'd also have to move them out of this tank, which would be disappointing as they really love those nems! Also, as you can kind of see in the picture above, both of the parents have the "bull-nose" which I don't think is ideal. I guess for $5-$10 a fish, I could just get a few young fish from some local breeders. Any suggestions? Thanks for following along!
I'm by no means a clownfish expert, but I did notice some changes in their behavior before they started breeding. Ever since I had gotten them, the female had been very aggressive towards the male and oftentimes chased him around the tank. In January, I moved a rock of anemones into the tank, and the female took to it within hours. However, she would not let the male go into them (even though there were about 15 RBTAs). This persisted for about a month. The family made jokes about her kicking him out, because the poor guy had to sleep by the overflow while she enjoyed their "rosy" home.
Out of the blue one day, I saw the male with her! It was exciting to see them together for a change! During the following weeks, I noticed that all of the chasing had stopped. After that, they really seemed like a pair. I'm not sure if that is an indicator of real pairing for all clowns, but it certainly was with mine!
On April 5, they had their first clutch. Somehow, even though I've never seen clownfish eggs before, I knew what they were. There weren't that many, those orange beads are hard to miss. For first time parents, they were quite doting and even kept those eggs safe from my "anemone resistant" six line wrasse (that fish literally dives into the nems unscathed) and coris wrasse.
Clutch number 2 was laid just 9 days after on April 13! The first eggs hadn't even hatched yet. There was almost 4 times as many eggs this time around. After they had their first clutch, I decided to increase feeding to give them all the fats and energy they would need. Ever since I started that, my serpent star has been looking really full
Here's a picture of round 2.And today on April 23, they laid once again! This time 10 days after. Clutch number 2 looks about ready to hatch out as I can see their eyes (in the picture below they look silver and shimmery). I circled the #2 eggs in yellow and today's in red.
One of my goals with these guys is to mimic the wild family group of clownfish you see in the ocean. I was thinking about having 3-5 tiny juvis with the two of them and trying to recreate that especially with all the RBTA real estate. I have done some research on rearing the fry and it seems a little bit challenging. I'd also have to move them out of this tank, which would be disappointing as they really love those nems! Also, as you can kind of see in the picture above, both of the parents have the "bull-nose" which I don't think is ideal. I guess for $5-$10 a fish, I could just get a few young fish from some local breeders. Any suggestions? Thanks for following along!
