My first attempt raising clownfish

[The-Russ]

I am not a breeder, I understand the responsibility and it is too much for me (right now?)

I have often wondered this though. When breeding clowns, why is there not an anemone so it it natural for tank breed clowns to be hosted by one?

 

[ReeferMadness09]

I can tell you why I don't, to keep my costs to breed down. By not having an anemone I don't need to run high powered lights which saves on electricity. I would think water quality might be an even bigger pain to deal with. You have to feed more food to breeding fish which would lessen the water quality and require even more water changes or more filtration to still keep the anemones happy.

 

[WLDSHARK]

I just read the 13 pages... Thank you for sharing your ups and down thru this process. Excellent job! I have a female black ocellaris and a standard orange ocellaris they have been providing food for my tank for the past two years… taking a break from time to time. One of these days I will invest in a couple of small tanks and take the plunge.
I have one question, when you took out the pottery with the clutch of eggs did they go out of water at any time or they need to be in water at all times?

 

[domination2580]

They need to be in water at all times

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

They need to be in water at all times

Mine were out of water as I lifted the pottery from one tank to the other, but the tanks are side by side so they were out of water for probably 1-2 seconds tops.
Sue

 

[rgopaul]

Thanks for sharing this. I am waiting for mine to lay and feel I keep missing it or they are laying somewhere in secret. Helpful seeing what I am looking for now! Good luck with everything

 

[ReeferMadness09]

Hi everyone! Not much to update currently mainly because I've had no success lately. Still trying to master the pot pulling method and haven't gotten the timing down yet. I've started keeping a log, too many clowns to keep it all in my head! When I pull the pots they are out of the water for 1-2 seconds just like Sueandherzoo, just long enough for me to switch them from tank to tank. I've read about keeping the eggs submerged as well but people seem to have success both ways.

 

[Blue Lip]

I keep them submerged during the transfer.

 

[Blue Lip]

I am not a breeder, I understand the responsibility and it is too much for me (right now?)

I have often wondered this though. When breeding clowns, why is there not an anemone so it it natural for tank breed clowns to be hosted by one?

Anemones require bright light. Clownfish fry have sensitive eyes & cant handle the bright light.

 

[garra671]

Isn't this technically inbreeding? Is it safe?

 

[ReeferMadness09]

In a lot of cases it probably is inbreeding but with fish its a little different than people. I think a general guideline is that you can go as far as 6th generation before you start getting deformities. At that point the bloodline is starting to get a little thin and would probably benefit from outcrossing. One thing to keep in mind is that unless you know the exact history of the fish you are breeding, you'll never truely know what generation they might be. Even though you can buy designer clowns from all over the place theres a good chance they've all come from a singular original breeding pair making the fish you buy at least 2nd generation if not more.

 

[Pura Vida]

Interesting read. The only thing I can add is I clean my pots when transferring. Pots are out of the water for a minute to three depending on how often I have pulled that pairs clutch to hatch. I do this because I don't want to add more debris to my fry tanks. Here is a picture of a clutch pulled on day 1 for a "proof" picture for a friend that his pair spawned after just several weeks with me. Needless to say I'm not sure if he was happy or sad because I had bought them at non breeders prices

 

[ReeferMadness09]

lol, thats unfortunate for your friend! I've been neglectful of trying to raise eggs. I've been distracted with tweaking my new display tank and stocking it. The last few attempts I've been having trouble. The normal hatching schedule has been a little wacky. My lighting and temp have stayed the same but it seems like the eggs are taking longer to hatch than normal or the schedule varies more than typical. Also when i pull the pots it seems no matter how i aerate the eggs with a stone most eggs don't wanna hatch. Any suggestions for these problems?

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

So your pair chose to lay the eggs on the OUTSIDE of the pot?! What a couple of rebels!

How do you "clean" the pot during transfer without hurting the eggs? A quick rinse in fresh saltwater?
Sue

 

[Pura Vida]

Sue, no I use a towel on the pot to scrub it as clean as possible. I don't want food particles and the normal crud that builds up on them and yes they are playing hard ball with where they spawn. Their replacement pot I cut the back off so they just laid on the outside of the pot. What a nightmare to aerate.

ReeferMadness how old is the pair? Do you see development and eyes in those that don't hatch? Older females get a bit wacky and I have had males just quit doing their job.

 

[ReeferMadness09]

None of the pairs i have are more than probably 5 years old. Its weird, the eggs appear fertile. I see development, color change, and eyes. Everything about the eggs looks good

 

[Lionfish Lair]

What did the one who looked like a bicolored angel turn out?

 

[ReeferMadness09]

still more or less the same, I'll try and get a picture for you

 

[Pura Vida]

Mmm, so if the pair isn't eating them they feel the eggs are viable, you see eyes. Even though you've changed nothing tell me what your schedule is. Do you use fresh saltwater or some from the parent tank? What temp? Light schedule? Etc.

 

[ReeferMadness09]

Lately I've been using fresh saltwater aged a few days in advance and match the salinity but the temp was slightly warmer. breeding tank is about 80 and i had the hatching tank around 81-82 last time. I usually leave the tank dark for about 18 hours after the hatch is supposed to be taking place. The problem is that i only end up having a 10% hatch and the rest never do.