Baby Food Info needed for Clownfish

[MCSInc]

Looking for information on what to feed baby clarkiis.

Is there a book that I need to aquire that is specific to this subject?

I have read the posts by Elmo and Coralseas and it sounds like I need to start with rotifers. Does anyone have a approximate progression of foods, like rotifers day 1 to 3 moving to ????

Is the general idea to use a clean sterile tank or can they be netted out and moved to the refugium (If I am lucky enough to be home when they are hatching).

Well in the next couple of days I should be able to see if the eggs are viable and I should have just about a week thill they hatch. Big Mama and Little Papa are giving the eggs their full attention.

The really good news is that Big Mama must be fully recovered from her very serious injury on December 22nd of '04. Thanks to everyone who encouraged me through that trying time and to Terry for the excellent information.

 

[steve-s]

This might help get you started...
http://www.petstation.com/clownfish.html

I would highly recommend "Clownfishes" by Joyce D. Wilkerson

Cheers
Steve

 

[MCSInc]

Great, I will definitely try to find that book.

 

[uwscotch]

I agree. Read Joyces book. There is so much information out there, but I have not seen anything as comprehensive and yet easy to read as her book.

Best

Aaron

 

[Peterock]

What do you think is the easiest clowns to breed I would love to breed some. And where is a good or the best place to get a breeding pair?

 

[steve-s]

What do you think is the easiest clowns to breed I would love to breed some.

I find skunk clowns (Amphiprion perideraion, Amphiprion akallopisos & Amphiprion sandaracinos), peridaraion especially to be among the easiest. Generally speaking though, once a clown pair start mating, it will be a monthly occurance as long as they are not disturbed too much. You can almost pinpoint it to within a day or two.

And where is a good or the best place to get a breeding pair?

Personally I wouldn't buy them as an already mated pair. I've had much better luck buying very small juvenilles. Their reproductive states will still be "nueter" if you will and they will form their own pair bond. One eventually becoming female and the other male. When buying already mated pairs, I have experienced mixed results with the pair bond remaining strong once transported and placed in the tank. The female will often reject the male and the pair doesn't re-establish itself.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Peterock]

I was thinking of getting a group of juvies but I have had 3 clowns in my tank at one time and they all fought because I have one anemone and they all want to sleep and play in it so they started fighting. I will have another tank set up just to do the breeding so I wont have that problem... Dont really like the look of the skunks is there any others.

 

[steve-s]

Percs or ocellaris will breed readily as will clarkiis. It's not always too hard to get many of them to breed as long as things are set up in favor for it, although some species can be much more of a challenge. The book will guide you through the process quite well.

When looking for clowns as potential mating partners, buy the absolute smallest available (1" or less) and only two. Buying three is rather hit and miss and they will commonly end up fighting. When the two small clowns are introduced to a tank there will be no immediate signs of pair bonding but as they mature, they will develope the classic signs of mating. Small skirmishes will be a telltale sign they are trying to establish dominance. Chasing, tail nipping and biting are quite common. You will eventually be able to recognize the difference bewteen this behavior and full blown aggression. Sexual dimorphism will begin to show once the dominant of the two has been established and undergone the change to female. She will become the larger of the two. The male will typically display a type of "dancing" behavior and clean a particular area of the rock in preparation to getting the female to lay her eggs. This does not immediately indicate impending mating and can go on for some months until both are sexually mature enough to spawn.

Cheers
Steve

 

[MCSInc]

"Depending on the temperature, around day 8 the eyes will become silver. This means its time to hatch." a quote from Breeding the Clownfish
By Rick Martin

I can now see what you mean about the eyes turning from black to silver on the eggs. It is VERY obvious, a very bright silver. What is even more interesting is that only about 2/3 of the eggs have gone to the bright silver eyes and the other 1/3 still have the black eyes of yesterday.

Now if I can just get them safely hatched. The interest level of the other fish in the tank has really intensified. Big Mama and Little Papa are both very busy fanning and shooing everyone away.

 

[Elmo18]

"Depending on the temperature, around day 8 the eyes will become silver. This means its time to hatch." a quote from Breeding the Clownfish
By Rick Martin

I can now see what you mean about the eyes turning from black to silver on the eggs. It is VERY obvious, a very bright silver. What is even more interesting is that only about 2/3 of the eggs have gone to the bright silver eyes and the other 1/3 still have the black eyes of yesterday.

Now if I can just get them safely hatched. The interest level of the other fish in the tank has really intensified. Big Mama and Little Papa are both very busy fanning and shooing everyone away.

It is not so much that the eyes get silver that they will hatch. There needs to be some 'brown coloration' as well. That is how i know mine will hatch that night. However, it is not always the case that it's 8 days. Hatching is dependent on temperature....the warmer, the faster the eggs will hatch.

- Elmo

 

[Elmo18]

What is even more interesting is that only about 2/3 of the eggs have gone to the bright silver eyes and the other 1/3 still have the black eyes of yesterday.

I see this as well with some spawns. My guess is some will hatch sooner than others. There are so many variables which somehow make eggs hatch in the afternoon, in the evening, or some at night and some the next night. All mine now hatch an hour or so after the lights are out.

I would keep your temperature stable and not have it swing much, if you can.

- Elmo

 

[aquariumdebacle]

"Conditioning, Spawning, and Rearing of Fish with Emphasis on Marine Clownfish" by Franf Hoff and your going to need some plankton to feed them so "Plankton Culture Manual" by Frank Hoff & Terry Snell

 

[MCSInc]

Try Try Again

The first set of eggs vanished without a trace between 11:00 at night and 7:15 in the morning.

Now we are on try # 2.

Eggswere laid on 4-28 and about 3 times as many as last time. They seem to be having a harder time protecting them. They are losing some eggs from the back side of the nest. Once again they are fertile.

Maybe I will get a weekend hatch this time.

 

[MCSInc]

Does DTs Phytoplankton do any good for newly hatched fry.

Also has anyone tried Marine Snow.

3rd does any one have rotifer cultures closer to the canadian border that I can get in touch with by this weekend.

Wow, I need to learn a lot quickly.

 

[steve-s]

The first set of eggs vanished without a trace between 11:00 at night and 7:15 in the morning.

If left in the main tank, they will likely never be around come lights on the next day. Between the filtration system, fish and corals; they don't stand a chance. Once the fish deposit the eggs, they should be transfered to a rearing tank.

Does DTs Phytoplankton do any good for newly hatched fry.
Also has anyone tried Marine Snow.

Those will feed the rotifers but won't offer anything in the way of proper nutrition. They need the rotifres only when first hatched.

Cheers
Steve

 

[RegalFlush17]

I thought that I should clarify the book that uwscotch was referring to. It is Joyce Wilkerson's book of clownfish and breeding. Even though I have not read, it is suppose to be a wonderful reference. I am thinking of purchasing because I am interested in this field as well.

Goodluck

 

[steve-s]

3rd does any one have rotifer cultures closer to the canadian border that I can get in touch with by this weekend.

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=75104#post75104

:?: :idea: :?:

Cheers
Steve

 

[MCSInc]

Ya, I have been watching that post. My daughter is having a fit to get her hands on the endlers.

But it is a 4 hour drive round trip. sigh....

Oh well maybe I will need to go play with Seattle traffic anyway.

I was thinking of North of Seattle

 

[MCSInc]

Also, on the first set of eggs I did pull them out of the tank but I put them in the refugium. Problem is I have a breeder pair of cleaner shrimp in the refugium. So needless to say I stupidly feed the clarkii eggs to the cleaner shrimp.

Have a clean sterile tank ready to go for this weekend. But I am going to have to move a rather large rock that the eggs are on so who knows what will get transfered in with the rock.