Breeding Clowns- quick question

[lkoechle]

How old do clownfish have to be to breed? I had mine from babies for about year and saw some spawning esque behavior but no actual spawning. (I sold them back to the LFS when I moved) I don't plan on moving for well over a decade and plan on getting another pair when I start the new tank. I hopefully will have this pair for their expected life expectancy. I thought it'd be fun to try and raise a fry when and if they start breeding. Even at about a year and half old (i'm guessing I got them at around 4 to 6 months old, they were teeny), my clowns were still fairly small and the breeding pairs I've seen are much larger. How old are they usually before they start breeding?

[Tamberav]

"Females at 2 years in age and over 2.5 inches in length. Males by age 6 months."

 

However, clowns may never spawn... it could be many many years or never. If you want to raise babies, buying a known mated pair (they have laid clutches before) is probably the best way or I would expect to way 4-5 years.... or well... forever.

 

"Once you decide that you are going to attempt to raise fry I highly recommend that you transfer your pair to a dedicated tank or system, this is known as a brood stock system. In order to produce viable eggs and healthy fry the pair should have the proper conditions and be fed very well. Most often those conditions are not optimal in a reef tank and more easily controlled in a separate system."

 

More here: http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/269202-pickles-guide-to-breeding-clowns/

[lkoechle]

Thanks!

[vlangel]

I had a breeding pair of tomato clowns. I bought them together as young juveniles. The dominant one bullied the other so that it hid behind the filter all the time. They were in a 90g reef tank with other fish. The dominant one became a female and eventually she invited the other clown to share her anemone. I guess she decided he was better than nothing since they were the only clowns. First I noticed some twitching and shimmying. Then they began biting on the LR near their nem. I am guessing they laid their first batch of eggs around 18-24 months old. They laid eggs twice a month for years. I bought Joyce Wilkerson's book, 'Clownfishes' for instruction to raise clowns. I successfully raised 8 baby clowns my first and only try. It is a lot of work, especially keeping a rotifer culture from crashing. I sold all but one baby clown when I downsized to a 36g tank. His name is Baby and he's around 6 years old or so.

[Lionslair]

Are the fry eaten by the parents ? 50 some years ago or more we bread some fish in our fish store (living room) (100 tanks) (large house) and the parents at the fry. So Dad put in a grate and had plants in the lower area and upper area. The fry dropped down

through the grate and were protected and grew. Thought I'd put that out as a thought.

Martin

[vlangel]

Are the fry eaten by the parents ? 50 some years ago or more we bread some fish in our fish store (living room) (100 tanks) (large house) and the parents at the fry. So Dad put in a grate and had plants in the lower area and upper area. The fry dropped down

through the grate and were protected and grew. Thought I'd put that out as a thought.

Martin

If I didn't rescue them immediately upon hatching my Borneo cardinals were waiting in the wings for a snack! Most SW fish need to be raised in a nursery tank where a high density of very tiny food can be offered. That does not exist in our tanks and we would pollute our tanks if we tried to create it. The ocean naturally has a planktonic layer at the surface just teeming with life for baby fish. The only exceptions I know are mouthbrooders like Cardinal fish. They can be raised in a tank with parents if another fish doesn't eat them.