Keeping Clownfish Pair

[owenj]

As my 16gal is in the last leg of its cycle, I'm starting to second guess my original fish plans. Ideally I'd like a pair of false perculas, an orange/white & black/white, & a neon goby. I'm interested in the clowns for their behavior, & I've been reading that they spawn quite readily in home aquaria. I'm not planning on raising fry, so now I'm worried that the spawning/eating of eggs or fry will cause continuous spikes in my water parameters.

 

Any advice from those who keep their clowns in pairs for fun would be appreciated

[sanchez]

If you have a reef setup, It's not too common for them to spawn. IN most cases with breeding, the salinity is so different etc, to cause the spawning. I've had my clown pair for almost 3 years and they haven't even made eggs, let alone successfully hatched any fry.

 

If you do have your clown pair and they do indeed produce offspring, free fish/coral food!

[altolamprologus]

Female clowns don't start laying until they are several years old, often older under normal reef conditions. Also the babies would have no absolutely no effect on an established system and they are quite a nutritious food item.

[owenj]

If you have a reef setup, It's not too common for them to spawn. IN most cases with breeding, the salinity is so different etc, to cause the spawning. I've had my clown pair for almost 3 years and they haven't even made eggs, let alone successfully hatched any fry.

 

If you do have your clown pair and they do indeed produce offspring, free fish/coral food!

 

 

Female clowns don't start laying until they are several years old, often older under normal reef conditions. Also the babies would have no absolutely no effect on an established system and they are quite a nutritious food item.

 

Whew, thanks for the responses! I'm really looking forward to getting them soon, glad my worries were just overreactions (& sounds like it won't even happen/at least not soon).

[Euphyllia]

My black ocellaris spawned for like over a year until I sold them. Never did anything to my parameters.

[owenj]

My black ocellaris spawned for like over a year until I sold them. Never did anything to my parameters.

 

Lol, good to know. Sounds like consensus is that my water should be fine

[DAS212]

As my 16gal is in the last leg of its cycle, I'm starting to second guess my original fish plans. Ideally I'd like a pair of false perculas, an orange/white & black/white, & a neon goby. I'm interested in the clowns for their behavior, & I've been reading that they spawn quite readily in home aquaria. I'm not planning on raising fry, so now I'm worried that the spawning/eating of eggs or fry will cause continuous spikes in my water parameters.

 

Any advice from those who keep their clowns in pairs for fun would be appreciated

 

 

I think I can offer you some good advice I got yesterday from one of the best clownfish breeder on this site. I have been thinking about breeding lately, and called up Pickle. I talked to him for around an hour and he is an all around solid guy. He basically cleared a few things up for me.

 

First, it is important to know that I have a 14g biocube with 2 Snow Onxy clowns in it around breeding size along with other inverts and a ton of corals.

 

I talked to him about breeding and this is what he said:

 

1.) In some cases (but rarely) it is entirely possible to have clownfish that spawn naturally in a reef tank. The process of turning a PAIR into a MATED PAIR requires changes in water parameters and temperature that are not recommended for coral growth.

 

2.) As stated in part 1 there is a difference between a pair and a mated pair. Male clownfish paired together will eventually become a pair when one establishes dominance and becomes the female. After some aggression they will become very close. However, this does not mean they will spawn. In order to spawn they must become a mated pair, this is done by

 

a.) increasing temp from 78degrees (or whatever your at) to somewhere around 82

b.) Decreasing salinity below the coral recommended 1.026 to 1.020, increasing from 8-10 hours of lighting to almost 16 hours of light per day, and feeding heavily.

 

All of these things are not healthy for coral, so I realized that if I really wanted to mate my two clowns, it would probably not be in my reef tank.

 

In addition if you just want to see them hang out with each other, then they will be fine in your tank. They don't need to spawn to be healthy. I came to the realization that I would either need to have a reef tank or a tank committed to breeding clownfish.

 

- Dave

[owenj]

I think I can offer you some good advice I got yesterday from one of the best clownfish breeder on this site. I have been thinking about breeding lately, and called up Pickle. I talked to him for around an hour and he is an all around solid guy. He basically cleared a few things up for me.

 

- Dave

 

Thanks Dave! That was a very informative post, & along with the over tips I've gotten from this thread is making me feel reassured about my fish choices.