Clownfish Eggs

[rhdoug]

The book was invaluable to me when I raised the fish. One other thing I found. At night the larvae settled to sleep on the bottom of the tank. Since the flow is practically non-existent, all the crap from the day of eating rotifers, and other stuff like dead algae, etc. settled to the bottom. I had to very carefully, with airline tubing, vacuum virtually every inch of the bottom of the tank before lights out. I had to do this EVERY NIGHT for the first couple of weeks. Any night I skipped cleanup resulted in heavy losses. I don't recall if this is the same experience others had, but it seemed to be a must for my baby gold stripe maroons. Here's a post-metamorphosis shot.

 

[seabass]

That's awesome rhdoug.

[rhdoug]

Thank you! Not sure how to embed a youtube vid, but if you are interested here's a link to one I put together called "A Gold Stripe Maroon 2005-2015 ". It shows the life of one of the fish that I raised, he lived his entire life in the same 10 gallon tank that he was transferred into after hatching.

 

 

[seabass]

Clownfish babies make me smile.

[xAyanex]

Thank you! Not sure how to embed a youtube vid, but if you are interested here's a link to one I put together called "A Gold Stripe Maroon 2005-2015 ". It shows the life of one of the fish that I raised, he lived his entire life in the same 10 gallon tank that he was transferred into after hatching.

 

 

The baby fish are soooo cute!!! Very cool video!!

[vlangel]

The book was invaluable to me when I raised the fish. One other thing I found. At night the larvae settled to sleep on the bottom of the tank. Since the flow is practically non-existent, all the crap from the day of eating rotifers, and other stuff like dead algae, etc. settled to the bottom. I had to very carefully, with airline tubing, vacuum virtually every inch of the bottom of the tank before lights out. I had to do this EVERY NIGHT for the first couple of weeks. Any night I skipped cleanup resulted in heavy losses. I don't recall if this is the same experience others had, but it seemed to be a must for my baby gold stripe maroons. Here's a post-metamorphosis shot.

 

Sorry seabass, I have been not keeping up with your thread but caught up tonight. What rhdoug reported about not vacumeing was also what I found. In fact I vacumed multiple times a day and I still had heavy losses, especially the first couple of days after I removed them from the tank that their parents were in. In the end I had about 13 make it through metamorphosis out of 200+ and only 7 to juvenile stage.

[seabass]

Thank you both for sharing that with me. I will vacuum prior to lights out. But now I'm even more worried about my trip. However, they would make it through metamorphosis before I leave, and it will just be for a few days. What do you guys think, should I just wait until I get back or give this batch a go?

[Mariaface]

I say give it a go. Your cultures will grow back, so it's not like you're wasting them if you get the experience. And you'll get an idea of survival rates even if they don't all make it (or if none do).

[littlepieceofnature]

I'm with Mariaface. Give it a go!

[Proudgeek]

Go for it!

[seabass]

Alright.

 

 

So straining a phyto culture through a coffee filter isn't as easy as I thought it'd be. The filter became clogged after passing only about a cup of greenwater through it. I gave up after two filters (I was only doing it as a precaution anyway).

[RayWhisperer]

I'm still suggesting you wait. Whatever you decide, though.

 

On that note. Remember when I said I've learned a lot through osmosis? Well, no need to vacuum every square inch of the brood tank. Go buy a cheap bathroom, or window squeegee. Very slowly and gently squeegee the bottom of the tank moving the siphon tube back and forth along it as you are doing it.

[seabass]

Awesome tip Ray, thanks!

 

I'm also pretty sure you are right about waiting too. I don't know about you, but I find it frustrating when people don't listen to sound advice. I'm sorry, I really should listen to you.

 

Lame justification: I suspect that my first attempt will be unsuccessful. So I guess I'll just treat it as a learning experience, so I'm better prepared for the next batch when I return.

 

 

I'm not really sure what density is normal. I've read about 15 per ml (which would give me over 200,000 rotifers) so I guess the culture is coming along alright.

Apparently, I should have at least 100 rotifers per ml. I'll have to check again tomorrow to see if I even have enough to proceed.

[seabass]

The rotifer culture is viable, but the density is still poor. I'm leaning toward only saving a handful of larvae (instead of the whole batch). That, or waiting altogether (which I know is probably the right thing to do).

 

Phyto culture: I now have 2 one gallon containers and 2 two liter containers setup like this.

 

Rotifer culture: I know I shouldn't be using an airstone. I just need to switch it out for rigid airline tubing.

 

The tank walls are getting too dirty to take good pics anymore. I kind of lost track, I think this is day 7. So they should hatch tomorrow night.

[Mariaface]

If the cultures aren't up to it, I guess it's not worth it But hey, they'll be nice and dense when you get to it! And mom and dad can have a bit more practice, and maybe even make a larger clutch!

[holy carp]

How green are you making the rotifer culture water?

[Pjanssen]

Did you brew your coffee for the night yet?

[seabass]

If the cultures aren't up to it, I guess it's not worth it But hey, they'll be nice and dense when you get to it! And mom and dad can have a bit more practice, and maybe even make a larger clutch!

I'm still thinking about trying to save a half a dozen, and leaving the others in the tank. That way there won't be as much waste, and maybe I'll have enough food. If nothing else, it'll give me some practice. If I miss it tomorrow night, I'll just wait until December.

 

How green are you making the rotifer culture water?

That's about as green as I've had it. Usually it's a little lighter, but I hoping to get the population higher.

 

I've also ordered a Seachem ammonia alert badge and Kordon pH decrease adjuster for the rotifer culture. Clownfish babies are expensive (and a bit of work).

 

Did you brew your coffee for the night yet?

Getting ready for tomorrow.

[teenyreef]

Good luck! I've learned so much from this thread

[holy carp]

Yeah, fingers crossed. We need a live-cam feed of the process

[gulfsurfer101]

Good luck! Looks like they are consistent so you'll get plenty of practice in! You'll get it eventually!

[seabass]

So I just read that you feed about 1000 rotifers per each larvae everyday. Also, adding greenwater to the hatch tank can help the rotifers multiply in the tank. And it's even possible to cultivate the larvae and rotifers in the same tank.

 

I've learned so much from this thread

Me too

 

We need a live-cam feed of the process

I've tried to get pics and video with lights out (low light), but my camera isn't capable. However, I'll continue to try and get some pics and occasional videos.

[pappadumplingz]

How are the eggs going? Have they hatched yet?

[seabass]

How are the eggs going? Have they hatched yet?

No they didn't hatch last night. They've been hatching on day 8, so probably tonight.

[aibocyrus]

I'll be keeping a close eye today on this thread. Been following since you started!