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seabass

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52 minutes ago, Pjanssen said:

Is there a new clutch yet?

There is a new clutch.  I just didn't post it again (also, I still haven't cleaned the glass, so pics aren't all that great).  But like Chris mentioned, seems like they are spawning every 10 days.

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47 minutes ago, Pjanssen said:

Are you ready for this clutch?

I probably could be.  I'm just not sure I want to just yet.  It's sort of a time commitment.  I got about a week to decide.

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  • 3 weeks later...
26 minutes ago, Pjanssen said:

are you ready for them yet

I looked for a tank for them yesterday.  I thought I had a spare 10gal, but no go on that.  A 5.5 should work pretty good too; maybe I'll have to pick one up.  I do still have my 2gal jar and my 2.5gal old school pico; although both of them seem a little small for a clutch.  IDK, maybe one of those tanks would work for a small group, like 5 or so.  I do have a 20 gallon tank to move them to as they get bigger (the 20 gallon could potentially be used for a clutch, but might make feeding rotifers a bit more difficult). :unsure:

 

A week ago I let my rotifer culture go too long (which greatly affected their population).  It's recovering, and maybe even large enough to raise a few clownfish larvae.  However, I didn't check for larvae last night.  A lot of the eggs showed reflective eyes (which is the sign that they are ready to hatch).  It's possible that they hatched last night, I haven't checked yet today.

 

I'll check my rotifer culture today, as well as the clutch of eggs.  If things are still looking good, I might setup the pico jar today, and stay up and wait for them to hatch.  If not, there should be another chance in about 10 days.

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8 minutes ago, Pjanssen said:

What happens to all the fry if you are not there to pull them as they hatch? Do the parents eat them?

Yeah, they're pretty much on their own at that point.  The parents might be just as likely to eat any of them as would the other fish.  Then there's the filtration and pumps, plus my mini carpet anemones or even LPS corals.  That's not even mentioning the lack of food for them.  They really don't stand a chance if left in the tank.

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Christopher Marks
11 hours ago, seabass said:

I'll check my rotifer culture today, as well as the clutch of eggs.  If things are still looking good, I might setup the pico jar today, and stay up and wait for them to hatch.  If not, there should be another chance in about 10 days.

Hope it goes well tonight @seabass!

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No hatching before midnight, so I went to sleep.  As of 7:30AM, the eggs are still there.  This is the same problem I had previously.  I guess these guys are programmed to hatch in the morning versus after light out. :unsure:

 

From what I read, the eggs hatch anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours after lights out.  And with the reflective eyes being visible for two days, they really should be hatching.  The tank lights don't come on until 2PM, so I assume they'll hatch sometime before lunchtime.  I'll check back in a few hours.

 

I may still be alright since I'm not hoping to save them all.  Maybe I'll find some stragglers in the overflow, like how I save the Banggai cardinalfish babies.  I'll keep you updated.

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Well, to my surprise, the eggs are still there:

100120a.jpg

My initial thought is that they spawned during a 3 day blackout.  Not sure hot that might affect things, but wouldn't necessarily totally rule it out.

 

I'm setting up a black 5 gallon bucket for the fry (just in case I catch any).  I figure that's better than a 2 gallon pico and there's no need to cover or paint the outside walls.

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I checked at midnight and again at 7AM.  I've done the stay up all night thing before, and I'm over doing that again. :lol:

 

But I can't believe it, the eggs were still there at noon (although the lights don't come on until 2PM).

SneakyHandsomeAssassinbug-mobile.jpg

 

I imagine they are using up their egg sac for nutrition.  I'll be around this afternoon to check on them, just in case they decide to hatch.  I was even considering leaving the lights off to assist. :unsure:

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So here's the deal.  I let the lights come on as usual, but it wasn't what I was expecting.  Unfortunately, this is in the back of the tank, and I can't really see it clearly, or take a good picture.

100220a.jpg

Obviously, the fry which were there are no longer there.  They must have hatched and I missed it sometime last night.  My attempts to capture some fry failed this time.

 

IDK, this almost looks like a new clutch.  Unless it's the remnant of the eggs, and they just haven't been cleaned off yet. :unsure:

 

 

 

 

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OK, so it looks like they bred on the same night that the previous clutch was supposed to hatch.  I'm almost wondering if the female didn't eat the previous clutch to make room for the new one.  I'm not sure what the proper clownfish protocol is on this one.  I'd think it's kind of rare.  My guess is that the 3 day blackout messed up their internal clocks somehow.

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