Need some help with A. sandaracinos

[espenlg]

Hello there,

Anyone here have any success raising a. sandaracinos? I'm loosing them at day 4 and could really need some help.

Thanks!

[Fishboy42]

A. sandaracinos larvae are generally on the small-side and so might benefit from having a high rotifer density in the larval tank for a bit longer than other clown species. We have found that this can help.

If you provide some specifics of your setup/circumstances, it might help to pinpoint the problem. Skunks can be a bit finicky anyway, so getting them to spawn is half the battle!

Lykke til!

Matt

[espenlg]

Perfect!

This is what I've tried so far;

I'm using a 10 gal larvae-tank, but I've only had about 2.5 gal to begin with. Last time I used a larval collector to get them out of the parents-tank, it seemed very gentle - larval count around 60-70.

Water fresh from the parents-tank, temperature at 80F and airline with aprx 1-2 bubbles pr. second. Cover tank top first night.

At day 1 I've added rotifer enriched with frozen phyto from reeds. I also add some phyto to make the water slightly green. I add a light above the tank. I have tried a rotifer density around 15/ml.

And thats basically what I've maintained for the next days, rotifer density at around 15/ml and keep the water slightly green for the rotifers.

Last try I also tried changing 10-15% of water every day, cleaning out the bottom and dripping in new water from parents tank. I also made sure the salinity was stable at 1.025 like the parents tank the whole time.

I've been loosing about 70-80% of the larvae by the end of day 3 and the last ones die at day 4. They seem to be eating, they have silver colored stomachs from day 2..

I hope this was helpful and that you can perhaps see what I'm doing wrong?

I've basically just been trying to do the same thing I do when raising ocellaris..

[Fishboy42]

It would seem that you are doing all the right things.

One thing you may wish to try is to increase the aeration in the larval tank. An airstone with a moderate bubble will keep things circulating, and the larvae will tend to avoid the immediate area of turbulence. This comes to mind because I have lost batches in the past due to old/clogged airstones not allowing enough air to create the necessary water circulation. A few free-flowing air valves also taught me that larvae can tolerate and actually appreciate moderate water movement in the larval tank. Maybe this can help on your next attempt. I'm sure there are others here that can offer some tips and tricks for next time as well.

[espenlg]

Thanks Matt, I'll try to increase aeration at the next attempt. I have also ordered live phyto discs from Florida and if they make it up here alive I will culture it and use that for feeding the rotifers instead. I know it's not supposed to make any difference, but can't hurt either..