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View Full Version : I need advice! My B &W clowns laid eggs


dmack
10/07/2011, 05:04 PM
So my clown laid eggs last Saturday night on a very large colony of frogspawn. I am interested in raising the fry. I set-up a 40g breeder tank with an airstone and heater. My plan is to move the frog spawn to the breeder tank tonight to separate them from the other fish. Does this make sense? I filled the breeder tank with water from 2 water changes from the main tank so the water chemistry should match. Do the fry have different water temp requirements?
Also, I had some rotifers delivered to my house today from Reeds Mariculture. I would really appreciate any advice you can provide. Thanks!

john miller
10/07/2011, 06:21 PM
Here is everything you could possibly what to know in this thread.
It's a great read.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2079785

dmack
10/07/2011, 07:03 PM
That. Link brings me back to my own thread. Can you please repost?

aquaph8
10/07/2011, 09:03 PM
Your eggs wont hatch for 9 days. Its best to leave them with the parents up until the night of the hatch cause they take care of them. Im pretty new to this too but I can help a little. Ill post a good link for you in a minute.

aquaph8
10/07/2011, 09:05 PM
read this one, lots of great info (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1333809)

aquaph8
10/07/2011, 09:08 PM
here is one for Rotifers (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/9/breeder)

Hope this helps, good luck. Let me know how it all goes.

dmack
10/08/2011, 05:38 AM
Thanks for the links, they are very good. I've lowered the salinity in the fry tank to 1.020 to match the salinity of the rotifer tank.

john miller
10/08/2011, 08:34 AM
read this one, lots of great info (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1333809)

^
It was this one, sorry about that.

dmack
10/08/2011, 06:35 PM
Ok, should I move the frogspawn (where the eggs are) to the fry tank or just leave it alone and try to scoop out the larvae when they hatch? I think they might hatch tonight so I better make a decision here shortly. Im worried the lower salinity will hurt the frogspawn.

BTW it looks like mamma is pregnant again!

aquaph8
10/08/2011, 06:41 PM
Your clowns will lay about every 14 days. Try to put a tile in the spot where they layed so you can just move that over. I would try and scoop them out this time around. Keep the room dark and shine a flash light at the surface of the water. They're attracted to the light like moths.

dmack
10/08/2011, 06:50 PM
My tank is full of corals. It might be hard to scoop out the fry

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1648&pictureid=36101

aquaph8
10/08/2011, 06:53 PM
Very nice tank. You might wanna just let this one go and try the tile for next batch. Thats where im at right now. Of couse now they laid right next to the tile. If you try to scoop them out make sure you turn all your pumps off and best of luck to ya.

dmack
10/08/2011, 06:54 PM
and here's the male that has been so diligent in guarding the eggs

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1648&pictureid=36102

dmack
10/08/2011, 06:56 PM
thanks for the wishes. I brought home a tile today. But I don't see any incentive for her to use it when there are suitable surfaces all over the place.

dmack
10/08/2011, 06:57 PM
Ok, Ill scoop them out. It seems like a more practical approach in this case

john miller
10/08/2011, 08:01 PM
When you said large colony of frogspawn you weren't kidding. That thing is awesome.

dmack
10/08/2011, 08:06 PM
Well, I couldn't stand it. I took off my lights from under the hood and lifted half (literally) of the corals out at once since they are all grown together. put the frogspawn in a bucket (hopefully without exposing the eggs to air, and placed it all in the fry tank. Pics to follow.

dmack
10/08/2011, 08:15 PM
heres a crappy shot

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1648&pictureid=36103

dmack
10/08/2011, 08:31 PM
a little better shot:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1648&pictureid=36104

john miller
10/08/2011, 09:22 PM
Good luck!

Clownfish Depot
10/08/2011, 09:43 PM
Congrats! Can you post pics of the parents?

dmack
10/09/2011, 08:47 AM
here you go
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1648&pictureid=36118

dmack
10/09/2011, 08:47 AM
no babies last night. But everyting looks ok still...

dmack
10/09/2011, 09:16 AM
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1648&pictureid=36119
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1648&pictureid=36120

om84
10/09/2011, 06:13 PM
Following along. I am in a similar situation. I was miserably unsuccessful at my first attempt to raise the B&W fry last month. I haven't bothered trying again because it is literally too much work. You need a lot of time on your hands to do this. I'm thinking about trying again so am interested in seeing what you do. I do want to recommend that instead of putting the fry in a 40 breeder, I would get a smaller tank. For the initial part, I think a 5 or 10 gallon would be best. Even then, I think keeping the tank only half full is advantageous to you. This is to make sure you can provide enough rotifers for all the fry. The larger your tank, the more dense rotifer population you'll need. Good luck!

dmack
10/09/2011, 07:11 PM
Following along. I am in a similar situation. I was miserably unsuccessful at my first attempt to raise the B&W fry last month. I haven't bothered trying again because it is literally too much work. You need a lot of time on your hands to do this. I'm thinking about trying again so am interested in seeing what you do. I do want to recommend that instead of putting the fry in a 40 breeder, I would get a smaller tank. For the initial part, I think a 5 or 10 gallon would be best. Even then, I think keeping the tank only half full is advantageous to you. This is to make sure you can provide enough rotifers for all the fry. The larger your tank, the more dense rotifer population you'll need. Good luck!

Thats a great point. I should have used a smaller tank, but I dont want to move them again. I remove some of the water. here is another egg shot. Whats great about a hobby is that it leads to learning new things. I have NO camera skills but I keep tinkering with it. Maybe I can improve my photography skills.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1648&pictureid=36125

Clownfish Depot
10/10/2011, 09:25 AM
The parents look great! Good luck with the eggs. I like your close up shots of them. Did you use marco lens?

dmack
10/10/2011, 09:43 PM
The parents look great! Good luck with the eggs. I like your close up shots of them. Did you use marco lens?

Thanks. No its just a standard lense that came with my camera. I would like to improve my photography skills. In this case the subjects were difficult to photo because of the position of the eggs.

BTW, they are hatching as I type! :dance:

Clownfish Depot
10/10/2011, 10:00 PM
Post some pics of them in the morning. Congrats and good luck!

dmack
10/11/2011, 05:52 PM
Here is a couple of fry pics. I only ended up with about 25-30 fry. I think my biggest mistake was I transferred the eggs out from the display tank into the breeder tank 3 days early. I'm happy to get some fry. Hopefully they will thrive.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1648&pictureid=36185
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1648&pictureid=36184
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1648&pictureid=36183

john miller
10/11/2011, 08:46 PM
Congrats on the fry.

aquaph8
10/11/2011, 08:52 PM
Awesome. What are you feeding, your water looks pretty clear.

dmack
10/12/2011, 08:06 PM
Congrats on the fry.

thanks!

dmack
10/12/2011, 08:09 PM
Awesome. What are you feeding, your water looks pretty clear.

I'm feeding them rotifers. im not sure how clear or green the water should be. I have some BBS eggs being delivered tomorrow. This fry raising business is hard work! I must have had some losses last night becuase I'm only counting about 15-18 fry. The frogspawn was in the tank until this morning when I took it out. I wonder if the frogspawn ate some fry or if they were just not healthy. Anyway, the remaining fry look good. They have fat bellies. looks like momma clown is getting pretty fat. I wouldn't be surprised if she lays more eggs this weekend or early next week. I broke the huge frogspawn up where the clowns host. When I put it back in the tank with them, they looked so happy, it was funny. the smaller pieces of frogspawn along with the tile that is now in the tank should make removal a much easier process. I now have a better idea of what the eggs look like before they hatch, so I'm hoping more success next time.

Clownfish Depot
10/12/2011, 09:29 PM
I have my water a slight green so the fry can see the rotifers better. Just a slight light green.

dmack
10/13/2011, 08:12 PM
no news today. Fry are doing well. Mama clown is very fat!

john miller
10/13/2011, 09:00 PM
Glad to hear.

bigfoot610
10/14/2011, 12:35 AM
my guess is some definetly became food for the lps i had a breedang pair and man i tried like 5 batches and dropped some coin and i got like 8 fish outta like 400 fry lol i gave them to friends and they are all alive and doing well i had breeding yellow tail damsels too..... lol they were awsome coral food as thier fry are insanely small free tank food every 7 days gotta love it

bigfoot610
10/14/2011, 12:43 AM
When you move them out from the parents i would average out how long they incubate for before starting to hatch then move them at the last possible second when the male isnt fanning the eggs thier numbers on survival drop fast.....wht are you using for filtration in the hatch out tank? sponge filter?

dmack
10/14/2011, 05:55 AM
When you move them out from the parents i would average out how long they incubate for before starting to hatch then move them at the last possible second when the male isnt fanning the eggs thier numbers on survival drop fast.....wht are you using for filtration in the hatch out tank? sponge filter?

I agree with you about when to move the eggs. For the first batch, I moved them on day 6, but they didn't hatch til day 9. I might wait til day 9 depending on how they look.

As far as filtration in the fry tank, well... Im not. Its just aerated. I was planning to get a sponge filter in a few days. Should they have it on day 1?

Any suggestions about sponge filters? I'm not familiar with them.

bigfoot610
10/14/2011, 10:34 AM
when i was breeding i kept pre colonized (cycled) sponge filters running in the sump of my reef tank when i would move the eggs i would put one of the sponge filters in the hatch tank i think its a good idea as fry dieoff and waste affect your water it needs to be as clean as possible diy sponge filters are easy to make just search them :)

dmack
10/14/2011, 07:01 PM
when i was breeding i kept pre colonized (cycled) sponge filters running in the sump of my reef tank when i would move the eggs i would put one of the sponge filters in the hatch tank i think its a good idea as fry dieoff and waste affect your water it needs to be as clean as possible diy sponge filters are easy to make just search them :)

good idea. I actually ordered a couple of hydro sponge filters today. They are relatively cheap.

bigfoot610
10/15/2011, 11:08 AM
i diy'ed them for like 5 bucks each but premade is probably easier lol

dmack
10/16/2011, 08:40 AM
I introduced BBS to the the fry yesterday. I used decapsulated eggs from brineshrimpdirect. The fry are doing well. The mama clown still looks fat to me but hasn't laid any more eggs. I'll keep an eye on her.

Question: what will happen if BBS get mixed into the rotifer grow out bucket??

aquaph8
10/16/2011, 08:46 AM
BBS are really invasive and can take over rot cultures. Be careful not to use the same equipment between cultures without washing it really well.

dmack
10/16/2011, 09:15 AM
BBS are really invasive and can take over rot cultures. Be careful not to use the same equipment between cultures without washing it really well.

Thanks for the info Brett. I appreciate the advice. I was scooping some rotifer water out of the bucket and replaciing it with fry tank water. Now that I have BBS in there, Ill need to use new SW.

dmack
10/19/2011, 08:58 PM
Babies are doing good. No losses. They are starting to "wiggle" like clown fish, but they still look rather nondescript. I have another question... I just set up a hydro sponge filter. The rigid tube sticks out of the top of the water. Is this still going to filter?

billsreef
10/20/2011, 11:46 AM
You need to either cut down that tube, or raise the water level over the top of the tube ;)

dmack
10/21/2011, 07:21 AM
You need to either cut down that tube, or raise the water level over the top of the tube ;)

Thanks Bill. I'll raise the water level. The fry are all doing well. They are beginning to look a little more "clownfish" like!

billsreef
10/21/2011, 10:05 AM
Excellent :beer:

john miller
10/21/2011, 12:04 PM
Thanks Bill. I'll raise the water level. The fry are all doing well. They are beginning to look a little more "clownfish" like!


Pics are always nice.

dmack
10/23/2011, 08:01 AM
Here you go... Ignore the nasty glass. Its time for some cleaning. I'm amazed how quickly these fry change.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1648&pictureid=36484

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1648&pictureid=36483

Haven't had any losses. I believe there are 16 fish.

john miller
10/23/2011, 10:10 AM
Looking good.

dmack
10/26/2011, 03:49 PM
heres a brief video of the babies

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rVtbxbWmy08" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

john miller
10/26/2011, 07:55 PM
They look good.
I never would have imagined they could handle that much flow.

dmack
10/26/2011, 08:41 PM
They look good.
I never would have imagined they could handle that much flow.

Thanks John. There is very little flow in the tank. Its a 40 breeder with the airstone. Its funny, sometimes, they just huddle up and next to the bubbles from the airstone and hang-out in a tiny group. Other times they are spread out. Usually, there are even a couple fighting each other. I was surprised to see aggression at such a young age.
I've introduced flake food which they seem to be taking to just fine.

john miller
10/26/2011, 09:37 PM
Congrats on getting the food switched over. I know that can be a real pain sometimes.

hvacman250
10/27/2011, 02:10 PM
They look good.
I never would have imagined they could handle that much flow.

Imagine what real life is like in the ocean and its crazy tides. Its amazing any survive in the ocean.

dmack
10/27/2011, 04:39 PM
Im learning how to use utube.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7bVdRebHyEM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Clownfish Depot
10/27/2011, 09:18 PM
Beautiful reef! Thanks for posting the video.

countrykat
10/28/2011, 02:33 PM
That is awesome :beer:

dmack
11/03/2011, 06:25 PM
Here is a little update. I apologize for the poor video quality

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jNDjpyJAoog" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Clownfish Depot
11/03/2011, 09:21 PM
Cool video. Just curious , why did you put them in such a big tank?

dmack
11/04/2011, 05:49 AM
Cool video. Just curious , why did you put them in such a big tank?

Simple... It was the only spare tank I had! It's a 40g tank. The tiny fish look lost in there! But more volume should help with water quality.

Clownfish Depot
11/04/2011, 06:33 AM
LOL that's cool, plus I think it will help them grow faster too. Are you a HOB and/or a sponge filter?

john miller
11/04/2011, 12:23 PM
Cool video. How old are they now?

dmack
11/05/2011, 07:12 AM
they are about 3 1/2 weeks old now

Cool video. How old are they now?

rjcranor
11/05/2011, 12:18 PM
My clowns lay their eggs in conch shells that are in my tank. When I tried to hatch fry I took shell out the night their eyes turn silver in appearance. The longest they survived was 3 days. Hope you have succes.

lazidog
11/05/2011, 08:16 PM
Read Joyce Wilkersons book. on Clownfish. Been raising them for 2yrs, I follow most of her advice except I use algae paste, I did use phyto until I got tired of it.

Randy

dmack
11/05/2011, 08:32 PM
Read Joyce Wilkersons book. on Clownfish. Been raising them for 2yrs, I follow most of her advice except I use algae paste, I did use phyto until I got tired of it.

Randy

I would read her book, but its out of print and its pretty expensive if you can find a copy....

These fish are doing well thanks to the wealth of info here on reef central.

lazidog
11/05/2011, 08:44 PM
It takes alot of trial and error. It helps to learn from the mistakes of others.

brshriver
04/23/2012, 09:28 AM
I would read her book, but its out of print and its pretty expensive if you can find a copy....

These fish are doing well thanks to the wealth of info here on reef central.

I will drop my copy off tonight when I pick up my clowns :)

I had black breeding clowns, but they quit spawning whenever I changed something in the tank. Did yours spawn again after removing the frog span (sorry if you answered this already, I did not finish the thread)?

I never tried to raise the babies. Excellent job for your first attempt!

Brett

Allan B
05/16/2012, 10:47 PM
Tagging along! Good Luck!

ehaleyjr18
07/14/2012, 09:26 PM
om84 ever considered letting someone obtain the eggs?