Feeding clownfish to breed?

[brittanysmith18]

I hear releasing brine shrimp in the tank for food is a good idea for breeding, but do they have to be alive? Can I buy them already hatched or if I just drop the eggs in the tank, will they hatch on their own? Or could I buy the live copepod water flea things and feed my fish those?

[Tmoriarty]

I wouldn't bother with any of the above. There is some discussion that releasing live food into the tank will help to entice the fish to breed, but honestly most breeders don't go through that route. Simply varied diets of food and fed often should be enough to get them to that point.

If you decide on live food, it needs to be live, if you place the eggs in the tank the shells they hatch from are bad for the fish and need to be removed (I would advise against hatching brine in a small tank, do not know your tank size).

The live pod "water" is more a less a waste of money, you already have live pods in your tank if your tank has been running for a while and you started with even a little bit of live rock. Clownfish do not care much for "pods" as the size is a little on the small side. they will eat amphipods, if they can catch them :)

Just give your fish some time and try the other suggestions I have reccomended first. You can also add a 4" clay pot to the tank (to give them an area to associate).

[brittanysmith18]

I will add a clay pot, but they do have an anemone that they haven't hosted in yet, but the anemone decided it was most comfortable hanging upside down on a rock and I don't think they like that. My tank is 55 gallons.

[Tmoriarty]

If your clowns are ocellaris or percula they may never associate with the BTA. It is not a natural host for those two clowns in the wild (but is commonly a host to them in captivity).

The pot provides a nice flat area for them to lay their eggs. If you really want them to spawn you can always remove them from your tank, put them in a 10-20g by them selves with only a clay pot and some flow (and maybe a shallow sand bed), keep the temperatures high at 82-84, and feed them often. If they are of age (which you said they are) then they will most likely begin spawning in one-two months.

If you are not in that much of a rush just try everything else I have suggested and keep them in your current tank :)

[brittanysmith18]

They are doing all the behaviors that show they want to lay eggs, but maybe they just can't find a space where the feel comfortable to do it.

[Tmoriarty]

Are they cleaning any rocks or spots on the glass? That is the biggest sign, the twitching and such is more of a dominance sign and not a sign they will spawn (don't know if that is what you are getting). Twitching is a great sign that they are bonding and one is being submissive.

If they are not cleaning, try giving them a good spot to lay, like I said either a clay pot which is what a lot of breeders use, or a piece of tile.

[brittanysmith18]

They did the twitching thing over a year ago. The pick at the rocks quite often, but it's random and not one area. I added a 1 inch clay pot (which was all I had right now) and they're much larger than the pot because my local store didn't have any. I will have to make a special trip to a craft store or Home Depot for a bigger pot.