Clarks Clownfish - 2nd attempt

[jnowell]

Had a great hatch last night, got about 200 this time. The larvae still don't look as plump to me as the first batch, but we'll see. I'm calling this the second attempt, because I never got a chance at the actual second, they all died within 3 days, and had little to no yolk sac present.

These have a yolk sac, and I've observed many of them hunting rotifers this morning. Had a fair amount of die off last night, I'm guessing about 30. 85% of the last hatched parished on night 2, so we'll see how things look tomorrow morning. Right now I'd guess that I have 150 or more.

Added rotifers to a very good density last night, and already had to add more, so they are definitely eating. Maybe I can get more than 8 through metamorphasis this time.

Jason

[spk]

Jason,

Good luck with this lot. Let us know if you do anything different.

Steve

[jnowell]

The only thing I plan to do different is kill less of them :D At least this time I am starting with good phyto cultures and great rot density, so early nutrition won't be such an issue.

The main changes I am making are using ambient room lighting for the first 2-3 days (had a 15W lamp above the first set on day one). Using black poster board to cover the sides instead of brown cardboard, and only co-culturing with Phyto, no Roti-Rich in the larvae tank this time.

Just having enough food for them will probably do wonders for this hatch, but you never know. The yolk sacs on these are smaller, so they'll have to learn to hunt faster.

[spk]

Jason,

Good luck and keep the updates coming. I cannot wait till the clowns start to lay.

Steve

[jnowell]

Well, it's the end of day 2 with this bunch, and they are doing well. Very active, and getting plump. I can only spot 4-5 that don't appear to be eating yet, but there are so many that I'm sure I missed several.

Overall, the tank has been much more stable, probably because I am only culturing with live phyto, and not adding roti-rich this time. They are clearing the rot population very quickly, my culture seems to be holding, but it amazes me that I can over-stock the fry tank at 7:00am, and when I get home for lunch, it's maybe 3 per mil (and yeah, I pulled a mil and counted, 4 of them actually).

I'm starting to get hopeful for this batch, if they make it through tonight in quantity, I'll feel really good about them. Here's some pics to give you an idea of the numbers so far.

http://www.wfrs.org/rc/hatch2.jpg

http://www.wfrs.org/rc/hatch2_2.jpg

[Kathy55g]

They look huge for 2 day old larvae! You are doing something right! Wish I could!
K

[NicoleC]

Very nice!

[jnowell]

Thanks Gals!

Kathy, don't feel like you are the only one, I killed two of my older ones last night by moving the tank and changing 50% of the water. Had just done a 20g change in my display before removing water for the fry tank, and it caused enough of a pH spike to get two of the smaller ones.

Speaking of, one of the casualties never developed white in his stripes. His black was split up properly, but he was clear where the others had white. Anyone know what causes that? He wasn't the smallest one, so it confused me.

Hopefully I'll wake up to good news in the morning...if a lot of them make it through day 3, I'll put up a short video tomorrow night. For now I have to get some sleep, long day tomorrow.

[spk]

Jason,

great pics. I am curious, however, what runs diagonally across the first pic?

Keep them going.

Steve

[jnowell]

Only a few losses last night (5-6), so I still have lots of babies...on to metamorphosis....I hope. These guys are growing awefully fast, I may start them on artemia on day 5 or 6, a few of them could eat it now I think. Last time I waited until day 8 and think I lost quite a few due to nutritional issues, but that's a guess.

Steve, optical illusion. That pic is of the corner of the tank, at the top of the water. The two diagonals you see are the top of the water against the blacked out glass. :D

Jason

[Kathy55g]

great job, this could be the big one for you!

[jnowell]

You may be right Kathy, they were all still kickin' when I got home today! You were commenting on how big these looked for 2 day olds yesterday, and they are quite plump. I stumbled onto something the other day, and wanted to test the theory before I posted here.

On day one, I was feeding some powdered dry food to the older babies, and blew some into the fry tank next door (by laughing at the bigger ones through my nose). Not much food went into the new hatch tank, but they apparently smelled it, and went nuts! I had been enriching some rots for them anyways, so I went ahead and added them, they ate like I've never seen before.

Yesterday I added rots in the usual manner, and got no feeding response at all, they ate them, but not in a frenzy like day one. So this evening, I dropped just a tiny bit of powdered Formula One in there tank, and again, they went nuts. I added rots, and they literally followed the "rotifer ball" around with the current eating like mad. Not sure if this explains my fat babies, but it might be worth experimenting with, I'd be interested to hear if others fry respond the same way. Plus developing a "Pavlov style" feeding response with dry food could be a good thing later on.

Anyhow, since these guys have made it through most of day 3, I thought I'd honor them with a little video. This will also give a better idea of the density and size, tonight at 9:45 will be three days exactly.

Clarks Clown Video - 3 days old (http://www.wfrs.org/rc/hatch2.wmv)

[Kathy55g]

What kind of dry food are you useing, and how do you grind it up?
Again, those fry look huge to me, you may have something there.

What temp are you keeping them, and what volume is that tank?

Thanks,
Kathy

[jnowell]

The tank is 10 gallons, sitting at 78 degrees F. My heater on this one is very touchy, and my choice was basically 84 or 78, I chose the latter.

As for food, I use 75% Ocean Nutrition Formula 1 to 25% Formula 2, with a little Aquadyne mixed in (simply because I had a big bag of it, and there was a bunch of powder left over in the bottom).

Now I have to fess up, I don't even own a mortor and pestle, I do the following. I put the mixture in a zip lock bag, and crunch it up with my fingers as good as I can. Then I lay the bag on the countertop, and tap the food for several minutes with the butt of a big kitchen knife that has a rounded end. The fry let a few bigger peices go for the first few days, but quickly grow into the size I make for them.

I did the powdered food pre-feeding again this morning, and now I'm certain now that it does induce a better feeding response (at least temporarily). The biggest advantage to this is that even many of the side dwellers leave the sides and hunt in the open. The size difference is diminishing with this hatch, leaving me to believe that they are all eating well.

I didn't want to say anything about this, for fear I would jynx myself, but I haven't siphoned a body off the bottom since the first morning. I don't think the pre-feeding is the sole reason for this, but when combined with Phyto only co-culturing, my rigid airline syphon tube (which is much more efficient at cleaning the bottom than my bigger store bought version), and a little more experience it seems to be working.

[Kathy55g]

Jason, every time I read one of your posts, I also read the signature line, and I am reminded of its truth. Every thing is going well for you, so WATCH OUT! JK.

You are doing great, and this priming the feeding pump is a novel idea. I am definately going to try in on the next hatch.

[Kathy55g]

Just looked at the video again. They do look huge, active and they got to be healthy! And there are so many!

You are doing very well, my friend. Congrats!
K

[jnowell]

Aww, thanks Kathy. I do have high hopes for these guys, but also know that my stupid gene could pop up at any moment. I'm trying REAL hard not to screw this one up, it's got such a good start!

I bet your next hatch is the same way. If we keep learning from each others mistakes, we'll have this down to a science in no time :D

Jason

[aquaSteph]

great work :thumbsup:

[jnowell]

Thanks Steph, and Welcome to Reef Central. WOW, I feel priviledged that my measly thread got your first post. Kathy will be along shortly with her nice welcome graphic ;)

All of them are still doing fine, but we didn't get to leave for lunch today either, so I know they are probably out of rotifers already. I may try to cut out a little early today to make sure they stay fed. It's day 5, and I plan to switch to BBS tomorrow or Saturday. I swear a few of them are already starting to change shape a bit. I think last time I waited too long to offer artemia (day 8-9 I think). I will try a little on the night of day 6, and then being regular BBS feedings on day 7.

We'll see how that works out..OK, back to another meeting...this is getting old, don't they know i have threads to read on RC!

Jason

[Kathy55g]

You mean this one?
Hello AquaSteph and
<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central, The Fish Breeding Forum!</b></i></big></big>

[jnowell]

Yep, that's the one Kathy! OK Steph, now you are official, post away! ;)

Well, it's the end of day 5, and only one loss today. I actually saw several of them eating the dry food tonight, I added a little more this time just to see, because it was time to clean their tank anyways. This is crazy, eating dry food at day 5 before ever even seeing any artemia?!?

It's a good thing too, cause my rotifer culture was almost depleted tonight. I fed three "scoops" (after they missed their lunch) and two hours later, I could hardly find a rotifer. I held my 10X loupe up to the glass and watched, and saw maybe two per second! It was still two hours before lights out, so I fed three more scoops, and some more dry food. They had just about cleaned that out when I cleaned the tank. I added another scoop after the lights went out (but there weren't many in it), and put quite a bit of phyto in there, so maybe they'll get a chance to re-populate a bit before morning.

With this many fry, I can't keep up with only one ten gallon culture. My phyto is barely holding also, today I had to pull one that wasn't as green as I like, just so i had something to feed the rotifer culture. I also borrowed 3 - 20 oz. bottles of phyto from my freind here who is keeping a culture going to feed his reef, and as a back for me. I may have to double up on Phyto, and add another ten gallon rotifer culture before the next hatch...which should be next Wed. or Thursday.

I REALLY need to get my grow out system online, but am having a terrible time trying to drill tanks, can't afford the return pump, sand, salt, and everything else I need to get it ready. I may have to skip a hatch or two until my bank account can catch up! I'm thinking it will at least all pay off in the long run, and granted I did jump into it all pretty fast (I have a habit of that).

[jnowell]

Day 8, and still very few losses. They are already eating dry foods, but I'm still adding BBS periodically for any that haven't figured it out yet.

Most are starting metamorphosis, I can see a few faint head bands starting to appear, and almost all of them are getting that fat, squatty looking shape. I tried to get a decent count, but they are just too active. My guess now is about 140, I hope metamorphosis is good to them.

I finally got the tank drilling down to an art, so maybe I can get the growout system online soon. I don't really want to think about maintaining a tank with over 100 post-metamorphosis babies in it.

[Kathy55g]

congratulations! You have done it! Just terrific!
Congrats on the drilling thing, too. I am too chicken to drill. My 3 20 gallon tanks came with a hole and bulkhead fitting. My 2 10 gallon tanks, I am making PVC overflows for.

It has been an education.

[jnowell]

An education ideed Kathy (I had some good teachers!)

I had a few dead floaters tonight, something I haven't seen yet. There were 4 of them floating, and none on the bottom. Is the floating thing indicative of something more sinister, or did I just miss them on the bottom and they eventually floated up?

Not many new head bands today either, the ones who started getting theirs are more pronounced, but I haven't spotted many new ones. Probably becasue they didn't all start eating dry foods at the same time. It's day 9, and there are still tons of 'em. I'm thinking about moving the sponge filter out of the older tank to the this tank, and giving the older guys one that has been cycling in my display. Is day 9 too early for a sponge?

[Kathy55g]

I think the rule of thumb is that when you stop feeding rotifers, you can put in a sponge filter. The filter sucks out the rots and phyto. If your guys are eating flake and bbs, you can probably do this.

Ed says that sponge filters can be a problem. Mine did not improve the water quality when i added it early, so I took it out again. It is back now as I am too chicken to put the 14 day clowns on the system. I have to be sure the water is perfect and the overflow won't suck them in. Still tweeking things there.

They are in a 20 gallon, and there are not that many of them, so I am OK, I think.

[jnowell]

Hmm, well, I generally tend to go with what Ed says. I haven't seen much change in the water chemistry (slight drop in ammonia), but the water clarity has certainly improved on the older tank. The fry tank is a little cloudy and green-ish even with good water changes, so I thought a sponge might help out a bit.

I lost one of my 6 older ones to aggression, he was getting picked on pretty good before I went ot bed, and was dead in the morning, I looked him over and he had several missing scales, and his fins were torn up. So I only have 5 in a ten gallon with a hang on and a sponge, and some live rock, and some cheato, and caulerpa. I might be taking the filtration thing too seriously :D

I may just add the newer sponge to the new tank for a day or so to clear up the water, and then remove it. Ed needs to write a book! Speaking of Ed, I think I may have miss quoted him on another thread about getting them off BBS as soon as possible. I've looked everywhere and can't find that comment, it may have been someone else. Sorry Ed if that wasn't you.

[jnowell]

News Flash - Stupid Gene Spotted at MY HOUSE!

Got home last night, probably 80% had headbands, everybody ate really well, still close to 100 larvae passing through metamorphosis with ease. Then, the aquarium keeper (me) decided he needed to intevene....IDIOT!

The water was a little cloudy, so I put a hang-on filter on the tank. I found that if you prop the lift tube up a bit, it will run at a slow trickle. I really just wanted to give it a few hours of carbon to clarify the water. Well, I forgot about it, and throughout the night, the lift tube slipped back down into full blast position, and ran that way all night.

I bet there were 50+ babies stuck in the foam pre-filter when I got up this morning :( Still quite a few alive, but it seems like less than half what I had happy and healthy last night. When will I learn to leave well enough alone....

I guess the only bright spot is that I should have a new hatch tonight.

[NicoleC]

Ugh, that's gotta hurt.

It might not be a bad idea to keep some extra timers around for these little extras.

In response to my deep faith in Murphy's Law, I know that the roll of masking tape quickly ended up living by the fish tank, for quickly strapping down drips, tubes, electrical cords, etc.

[Kathy55g]

Oh...I am so sorry. That was not the stupid gene. That was the absent minded gene. Certainly has been at my house lately.

I gave up on timers. I tend to not hear them. The best thing for me is an idea from Martin Moe. I hang a sign around my neck:
Water is running, or some such thing. Cannot go out of the house or to bed without noticing that. And my family knows to remind me, too.

[NicoleC]

I meant the timers that you use for lights and stuff. Shuts off electricity!

[Kathy55g]

even better. Not having to think has its merits.

[jnowell]

Nicole, that extra timer you speak of was laying on the shelf above, about 6" away! :rolleyes: I never really had that much faith in Murphy's law...until now! I keep going back to your "benign neglect" post. Maybe I'll make a flow chart, something like:

Are the fish alive?

Yes - DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING

NO - figure out what you touched, and don't touch it next time!

[fishes2889]

great thread so far!!!! hope the fry make it through

peace

[BrianPlankis]

[i] Maybe I'll make a flow chart, something like:

Are the fish alive?

Yes - DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING

NO - figure out what you touched, and don't touch it next time! [/B]

That is hilarious! :D Got a chuckle out of me. Sorry to hear about the losses, but just think about how you are working on raising these guys that otherwise would all die in your main tank. You will be helping to reduce the wild collection of clarks clowns and that is a great goal!

Brian

[jnowell]

Glad you got a kick out of it brian, I went by James' tonight to steal some more phyto, and he was making me a larger version of my flow chart. I may change my sig to that, but the current one rings pretty true also.

I guess the increased flow last night tired my little guys out pretty bad. More casualties this evening, and a few that didn't seem to have the energy to eat. I've probably still got 30 or 40 that are pretty much finished with meta, but I am extremely disappointed. Hopefully i'll get a good hatch tonight to make me happy again :rolleyes:

[jnowell]

Well, good news, I had a great hatch tonight. About the same numbers as last time (200 or so) and they look healthy and active again. We shall see what the morning holds!

[Kathy55g]

Fabulous!

[djacob]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6598972#post6598972 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnowell
Well, good news, I had a great hatch tonight. About the same numbers as last time (200 or so) and they look healthy and active again. We shall see what the morning holds!


Thats Great!!!! goodluck.


also would it be ok if i made your flowchart my sig? (that tooooo funny)



thanks
Dave

[spk]

Jason,

Hmm, looks like things where swimming there. I believe that we all make mistakes from time to time and know that when the clowns start to lay for me, i am bound to do some worse things.

Some one beat me to the pep me up comment, but they are right. The more we minimize the take from the wild the better our hobby has of surviving. Now we need Cites and the rest to give credit for aquacultured marines.


Good luck with the next hatch.

Steve

[jnowell]

Thanks Kathy, and Dave, sure, someone should use that as a sig so I can see it more often ;)

Steve, so glad you are posting again, I trust you had a good trip, and all your Cardinals are doing well?

Looks like I got 20 through meta from the second hatch (even with my forgetful gene), all look good and are getting their second stripes. The 3rd hatch had some pretty significant die-offs on night one and two, but only one casualty that I could see this morning. Probably well over 50 of them left, and I couldn't find any that weren't eating well. With any luck, I'll get the whole system running this weekend which should increase my chances with the post-meta babies. One empty tank left, so the enxt hatch will fill my current system. I guess I'll see how I'm doing at that point, and decide if I want to build enough shelving to add the needed tanks. I think my mind is already made up though ;)

[jnowell]

I got the system online, but it's still showing some ammonia and the nitrite is pretty high yet. I've been cycling a new filter in my magnum 350, so I moved it onto the sum for the growout, that should help speed things up.

I have 24 from the second hatch, and they are looking great now...whew. Still about 50 from the latest hatch, and they are all eating well and growing quickly.

I might just get the hang of this yet. Now if I could get the phyto thing down I'd be happy!

[jnowell]

Here's a short video montage of all 3 hatches from youngest to oldest.

http://www.wfrs.org/rc/babies.wmv

[Kathy55g]

How cute!

What's going on with your phyto?

[jnowell]

Oh, if I only knew Kathy. I kept loosing probably one bottle per week, then last week, I came home Thursday, and two of my ripest cultures had crashed. Next evening, ALL of them had crashed. I'm using the methods you and Ed talk about, mix up water, 8 drops of bleach, let sit over night, dechlor., fertilize, inoculate. I have an inline air filter on my air pump, I bleach the rigid tubing that goes into the bottle everytime. I bought some chlorine test strips to ensure that I was removing all of it. I'm basically doing everything I can.

The whole system is down right now, everything but the air pump is soaking in a STRONG bleach solution. I had James start a 2 liter for me, so I'll start again from scratch and see how it goes. James couldn't kill phyto if he inoculated it with bacteria. He just rinses the old bottle with a mild bleach, rinses that out, and puts it back online with water that has never been bleached. He doesn't have an inline air filter, he doesn't clean the tubing that goes in the bottle, and the worst part, I gave him the first culture from mine!

I'm starting to think that the environment plays a significant role. My house has hard wood floor, and isn't very well insulated, his house is newer (and they keep it a few degrees colder than I do). Not to mention that his wife keeps their house spic and span, while mine, well, it's a bachelor pad....I'll leave it at that :D

He does culture in 20 oz. bottles, is it less likely to crash in smaller amounts? I'm at a loss, any ideas?

[Kathy55g]

I, too, am at a loss. Ed, are you out there?

[Kathy55g]

I would say that you are probably culturing bacteria in your f/2 bottle, but you use that to give water to James, so that's not it. He's not chlorinating, is he? Perhaps the contamination is coming from your dechlorinator. What are you using, and can you switch to a different bottle, or formulation? (I had an old bottle of chloramX in solution once, that sat too long at room temperature and started growing something green in it that poisoned my rotifers....i didn't use it for the phyto, though, so I don't know how that would react)

i don't think volume makes a difference...

HTH

[jnowell]

You might have something there Kathy, I had been using an older bottle of Novaqua for the phyto water. I have a bottle of Prime that is less than a month old, I'll be sure to use that on the new batches after I start them back up. I also have new salt, new bleach, and will have a new culture to start from, so we'll see how it goes this time. It did fine for a month, then all this started. I'm using a 1.5 month old bottle of Micro Algae Grow at 1 mil per gallon (14 drops in a 2 liter).

For reference, I seem to have 2 types of contamination. Some of them take on a yellow tinge and get stringy bits floating around, while others get clear, with all of the phyto sinking to the bottom, almost looks like powdered phyto in the bottom. Once, a culture crashed with all the green going to the bottom, and then regrew into a usable culture (I didn't start a new bottle from it, but the rotifers ate it). Are either of those indicative of a known problem other than bacterial infection?

[Kathy55g]

All of those, I think, are indicative of bacteria.

[jnowell]

Got another one for you. This morning was the start of day 4 for the newest hatch. I fed them their rotifers this morning, still had about 50 fat, heaalthy, active babies at 7:30 AM. I went home for lunch, and every last one of them was dead?!? Fat, plump, dark little bodies scattered across the bottom. I'm at a complete loss this time, but I have a few ideas that might mean something to someone more experienced.

1) I fed the rotifers from a bottle of phyto that had crashed (bacteria) and then regrown to a useable level. I was careful to pour gently from the top, and nothing but liquid phyto went in the rotifers or baby tank, and i just used a tiny bit to cloud the water in the fry tank (this was yesterday morning (36 hours before the mass death).

2) I started up my system with a sump and one tank (right next to the fry). The sump had some pretty old, stagnate water in it (I had been filling it with water syphoned out for water changes (minus the gunk at the bottom of course). It is possible that tiny amounts of this water could have splashed into the fry tank. I checked the normal parameters of the water in the fry tank, and it was better than either of my previous fry tanks, not bad for a display, much less a fry tank.

The only thing out of the ordinary in the fry tank is some tan-ish stringy stuff that looks kinda like Cyano but it's nearly clear. There's a 4" string hanging off the heater, and a smaller string wrapped around the ammonia badge. I never would have even seen it if not for the die off, any ideas?

I guess I'm getting used to this stuff, I'm not terribly upset about it this time. I just looked at my other two tanks with LIVE babies, and fed them instead. I'll look at it closer when I get home, but I'm stumped!

[BrianPlankis]

jnowell,

Sorry to hear about the losses, hopefully you can pinpoint something. Glad you aren't terribly upset, you are one of the most dedicated new breeders I know and you sharing your successes and failures is critical to new people who want to try.

Steps off pep talk box. Keep at it so I can live vicariously through you, I wish I had a breeding pair of clowns and the time to raise the babies.

Brian

[Kathy55g]

I suspect the phyto. Probably got a bacterial culture in the fry tank that took over.

Sorry for your loss, Jason. I echo Brian's statement that you are one of the most dedicated new breeders I know, and I am glad you are not too discouraged by this sudden turn of events.

How's that new hatch?

[Kathy55g]

ps, you may want to bleach treat the tank before you use it again. Just fill with tap and 1 ml bleach per gallon. Dechlorinate next day and drain.

[jnowell]

Kathy, that WAS the new hatch :( Have 3 from the first hatch (don't ask) and still about 21-23 from the second, all post meta.

[Kathy55g]

You are still doing great! Post meta is a good place to be.

[jnowell]

Just a quick update, I was feeling proud because ALL of the babies (from both hatches that were successful) are still alive, and growing like weeds. I had to skip the last batch because my rotifers crashed, they are now restarted, and I am regrouping.

With everything I learned along the way, I should be pretty well prepared with the next set. My growout system is just about finished cycling, so I now have the capacity to handle things if I happen to get a bunch through!

I'm considering getting a few pairs of seahorses to try also (yes, I know that I'm insane!). I'm bored with my coral propagation tank, and just came into 2 free 55g's so the corals are going into them, and the 58g is getting setup for seahorses. At this rate, I'll have more water volume than some public aquariums :D

Also, I have to say thanks again to everyone for the support, knowledge, patience, and guidance that has gotten me this far. You guys are the best!

Jason

[T Badd]

Seahorses! Now, you're talking. I'll be roadtrippin' to WF to see that! I just caught up on your threads after being absent for over a month. I actually prefer it that way...reading the entire thread and watching you go through all the ups and downs.

Great stuff, buddy. Keep up the enthusiasm. I'm really looking forward to seeing the new setups next visit.

[Lance one]

Hi Jason,
I just read your post and it looks like things are moving along good for you.
I'm in a similar position as your self
I have officially attempted 8 hatches to date. But as poor as the first few were, I don't think they count.
I am currently rasing false perc.'s and have 10 juveniles with 100+ post metamorphs right behind. Also have the next hatch due in three days.
In addition I have a pair of Back Percs that I hope to have breeding within the next month.

I was wondering if you would be interested in trading some fish? Your Clarks look great and I would like to try to raise some of my own.
I'll post some pictures of the parents and kids soon. They are very hardy and nicely colored. The female almost looks like a 1/2 true 1/2 false percs. Or maybe the offspring of such an arrangement. It's hard to tell sometimes. The male is a false perc.
I'm in Denver, Colorado and travel into Texas fairly offten.
Keep it up!
I would stay away from the sea horses till you got the Clarks rolling along in automatic.
keep us posted.

Lance

[jnowell]

T-Badd - You and your wife are welcome to come back anytime...but that kid of yours ;) hehe

Lance, that sounds like fun, I'd be willing to swap a batch with you anytime you're ready. You ARE talking about the black percs right? :D

I'm a glutton for punishment, I've been researching seahorse breeding since before my Clarks even layed eggs. Thanks for the thoughts on the seahorses, but holding off is not one of my strong suits :D The Clarks will be on automatic starting in about 7 days (new hatch). I skipped a few to correct some of my problems. My phyto is going well now, rotifer populations have doubled (with back up cultures to boot).

After having learned all this stuff the hard way, I really think my next set will do very well. I had over 125 through metamorphasis last time, right up until I screwed up! I have eliminated most of my "trouble areas" and expect great things from my new setup. We shall see!

The seahorses are a completely different experiment all together, completely seperate. I have two new 55g tanks sectioned off for them on a different system catering to their needs. As they grow, I will remove dividers in the 55s to spread them out when they can eat better and food densities don't have to be so high. I have a lot of expert help as well, but I know I'm in for a challenge. If this stuff was easy, I would have never tried it ;)

[Lance one]

Great Jason!
I race motorcycles in Texas and I am working on my race schedule right now. It looks like some time in late April or early May, I'll let you know.

I haven't got the Black Percs. to breed yet. I bought them as a mated pair about a month ago. I think they are a little bit uncomfortable in their new home. It's like they're still looking for their area in the tank. I have them in the same 150 Gallon tank I'm breeding my false percs in. They seem to get along with the false percs surprising well. I'm working on setting up a small 30 gallon reef tank, that will probably end up being their new home.
Here's a thought, what if they cross breed, what do get, true percs?

[jnowell]

I would say Halloween Percullaris. Or you could just call them Mutts! LOL

If your black percs do breed before you race near here, I'd even be willing to swap some cash and clarks or whatever works. I'm dying to get some...have a tank that would be great for a broodstock pair too, just haven't done it yet. I need to contact Rob and get that ball rolling.

Let me know!

Jason