Wednesday is photo night

[NicoleC]

I believe I lost two YWGs today. From the last batch, Day 20 was the last photo I got. A this age they are very upset during the process and get very frantic. This will probably be the last photo session for a while (I hope.) Now, this goby looks WAY fatter than that last Day 20. They are hitting metamorphosis, and with only a handful left my odds of getting even one through are poor.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/ywg/day19top.jpg

------------------------

Moving on, I did lose my ocellaris runts today. Just a handful, but it was sad. I guess they started eating too late.

Day 3 for the little oinkers:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/clowns/clownDay3.jpg

My BBS is starting to hatch, and I will give a smidgen to both tanks when it's ready. My bigger clowns are definately ready for artemia, and I think the YWG's are, too.

[jnowell]

Cool pics, sorry about the YWG's. The clowns look good though, and I feel you on the oinker thing. I fed this morning and didn't get a lunch today, when I got home at 5 I could hardly find a rot, much less guess at a density (maybe 5 oer gallon). I added some, then went out for dinner about 6:30, it's 10:30 and it's almost cleaned out again.

Good luck with them!

[NicoleC]

Yeah, they cleaned out the rots today, too. And I don't have very many babies! I did harvest a nice batch of rotifers tonight because I've been feeding the rots a lot more heavily for the past 36 hours or so, and it's pretty dense in the larval tank.

I added a small bit of BBS and the bigger larvae went wild. I would say they are definately eating them. I thought the bit about eating themselves to death was an old wives tale, but a little bit after feeding I saw a big fat one had died. :( I am glad I only added a very small amount.

Well, now I know if I want clowns to bank roll my YWG experiment, I need a LOT more space for rotifer cultures. In the summer I can probably put some outside once the nights don't get chillier than maybe 60F, but right now I am running out of room!

[NicoleC]

They are hitting metamorphosis, and with only a handful left my odds of getting even one through are poor.


It finally dawned on my this morning why they have been SOOO hard to see for the past couple of days -- no black spots anymore! They are pretty much completely clear now with a small silvery/orange stomach (rotifers?) and reflective eyes. This may be the indicator they are going to metamorphasize.

Thanks to how hard it is to see them, I have no idea how many are left. I saw two at once yesterday, and I have seen 3 dead bodies since my last (black spot) count of 8. AFAIK, they have not settled, although none of the survivors is cruising the top of the water anymore but are in the middle of the water column.

------------------

Haven't lost any more clowns in 24 hours. Most are dark, almost black, but a few are pale with orangish stomachs and black eyes. These are the smallest ones that tend to hand at the bottom. I believe they are the few surviving runt bottom feeders. They do have full stomachs now, but development seems stunted. I wonder, if they survive, if they will be misbars?

The big ones are so... BIG! Most can eat artemia now, but I am still only feeding small amounts of it. Partially since they are still young, and partially since my BSD decapsulated hatching BBS seems to finally be going bad. Hatch rate is about 15%; used to be 80-90%. Time to order more, I guess -- I don't feel up to adding decapsulating brine shrimp to my skillset right now, I'd rather do it when I don't have babies waiting for food.

I don't know if it is the addition of some big food or normal development, but their feeding rate has really slowed and they are not plowing through the rotifers like they were. It's possible, I suppose, that they were hungrier than normal for the first few days due to their late hatch/small yolk sac.

They always struck me as string and nimble compared to YWGs (who are basically a stick with eyes for the first two weeks), but I find it fascinating to see them start to do the little clownfish wiggle at this age -- not just bending their tail, but their whole body.

[Kathy55g]

Yup, your clowns will metamorphose soon. Watch for the white headband when you look at the tank from above.

It's funny, with mine, some of the side feeders and silicone suckers are metamorphosing quicker than some of the middle swimmers. Perhaps they are preprogrammed for when they meta, and they do it when they are supposed to no matter their feeding style or how big they are. It is not always the biggest most well fed ones that meta first.

Ed, where are you on this?

[NicoleC]

They aren't even 5 days old, it's hard to believe they are ready to be mini clownfishes. According to Wilkerson, I definately jumped the gun on the BBS, so hopefully there will be no survivor sea monkeys that grow and cause harm later. The chances of me finding the bigger ones and siphoning them out seem... poor.

Anyway, I will be careful now with portion control of BBS; they have lots of enriched rotifers to eat if I feed too little.

Water chemistry was tough there for a while, but for some reason suddenly stabilized. Whew!

[jnowell]

Nicole, I've started jumping the gun on BBS also, mostly because the last set started meta at day 6 while still eating just rotifers. I lost a bunch due to nutritional issues, but didn't loose any of the smallest fry by offering BBS to early (like Wilkerson's book says will happen).

I've also started adding dry foods at the same time, and weaning them from BBS pretty quick, just a few days. (this was all done per Ed's advice, and has been working very well).

Good luck with all of them!

[NicoleC]

Yeah, I was thinking crushed spirulina flake and maybe Formula 2 flake as soon as they complete meta and I can fill up the tank more and add a sponge filter. Not to get too far ahead of myself, but right now I feel like YWG's are Harvard and I just went back to 5th grade. (Even if I am flunking out of Harvard.)

It's so easy to pull out Wilkerson's book and follow her "recipe," that sometimes you need reminding that there's more than one way to cook a loaf of bread.

[Kathy55g]

I think if you are using decapsulated BBS, you run less of a risk.

[Kathy55g]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6546771#post6546771 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnowell
...

I've also started adding dry foods at the same time, and weaning them from BBS pretty quick, just a few days. (this was all done per Ed's advice, and has been working very well).

Good luck with all of them!

What was that advice?

[NicoleC]

We need to pester Ed into writing a series of handbooks on raising particular species. :)

[Kathy55g]

Good luck. I've been trying to get him to post pictures of his breeding set up for ages. He only likes to waste time in the lounge.

[npaden]

I start geting my ocellaris onto cyclopeeze at about day 10 and generaly quit feeding BBS by day 14. It's not the cheapest food but I'm not really a profit motivated breeder.

[NicoleC]

Still no more losses.:thumbsup: I did find a dead one while cleaning this morning -- I moved the heater and he was underneathe it -- but he's een there for a while, though.

My few remaining runts are catching up, getting darker and bigger.

I find it very wierd that many lay on the bottom to sleep. They've been doing this since day 1, and after the first couple of days they started anticipating lights out and would "go to bed" a few minutes before.

No head bands yet, but lots of laying in the corners and on the bottom today. Some of the ones that aren't doing that have decided to play in the bubbles from the airstone in the corner, which scares me but they keep swimming away, then they'll swim back and take the flume ride like a pack of kids. Okay, then. (I did watch them carefully for a while and they are perfectly capable of swimming away from it.) They aren't meta'd yet, but they are sure acting like clowns.

I have at least 2 YWGs left -- ones that I can tell apart, a big one and a little one. The big one is pretty big and sure looks like a fish. I can see all his perfectly formed fins quite clearly. Both are still in the water column. Hmmm. I spent forever this morning siphoning and straining out rotifers and BBS until the water was pretty clear -- so I could replenish with freshly enriched chow for them.

Meanwhile, mama clown was HUGE last night and I was expecting a monster nest. Nope, smaller than normal. Odd. She was a day late, too. Well, I won't have anywhere for this nest anyway unless the gobies kick the bucket in the next couple of days. *sigh* I need more space.

[NicoleC]

Headbands! Oh, this is so much more exciting than near invisible gobies...

Kathy was right -- I have one of my big boys and one of the runts with headbands, although the big one is a little further along. Both have a wierd fixation with the heater (behind it, by the suction cups) and the big one keeps chasing the smaller one away. I wonder if this is their attempt to find an anemone to settle into? I have another that has no headbands yet, but keeps rubbing up against the end of the heater (the only hot part), which fills me with trepidation.

I just checked, and the big boy's headband is growing fast. The runt with the headband has stopped trying to get in the same spot and has switched to the other side.

[Kathy55g]

Thanks, it is good to be right once when there are so many wrongs...

Just found out that one I sold has met his maker and it makes me uncommonly sad.
Doesn't hurt to loose a larvae, but this one that was 4.5 months old...

Not sure why he did not make it. The other fish purchased at the same time is fine.

Anyway, thanks for the mention. And I am happy for your success with the clowns. You deserve it.

I think the attraction to all things silicone or rubber is the settling out part of metamorphosis. Perhaps it is time to put some pvc elbows in the tank. Mine are a few days ahead of yours, and are all on the sides of the tank and anywhere there is a silicone seam. All have headbands and getting that deep fish look.

Cheers,
Kathy

[NicoleC]

It's an acrylic tank, so there's no silicone and the corners are rounded. Many are definately happy to wedge themselves in the edges, though.

I think some PVC is a great idea. I have tons in the garage, but they are mostly big pieces. Maybe I'll cut some length of 1/2" and 1" tubing from scraps, which is more their size and might be more comfortable.

I don't know if I have any YWG's left. I haven't seen any today, but they are so hard to see right now! They are much easier to see dead, and I don't see any bodies, either...

A couple of Day 7 pics. My big boy:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/clowns/day7top.jpg

I didn't see it with the naked eye, but the photo kinda shows a faint headband, so maybe this guy is ready, too.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/clowns/day7side.jpg

[NicoleC]

Goby sighting! Settled out, but not yet meta'd, I think. (Well, I don't know what they look like post-meta yet.)

Clown babies are loving the PVC. Not inside, just tucked up in the curve between the bottom of the tank and the PVC. Good call again from Kathy.

[jnowell]

Way to go Nicole, Kathy is correct again that you of all people deserve some success!

I haven't tried the PVC thing yet, but my fish room is covered in it right now. Another good idea Kathy! My only success today was drilling 4 tanks, with no cracks, but all my babies are doing well also.

Keep it up!

[NicoleC]

Yep, babies are all over the PVC now. Except the ones by the heaters, and one who seems to have fallen in love with the Ammonia Alert badge. :rolleyes:

Got headbands everywhere... I'm not sure how long meta takes, but here's hoping all the little wigglers are around in the morning.

[Kathy55g]

great news! Thanks for the encouragement. It has been a day.
Perhaps I'll have new larvae tomorrow.....I will not peek, I will not peek, I will not peek....

[NicoleC]

Still no losses. I think everyone has a headband now except a couple of my runts, and some are more orange than gray. My, my, they are aggressive. They are getting very territorial over the PVC tubes! The dark ones are more aggressive. Oddly, the pale colored ones are metamorphasizing and staying more pale colored. I wonder if they take after their mama -- who is fairly light colored any tends to yellow-orange with a more gray along her dorsal side. Their papa is dark orange leaning toward red, with no change in color on the dorsal side, and has more black and more defined stripes. He's a beaut -- she's not so pretty but I'd say is closer to normal coloration.

I have tried some crushed spirulina last night and F1 flake tonight, but I don't know if anyone has eaten it yet. I have seen some babies checkout some of the larger pieces, and one took a nibble, but then they moved on skimming the surface of the water. I waited for a bit and then fed the BBS. The smallest runts, I just noticed, have very red tummies. I think they are bottom feeding -- perhaps they have figured out it's food.

I saw a goby again -- maybe my only one -- he is fully settled now and looking fairly large. (Although not even close to the mass of week-old clowns.) Still no yellow yet, but he was using his pelvin fins to suction himself to the side of the tank. Development-wise, this is better than the last batch even if the numbers are weak! Also, the black dots in the body are back.

Funny, I have brown and green algae growing on the bottom of the goby tank. Water quality is there is great. I performed a 25% water change tonight because I was feeling guilty, but I don't really think I needed it. Now... how to grow algae in larval tanks faster...

[NicoleC]

Ah ha! There I was looking and thinking, "Gosh, I thought he was bigger than that an hour ago? This the size of that other one there... doh!"

I still have at least a big goby and a little one. I betcha the big one is eating BBS and the little one is still on rotifers. The little one is not all the way settled out yet.

[NicoleC]

A few shots from the evening, Day 9. I am starting to think I make it through meta with no losses. I had a horrible BBS hatch rate today so they didn't get much this evening. I also fed some F1 flake and spirulina flake, and some rotifers. Hopefully the smorgasbord will get something in everyone's tummies.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/clowns/day9top.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/clowns/day9side.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/clowns/day9front.jpg

[Kathy55g]

they look fat and happy to me!
Cheers,
K

[NicoleC]

Hope so! They got a lot more swimming room today, and I am hoping that cuts down on the aggression some. They've got about 7g of water now, or half of a 15g tank.

I just saw a second stripe on one, and some of them have orange dorsal and pelvin fins now.

[mako56]

Boy its gota be my turn. :lol: Way to go Nicole

[NicoleC]

Yep, your turn, Mike!

I was reading recently that A. ocellaris is the #1 wild caught fish -- pre- "Nemo" statistics. There's room for LOTS more breeders out there!

[Kathy55g]

I think at this stage they are pretty hardy. You should have very few losses now. How many made it through?

[jnowell]

Those look great Nicole, way to go! And a BIG congrats on the YWG's, sounds like you are getting the process down, even if the numbers aren't up yet. Too cool!

Mike, I second the motion that it is your turn!

Jason

[NicoleC]

A couple dozen, Kathy. Not bad when only 50-ish survived to the first morning and all except a couple died in the first 3 days. I don't know why so many died the night of the hatch (not that it was a big hatch), unless my theories about then being in the egg too long are correct.

Jason -- last good batch I had about 30 gobies right up until day 24, where they all died off one by one until the last guy was lost on Day 30. This time my losses were earlier, but still heavy considering I started with more. I'm going to have to think about what Olin said about benign neglect... my first batch I didn't test water quality or do nearly as many water changes, and they did better...

Next chore is figuring out why my phyto cultures don't get any darker than a pale green.

[Peter Schmiedel]

Nicole,

if the agression reachs this level I believe for the health and quality of the fry it would be better to add more hiding space. Down side is of course that controlling them is way more difficult.

I plan to add some of my BTA early to the premnas I am currently working with. Soemtimes in Europe you find this clones of the green BTA - they are very small and should be perfect for this. But I only have regular red BTA.
Another idea is to use Chaetomorpha to provide ample hidding space and block sight on tankmates. I would also expect positive impact on the water quality if useing Chaetomorpha. Did one try that out and give feedback?

[jnowell]

There may be something to that benign neglect thing, I was just saying the other day that I felt like I had taken worse care of this set of clowns, and still have about 100 at day 11.

Peter, I have cheato in all of my fry tanks, it does help control the water quality a bit, but I rarely see any of the fry near it. I probably don't have enough in there, each bit is only slightly larger than golf ball sized. They spend more time with the heater and amomonia badge than the Cheatomorpha.

[Kathy55g]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6580496#post6580496 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NicoleC
A couple dozen, Kathy. Not bad when only 50-ish survived to the first morning and all except a couple died in the first 3 days. I don't know why so many died the night of the hatch (not that it was a big hatch), unless my theories about then being in the egg too long are correct.


Next chore is figuring out why my phyto cultures don't get any darker than a pale green.

A couple dozen is fantastic!

Guesses on the phyto:
Not enough light or air
too much or too little fertilizer
bacteria contamination
forgetting to dechlorinate

[Kathy55g]

jnowell, you are nearly home free! They should be done with metamorphosis in a couple of days, and then they are pretty hardy!

[jnowell]

I'm hoping Kathy, only 2 losses this morning, so still very good numbers. On the phyto thing, I'm having a little trouble too. I loose about 1 out of every 5 bottles, and lost two yesterday while I was at work. My buddy (who I taught how to culture phyto) hasn't lost one yet, and his cultures are MUCH greener than mine (sound familiar Kathy?).

He leaves his lights on 24 hours a day, just because he never thinks about turning them off. The sad part, I MIX HIS WATER FOR HIM! He doesn't have Micro Algae Grow, so mix him up a gallon of sterile water with fertilizer, but no bleach. The gallon just sits there for a week, gettting little bits used out of it (he's culturing in 20 oz. bottles). Seems like some people can do everything "wrong" and never have a problem. I go through a gallon of bleach every 2 weeks, spent money on inline air filters, high powered grow lights, and filter floss, and I can't keep them from getting contaminated. I know things need to rest, but I'm seriously considering going with a 24/7 light cycle. I've heard all the arguments, and then I've SEEN the results of both. DT's plankton farm uses 24 hour lighting, I wonder what Randy Reed does.

< /rant > ;)

[NicoleC]

Guesses on the phyto:
Not enough light or air
too much or too little fertilizer
bacteria contamination
forgetting to dechlorinate

LOL! Thanks for narrowing that down!

I have them in juice bottles (I guess they are 1 liter). The one that I bleached/dechlorinated is doing the poorest. I don't thinkit's bacterial contamination, because the cultures haven't crashed.

It's possible there's too much fertilizer -- I doubt too little. I've never seen any kind of real figures on what is the proper amount.

They are bubbling gently, and all are sitting under a CF table lamp... but they weren't doing better under the previous light.

[Kathy55g]

I have to laugh. Ed told me not to get too cocky. Perhaps things are not as bulletproof as I thought. I have to admit, my own has not gotten as green as fast as I would like. I just replaced a bulb, so perhaps that will help.

Reminds me of when I was in college studying physical chemistry. My dorm mate could never get up early enough to get to class, he was a partyer, so he would photocopy my notes the night before the tests. And he would ace them every time. I , however, studied a lot , and every day, and struggled to get a C. Life is just not fair.

Which fertilizer are you using, and how much? I used 12 drops of f/2 in a 2 liter culture.
I have recently changed to a dry mix f/2 that I got from Reed, and I am not sure I mixed it up right. But it seems to be working.

It's not bacteria, if they are not crashing. Although I had one when I was starting out, that outcompeted the bacteria, and lived. But not for long.

Did you check for chlorine after you dechlorinated? The pet store sells test strips that I use. Expensive, but after you know the amounts of chlorine and dechlorinater that work, you don't have to test further.

Jason, A GALLON OF BLEACH EVERY TWO WEEKS? I am not even half done with the same gallon I've been using for the past 6 months. At 1 ml per gallon, that's a lot of phyto!

[NicoleC]

I'm using the dry F2 from Reed. I don't really know how to mix it -- the web site says 1 kilo makes 10,000 liters at F/2 strength. So that's what, 1 gram to 10 liters. 10 liters?! And me, still without a scale that measures hundreths of a gram...

I know what you mean Kathy. I also lack serendipity. Is it because I am incapable of not caring, or am I incapable of not caring because nothing ever happens the easy way with me? Ah well, it makes for a stressful life, but I wouldn't be half as good of a computer geek without that trait, and I suspect research biologists need it in loads, too. ;)

[jnowell]

I might be exagerating a little ;) I am making water for my 8 2-liter bottles, as well as my friends 5 - 20 oz. bottles. In an attempt to stop the crashing, I have been rinsing every bottle with strong bleach, and then mixing water as Ed prescribed with 1ml per gallon and de-chlorinating before use. I have noticed that Prime seems to slow the initial growth by a few days. I tried one without the bleach in the water, and it grew very quickly, and never crashed. James' water that I make doesn't get extra bleach in the mixed water, because it has fertlizer already in it when I give it to him. His truly are bullet proof! No air filter, no bleach on the lines in the bottle, no bleach in the water, old used floss...etc. etc. But no crashes.

I'm starting to wonder how much the environemt has to do with it. Mine were in the kitchen (probably a more bacteria prone location) and i had a ton of crashes. I moved them to the new fish room, and they were fine until I added the 4 tanks in there with them, now they are crashing also. I have a new pre-filter on my air pump, pretty vigorous bubbles, an in-line air filter, I bleach everything, every time, and change the filter floss with each bottle. Yet still they crash...luckily James' do not, I bet I've used ten times more of his than he has.

A few things I've learned, start with a greener culture, and they crash less, I just started two nes ones with half phyto, half new water and they are fine so far. Keep the room cold too, mine are at 74, his run about 70, so that's another variable I have to consider. But the one thing i know is, the darker green they are when they start, the less prone to crashing, and the quicker they grow.

[Kathy55g]

When I first mixed this stuff up, the color was blood red, and I thought something must be wrong, so I emailed the company:

From Varicon, the makers of Reed's f/2 dry mix:

Hi Cathy, I'm not sure if you received this already,
we've had so many difficulties with our mails!!

Thankyou for your enquiry. Typically the F2P media
would be mixed at a concentration of 100gr/Litre.

You have mixed at a rate of 200gr/litre, this should
explain the difference in colour. Also I gather you
may have bought this from Reed Mariculture? If so this
is a very recent batch purchased last summer, therefor
the influence of the Vitamin B12 on colour will be
significant. Older batches tend to deteriorate over a
period of 2 years post mix.

I hope this puts your mind at ease!! Pleaase do not
hesitate to contact me again if you require any
further assistance


Warmest regards


Joe McDonald
www.variconaqua.com
[email protected]

Nicole,
Try mixing up a small bottle of this:

20 g in 200 ml. That is approximately 4 teaspoons of the dry mix (shake/mix the bag well to get an even distribution of large and small particles before measuring) dissolved in 200 ml good water.

Try using 0.5 ml of this per liter of culture.

[Kathy55g]

Jason, are you sure you are getting rid of all the chlorine before you add phyto? Maybe you are bleaching too much. Just a thought.

How much prime are you adding?

[NicoleC]

Thanks for the dosage suggestion. I will give it a try.

[Kathy55g]

Wait until I get home from work. I am going to borrow a portable scale from work and find out the grams/teaspoon, really.

[Kathy55g]

OK, for this stuff, the density is :
drum roll...

4 grams per teaspoon! (water is 5 grams per tsp)

So that's 5 tsp per 200 ml. Keep it as sterile/clean as possible.

I use at 1/2 ml per 2 liter bottle. Previously I mistakenly said to use 1/2 ml per liter. XXXX

[NicoleC]

New software feature... notepad for little notes like this that you don't know where to put yet...

[spk]

Folks,

Have been reading this thread with interest.

Firstly I too use the F2 from Variacon, and Joe is amazingly helpful. One thing that I did was to purshase a bottle of distilled water from a auto shop. It is this that I used to make the fertilizer. I do not have a problem and user 3ml per 1 litre.

I have my cultures, out in the shed at the moment and it is very cold there. Right now, I have two cultures that are still OK, vibrant green, and not a dull (armyish) green. I know that it is a lot colder than the 70 that I have read here,but with the swchedule that I have at the moment I do not do anything to this and it is hanging in there.

I used to bubble gently and it would take forever to darken, so speaking to some friends here, was advised to bubble at a rolling boil. This seemed to speed up the process considerable. I normally start a new culture with about 1/5th of a 2 litre bottle.

Hope this helps.

the ramblings of an ancient......

[GreshamH]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6581966#post6581966 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnowell
I wonder what Randy Reed does.


N.S.L. :D

[Peter Schmiedel]

And I though only I have perishing green water ;)

Steve, do you know the brand Aquaconnect in UK? They have a fertilizier called PhytoStabil. Some of my friends have great success with it.

Most people I know use old tanks for Phyto culture. Any reason why you US folks prefer bottels?

[Kathy55g]

bottles are easier to sterilize and keep sterile. One reason phyto cultures crash is bacterial contamination.

[Kathy55g]

Welcome back, Steve, missed ya.

[NicoleC]

A few Day 10 pics, courtesy of RC'er gho.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/clowns/55316478.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/clowns/55316477.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/clowns/55316475.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/clowns/55316474.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/clowns/55316473.jpg

And the scary one:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/clowns/55316476.jpg

[Kathy55g]

What can I say, but WOW!!!!

OK, what's the camera, settings, etc.?

[NicoleC]

He uses some fancy DSLR. Pro photographers, what can you say? :rolleyes:

I think they are very nice for the tough circumstances -- poor lighting, ISO 500, etc. The one with the dark dots all over him is eerie, but I guess it's normal pigmentation coming in? It's one of the more developed fish.

I like the first one where you can see all the fin rays and everything.

[Kathy55g]

Ya me too.

[jnowell]

AWESOME, I want a DSLR really bad now, but it would cut into my salt budget ;) The clowns look great! My Clarks had black spots, but not to the degree your eerie one has.

[fishes2889]

just amazing the life of a fish!!!!

peace

[mako56]

Well I have the DSLR maybe not quite as nice as that one but not the talent to take pics like that those are awesome. We will see if I can make it that far. Way to go Nicole. I got so many rots now I feed allot to the tank. How do you slow these things down?

[jnowell]

Feed them to FRY! LOL

You can drop the temp, and cut back on how much you feed them, but don't underestimate the feeding capacity of a tank full of baby clowns. They wiped my rotifers out pretty bad last time, they are just recovering in the nick of time too, another hatch tonight I think.

[Kathy55g]

Good luck with that Jason. May the lots'o'larval force be with you!

[jnowell]

Thanks for the luck Kathy, it worked! Had another great hatch! Healthy, active, and already hunting. Daddy's tired and needs to sleep now.

[Peter Schmiedel]

Greg (gho) is working with Nikon DSLR, but you should see his computer setup ;) - he is a magician in taking pics and also incredible in making them even better with a little software help. A true professional.

To me pic 2 and 3 are the best.

[Kathy55g]

They are hatched with black spots. I've looked at the newly dead ones under the scope, and they all have a pattern of black spots.

[spk]

Kathy,

thanks for the welcome, I find it difficult to get on daily when I am travelling to so many places for a day visit. Hence the absense.

Pete, I use bottles too as they are disposable and free. Plus I can get 8-13 2 litre bottles in a small place. I have never used them, but will try and contact them when I am next home. Always willing to try alternatives.

Some excellent pics in this thread. I too want a DSLR :mad:. Ah well one day maybe when enuff fishes have been sold.

Steve

[NicoleC]

Peter is right; I think he used the D70. But he has several cameras.

[NicoleC]

Here's Day 11. I swear it's like I've got two different species of clown in there. One is dark and rapidly turning into a clown, the other is pale and translucent and not developing as quickly but seems well fed and healthy.

I didn't crop tonight for a better idea of scale (for any readers who might not have had babies of their own.) These are 1" PVC fittings; the second photo has a bit of 1/2" PVC tube in the front.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/clowns/day11top.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/clowns/day11side.jpg

[Kathy55g]

photos not showing...

[NicoleC]

Sorry, I was re-uploading. They were like 22 inches wide...

[Kathy55g]

now they are..
they look great! Mine are a couple of days older and won't go near the pvc. I think it is in their parent's genes to like the top of the tank...

[Kathy55g]

I just put mine on the "system" yesterday with a slow drip. Really cleared the water and it is a blast to see all the busy baby clowns scooting all over.

Today I got to stay home from work because my daughter was sick, so I had some time to work on things. Got my older clowns transferred to the system, too, so now I just have one large system to maintain rather than a bunch of small tanks. So far so good. I should start a thread about the system.

[NicoleC]

Mine are all over the PVC like white on rice... or is it white on PVC? Fighting over them, too. I added a few new pieces last night so they have about 1 piece for every two fish, and one of the little ones who was always getting chased away saw it coming and darted right in before I even set it on the bottom!

I think everyone has at least a faint second white stripe -- some are almost complete, and they are starting to develop their black lines.

Hmmm. The darker ones looks like dad with fat stripes coming in; the paler ones are more "round" like Mom. I was just browsing old pics to see if I had good ones of the parents, and it looks like mama is getting more "tangerine" and her stripes getting thinner as she ages; papa is getting darker with thicker stripes. Papa's transformation is far more pronouced; her coloration changes seemed to happen right before she started spawning, but his are continuing.

They aren't very photogenic. Here's papa in January 2004 (on the left):
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/clowns/HPIM0507.jpg

and January 2005:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/clowns/HPIM2538.jpg

Guess I need a 2006 picture!

[spk]

Nicole,

Some truly amazing photographs. The parents are stunning too.

Kathy, yes it is time to update the pics of your system and tell us how it is going.

Steve

[mako56]

Sometimes I wish I had the orange clowns. They look so cool.

[Kathy55g]

Quite a color transformation! You must be feeding them well.

[NicoleC]

Well, just as I was thinking I must have lost my last goby -- despite the absence of a body -- because relentless flashlight searches have revealed nothing. Then suddenly, while I was wondering of I should empty the tank and stop feeding it, I just saw him! He's mostly two black eyes and a black spot in the middle with a lot of body I can't really see, and at least a good 3/8" long and a lot wider through the head. He can definately eat BBS, so I will clean out the rots, start him on enriched BBS like the clowns, and give him a sponge filter, too.

I tried to scoop him up for a photo, but he darted away from zero to sixty in nothing flat -- just like a real goby! He is 29 days old today. I hope this means he made it through meta; heaven knows I can't see him well enough to tell.

Meanwhile, I still find it hard to believe I haven't lost in clowns since the first 3 days.

[NicoleC]

Best I can do.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/ywg/day29top.jpg

[Kathy55g]

looks good to me. You may want to overlap the rots with the bbs, or did you already know that?

[NicoleC]

I have been -- giving the guy a little BBS every day but lots of rots. The rots in there seem to like eating the algae crud off the bottom; they do quite well even without any food at all from me; I've been having trouble keeping the density *down* in there.

Poor clowns, they were so hungry tonight, and they are very aware of scheduled feeding times now. But I had almost no BBS! Only half as much as I needed. :( So I fed a tiny bit of cyclopeeze (frozen) in the hope that the biggest most aggressive feeders might fill up on those first, leaving the BBS for the smaller fish. and finicky eaters. I did see a couple copepods get eaten, so my clowns aren't stuck on live food, they just don't care for the flake or it isn't the right shape or something. I followed with flake and then the BBS.

I think I am pushing it with cyclopeeze at this age, but they have BIG mouths. I'll check for more BBS in a bit; I have another hour before lights out.

More decapsulated BBS is on order; I thought I could get away with what I had for this batch, but they have been slow to take dead foods. I am going to build at least one more hatchery tomorrow to help defuse the possibility of more poor hatches letitng my guys go hungry.

[Kathy55g]

I think frozen CE is fine at this age.

When I feed it, I put a small frozen chunk into a "brine shrimp" net (these nets are too big for NHBS, so I was glad to find a use for them). Then I swoosh the net on the surface of the juvie tank so that as it thaws, only the smallest bits of CE go thru the net and into the water.

Saves having to siphon out the big chunks later.

I feed the big chunks to my bigger fish.

[NicoleC]

Hey, cool idea. I have one of those useless brine shrimp nets around here somewhere. I don't have enough fish for a "chunk" though, even a small one. ;)

These guys are funny; they are like a pack of excited little kinds. I can almost hear giggling.

[Kathy55g]

Busy, aren't they? I forgot how much fun they are at this age...kinda like kids!

[NicoleC]

Right again, Kathy. I saw even my littlest runt nab CE.

Bad move, but I am growing quite fond of this little guy. He has tons of spunk. But the poor little guy gets chased and picked on a lot. I wonder if I should move him to the goby tank? Or maybe him and the other runts?

[Kathy55g]

Looking at my hatch, I can't find the runts. I have one guy that is enourmous compared to his tankmates, but most of them are the same size to my ancient eyes.

[NicoleC]

I'm probably going to jinx it by saying something... but I have a new goby record! Its day 31 for my stouthearted goby lad! He's sitting in the middle of the tank now -- eschewing his PVC den. I even saw him roll his eyes to look at me, and the eyes look quite developed. I think he is officially post meta.

I got a little pipette and gav him a smidgen of cyclopeeze. He immediately turned, looked at it and picked one up. But, he had trouble with that one and had to spit it out. I went to grab some F1 (red) flake food, and when I came back he showed no interest in the food. Obviously, from the second pic he found one he thought he could swallow! I gave him some BBS anway.

The first pic, of course, is doctored for contrast and to show details better.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/ywg/day31side.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a294/nicolecastle/ywg/day31top.jpg

[NicoleC]

P.S. The gobies gifted me with a smallish nest today, 6 days late. I thought they had laid their eggs and lost them (it falls down sometimes). Too bad both tanks are full.

[mano]

Very cool Nicole!

What a handsome lad he is!
:)

[parshmar]

That's great Nicole!!!

"both tanks are full"....

I guess it's time to get a 3rd, 4th, and 5th tank going while you've got the mojo:)

[NicoleC]

I need a rack, first. Lacking a place to work, that means $$$.

It's simmering in the back of my head.

[NicoleC]

Too funny. "Lad" turned up his nose at a cloud of wiggling, fresh BBS right in front of his face tonight and waited for the CE. Well, that makes it easy on me. I guess he's on CE until he gets big enough for prepared food.

Goodness... think of all the free time I'll have not culturing live food...

[parshmar]

Any new updates? How's "Lad"?

[NicoleC]

Still kicking. A bit bigger and starting to get a tiny tinge of yellow!

[mako56]

Any changes to your goby yet Nicole?

[NicoleC]

He's still small and slightly yellow.