[fla2341]

Clownfishfan: Right now the jar is in a window which gets direct sunlight. I would like to keep them outside to get full on unfiltered(right now it's being filtered by the window glass and screen)sunlight at some point, however I have too many animals in my area which have, in the past, tipped over my algae jars outside. At some point I would like to build a raceway with sections and a large sump/refugium attached to try that method out. That I will build outside. However funds are extreemly low to non existent right now so that will have to wait for better times.


Jasanden: I use a small glass container/jar to dip them out of the tank. I pour this into one of my floating hatchers. Using this method it takes me about 10 minutes to collect the eggs. Make sure to catch all sides and corners not just the open water. Also make sure that the main filtration of the tank is off just before the spawning and until after you have collected the eggs or several will end up in the sump.

I want to keep Potter's as well. Any difficulty in keeping them? Can you show a photo of them?

A note on collecting the eggs: I built a seive with 120 micron mesh and used this method to collect three consecutive batches before. Using this method resulted in a much lower rate of eggs hatching - about 6/10 ave. for every spawn. I stopped using this method early on. I know the eggs were fertilized by viewing them with the microscope, however they did not proceed past the developmental stage just prior to hatch. I assume that the shell might have hardened after too much air exposure. Based on my experience (as limited as that is right now) I would not recommend using a net or seive if you want most of the eggs to hatch out. Dip them out to not over expose them to the air. Thanks Jasanden for jaring my memory on this.

If any one has any ideas or experience in breeding angelfish please feel free to chime in.

One photo below shows a fertizlied and unfertilized egg 12 hours post spawn. The other is a clear shot of a fertilized egg close to hatching.