My Clown Rack

[WDLV]

So, here's some shots of my clown rack as it currently stands.







http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...8/DSC00038.jpg
I forgot to take a shot of my sandaracinos pair, so here's another of my youngest latz pair (my other pair is in the big tank.)


...and the hiding polymnus.

[GSMguy]

ok i took this comment out of the other thread here it goes again


Sweet clown setup, how long have you had the LATZ pairs?

[criccio]

Doesn't that broken pot with the nigripes make you nervous? If they get spooked, especially at night, they could really cut themselves on it.

[WDLV]

GSMguy,
Thanks. About 6-8 months on the latz.

criccio,
Good thought. I just broke it yesterday while cleaning and didn't have a replacement handy. Maybe I'll file down the point or something. They shouldn't get spooked though. I keep a little light in the room to help prevent that.
I really like the shape of it now better than just having it lay on it's side. The clowns seem to like it better too. They have four sides of protection and seem more at ease. I may do this with the rest of my flowerpots but use a small hacksaw to do it.

Oh, and here's the pic of the latz I didn't enter properly.

Here's the other pair from the big tank.

... and my other pair of percs.

[GSMguy]

can you PM me where those percs came from

Nick

[WDLV]

Done, but like I said before, I bought them all. If you're gonna do a special order ask them where they originated. BTW I paid $38.00 each. i felt it was a bit steep, but these were just what I've been looking for.

[basser1]

Beautiful set-up! But where are the Babies???

[hexedagain]

What kind of plumbing/filtration do you have on it?

[heap]

looks pretty sturdy

now you'll be looking for the best floor space to add onto it ;^)

[WDLV]

basser1,
Don't ask me. That's their responsibility!

hexedagain,
PVC plumbing. JK. I have one pump returning to the right side. water, food etc passes under the walls of all seven holding tanks then down to the 40 breeder on the right and down to the sump. The 40 breeder on the left has a return pump that it shares for now. I'm planning on tieing them all on together so I can run only one pump for the whole system.
For filtration bioballs is all I'm using at the moment but once I build the new rack system I'll be using the Euroreef CS12-2 skimmer from off my main reef, which is being broken down.

heap,
Yep. I've already outgrown it.

[WDLV]

I have some mixed emotions right now. Mostly depressed....
I got back from a business trip in Ohio today to find that the beautiful, healthy female latz that I've had for like 8 months was sitting half dried in a trashcan next to my main reef. The only thing I can think of as to why she might have jumped is that the light that i use for moonlight blew out while I was gone. I told my wife to leave the basement light on as a temporary replacement but for whatever reason, she jumped.
I also lost one of the new percs while I was gone.......
On the positive side I have new pairs of thin bar tomatos and some new fish I'm not sure about. They're either allardis or sebaes. They look like allardi stripes but have more of a saddleback complex body shape.

[LargeAngels]

That sucks. I learned that lesson years ago. I cover everything. Even if they've always been calm.

[WDLV]

I cover ALMOST everything that I can't replace easily. At the very least I still have another pair.

[rkelman]

Awesome setup. I'm sorry for your loss. They are beautiful fish.

[WDLV]

I lost the other perc from that pair last night. I've gotta go get some more egg crate soon. This is insanity!

[WDLV]

I just ran across this old thread.... I wish I'd know then what I know now. My water was jacked, my fish were stressed and I had no idea it was wrong. It's a weird transition to go from reefkeeping to sterile breeding systems. I still don't have it mastered but I'm doing a lot better.

I cover EVERYTHING, my water quality is a lot better and I can identify stressed clowns. If I saw those percs today, I would immediately treat them with copper. They had the zombie-like glazed eye look.

What will I know in four years?

[velvetelvis]

Do you have any pictures of your current setup? That was an amazing collection of clowns.

[WDLV]

I'm actually trying to work up the motivation to build my new rack system. I have a small rack at the moment that has 10 gallon tanks. I have decided through trial, error and a little research that the best size for me will be 10 gallons that can be plumbed into the system or stand alone for as a quarrantine or hospital tank.

My concept of quarrantine has changed drastically too. I now use 10 gallons for pretty much all my needs. It's an easy volume for doing dose calculations.

When I have a system in quarrantine I like using these whisper EX45s. They do a good job of keeping detritus suspended and clean.



This is a sneak peek into things to come. On the left are an established pair of A. thiellei clowns. On the right is a new thiellei with a misbar ocellaris I was planning to use as a mate before I found a fourth A. thiellei. I plan to pair A. thiellei#3 and #4 in April. The misbar ocellaris has been reallocated to be the male for my son's female. I'm doing a spongebob themed tank for him.


A. thiellei is my primary focus. I do occasionally buy clowns on impulse but I usually just stabilize them and re-sell them when I get bored with them or realize I shouldn't have bought them. That's the other lesson. Less is more. If I have wild success and can quit my day job at some point, I'd love to have a whole hatchery to care for 10 hours a day.... In the mean time, I am learning to deal with fewer tanks.

[tvrsir]

Originally Posted by WDLV

I just ran across this old thread.... I wish I'd know then what I know now. My water was jacked, my fish were stressed and I had no idea it was wrong. It's a weird transition to go from reefkeeping to sterile breeding systems. I still don't have it mastered but I'm doing a lot better.

I cover EVERYTHING, my water quality is a lot better and I can identify stressed clowns. If I saw those percs today, I would immediately treat them with copper. They had the zombie-like glazed eye look.

What will I know in four years?

what did you mean by you had bad water? what was off.

also when you say the zombie eyes. what does that mean in term of disease?

[WDLV]

Gelbstoff and clarity mostly. Conditions that at the time I thought would be acceptable in a fish only system. I let uneaten food sit too long too.
There's a look fish get when they have brook or velvet but aren't showing external symptoms yet. Joyce Wilkerson would have referred to it as the DLR or "don't look right" test. I suppose any number of reasons could cause the zombie eyed look from water quality to low dissolved oxygen to disease. Essentially what this looks like is a fish sort of swimming in place with eyes that don't look around. They just stare. They may also appear less shiny. Its like a dead fish that just happens to be swimming... Thus I call it the zombie eyed look.

[reefstew]

x2 with the eggcrate. I use it around the top of the tanks not directly over it. They would have to jump a foot to clear it.

[WDLV]

I just remembered how I lost my female polymnus. She jumped about 10" then through a space in the hood that was about 1" wide.

[Clownfishfan]

I love your theillei's! They are my absolute favorite fish! Any luck on spawning them?

[WDLV]

Thanks! No luck yet. With any luck I will double my chance of that possibility next month as #4 will be out of quarrantine and I will begin the process of pairing #3 and #4.

[Clownfishfan]

Any idea why they haven't spawned yet?