180g ClownFish Harem Build (yes another.. lol)

Zagzoo71 · 09/11/2017, 06:33 PM

Must be the theme all of a sudden, hahaha!

So, while I am waiting for my tank to recover from marine velvet. I decide as well to turn my 180g in the wall to a clownfish harem tank.

Tank has been fallow for 3 weeks.. I had 1 survivor that I couldn't catch for 2 months. Tank has been up and running now for 6 months.

For exporting nutrients I run a skimmer and a algae scrubber (11x10 screen)

The plan is for 40 clownfish from the same clutch, just trying to decide which species to go with.

Since i have till 11/1/17 before I can add fish.. started dropping BTA's in the tank. With 40 clown fish.. I am gonna start out with 20-24 BTA's. The plan is to get them in the tank and growing till them.

4/24 BTA's!!

The video shows 1 RBTA from the weekend, and today I trade some coral for 2 rbta and 1 bright green BTA. Gonna make my aquascape look like skittles!

https://youtu.be/V9hY5JBH7YQ

Here is a pic from the today's additions:

Zagzoo71 · 09/16/2017, 05:41 PM

BTA Update...

Well... 3/4 of the first BTA's stayed put for one week, getting ready to possibly add 10 - 12 more in the next few days. One of the 2 new rbta's is mia.. been missing for 8hrs.. so i guess 3/4 staying put were i placed them isnt bad to start.

Zagzoo71 · 09/17/2017, 06:43 PM

9 GBTA's into the tank now.. grand total of 13 BTA's. 9 green, 1 bright neon green, and 3 RBTA's. Have some rainbows on reserve for next months frag meet.

And the gbta's have started their evening walk to see were they are happy!

D-Nak · 09/18/2017, 10:15 AM

Have you decided on which species of clownfish?

I guess it's a little late to recommend not going with BTAs, but if you're planning to have ocellaris or percula, having either magnifica or gigantea anemones makes for a nice display. Once settled in, IME both mags and gigs don't wander much, unlike BTAs. They're both difficult to find and need to be QTed, but after that point, I consider them very hardy anemone despite what you may read.

One BTA in your MP40 could take out your whole tank. 20 of them is asking for trouble. I've gotten a large gig stuck in an MP40 and it actually stopped the wetside from spinning. The result was an injured nem (it eventually recovered) but my point is that it didn't nuke the entire tank because the nem wasn't turned into a puree.

Zagzoo71 · 09/18/2017, 12:04 PM

I got foam covers on order for my power heads to keep them out. Still deciding on what species of clowns to go with.

Zagzoo71 · 09/23/2017, 12:38 PM

Little update.. been about 1 week since I added 9 GBTA's (7 made it) and added 1 RBTA past thursday. Redid some rock work to get a few gbta to move into view.. everyone basically settled in and happy.. no one has moved it last 4 days.

Youtube Link:

ClownFish Harem.. 13 BTA's

Zagzoo71 · 09/27/2017, 01:43 PM

can I mix any other nem with bta's? or will it be a sting fest if they get to close?

Zagzoo71 · 10/20/2017, 12:29 PM

Well... Little update... seems all the BTA's want to be on one side of the tank this week. The biggest gbta decided it will just shove itself in front of the others. Next weekend still gonna be picking up around 12 rainbow bta's.. then in 2 weeks 40 lightening clowns!!

Kinetic · 10/20/2017, 01:09 PM

Looks really great. It's kind of crazy how much your BTAs are moving. Do you ever wonder if conditions in the tank aren't right for them to settle down?

I have little experience with BTAs moving around (I've had a few in the past, but they attached and stay put pretty quickly). I always assumed that if they're happy, they'll stay put. If they're wandering so much, maybe they're looking for something they don't have.

Your flow looks pretty strong. What about lighting? Or do you think all the movement is totally normal?

My current rainbow BTA didn't move for 3 days, then wandered the entirety of the tank (even face planted on my mesh cover for my gyre pump, good thing that thing was on minimal flow) for about a week. It stayed put for a week, and now it moved 5 inches. So maybe they just keep walking forever?

Lightning maroons will be amazing. I like the cuteness of ocellaris, but the lightning maroons look incredible.

Zagzoo71 · 10/20/2017, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kinetic

Looks really great. It's kind of crazy how much your BTAs are moving. Do you ever wonder if conditions in the tank aren't right for them to settle down?

I have little experience with BTAs moving around (I've had a few in the past, but they attached and stay put pretty quickly). I always assumed that if they're happy, they'll stay put. If they're wandering so much, maybe they're looking for something they don't have.

Your flow looks pretty strong. What about lighting? Or do you think all the movement is totally normal?

My current rainbow BTA didn't move for 3 days, then wandered the entirety of the tank (even face planted on my mesh cover for my gyre pump, good thing that thing was on minimal flow) for about a week. It stayed put for a week, and now it moved 5 inches. So maybe they just keep walking forever?

Lightning maroons will be amazing. I like the cuteness of ocellaris, but the lightning maroons look incredible.

Well.. I been playing around with the flows.. trying to calm some of it down (probably why a few have moved... some have moved into the strong flow and stayed there.. some move to an area with hardly any flow.) I have the Jabeo 40 size power heads. THink I am gonna get the 25 size version. My current ones are on power setting 2 and on the pulse slowest setting. I have also redid my LED settings.. had too much whites were the bta's colors were off.

D-Nak · 10/20/2017, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zagzoo71

Well... Little update... seems all the BTA's want to be on one side of the tank this week. The biggest gbta decided it will just shove itself in front of the others. Next weekend still gonna be picking up around 12 rainbow bta's.. then in 2 weeks 40 lightening clowns!!

I'm sure you've done your research, but I feel the need to reiterate that maroon clowns are extremely aggressive. Even juveniles are known to fight with each other, so much so that breeders are forced to separate them a lot earlier than with other species. Having lots of BTAs will hopefully ease the aggression, but I think you may end up with losses.

Zagzoo71 · 10/20/2017, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by D-Nak

I'm sure you've done your research, but I feel the need to reiterate that maroon clowns are extremely aggressive. Even juveniles are known to fight with each other, so much so that breeders are forced to separate them a lot earlier than with other species. Having lots of BTAs will hopefully ease the aggression, but I think you may end up with losses.

They were piscaso percula's type (sorry might have my spieces mixed up).. I know they were not maroon clowns.

D-Nak · 10/20/2017, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zagzoo71

They were piscaso percula's type (sorry might have my spieces mixed up).. I know they were not maroon clowns.

LOL okay gotcha. Picassos will be fine together. Lightnings not so much.

Zagzoo71 · 10/22/2017, 06:38 PM

Here is the picassos I am getting 50 of:

Zagzoo71 · 10/23/2017, 04:18 PM

well it looks like I will not be adding 12 rainbow bta's this weekend. Vendor over sold at a swap meet last weekend. But, the good news is probably be getting 4-5 rainbows.. and 1 is the mother rainbow (were all the clones were coming from ) and she is 12" across!!

Soo.. little change of direction.. since all the bta's like the right half of my tank, ill keep putting them there. On the far left side of the tank putting a saddle carpet in tomorrow!!!

Zagzoo71 · 10/24/2017, 05:16 PM

Well finally one of my rbta split!! First one ever I owned that split: Total now 14 bta's!!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5...EZDeGRLcS05dmc

Zagzoo71 · 10/25/2017, 06:18 PM

Mongo77 · 10/31/2017, 02:24 PM

Can't wait to see the tank with the clowns added. Nice choice of clowns!

Zagzoo71 · 10/31/2017, 06:28 PM

Another update: Added 3 more rainbow BTA's, 2 in the 3-4" range, 1 around 8-10"

sunkim622 · 11/01/2017, 11:33 AM

I had a friend who's darwin clownfish started breeding so he tried raising them. After a couple tries he had probably 80 baby clownfish and nowhere to put them. I had a huge 4" darwin in my 85 gallon tank so I got rid of all my other fish and turned it into a harem tank by taking 50 of his. It was awesome with the one huge female and 50 babies swimming around.

Keep this up! It looks like it's coming around nicely. Good luck!

Zagzoo71 · 11/18/2017, 05:33 PM

Well today waa the day!! I picked up my clowns from the local breeder. 55 clownfish to be exact, here is the make up"

- helmet perc
- platium perc
- picasso perc
- darwin percs

Accilimated for almoat 2hrs, 1 darwin didnt make it.

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/QeptrTgWp_0

Kinetic · 11/19/2017, 02:22 AM

Wow they're all in the middle. Good things those BTA's are well established already, having so many clowns smashing themselves into it would be pretty traumatic =)

Looks great! So many different sizes too!

Good luck with all of them! Keep us updated.

Silfer · 11/19/2017, 05:51 AM

I'm doing a 2ft cube with a small clown harem too, probably 10 baby clowns.

From speaking to others and my own personal experience of 21 Btas right now if you want them to bubble and stay that way you need low flow and strong lighting close to the water line.

My bubble tips are all nicely bubbled and I have a single vortech mp10 qd on lagoon mode. Once a day I stick it on NTP for an hour or so.

eppersonm16 · 11/22/2017, 04:12 PM

What kind of lighting are you running and at what intensity and spectrum?
thanks,

clorox · 11/22/2017, 05:49 PM

This is cool.
From personal experience, having had 20 clowns with gigantea anemones, try to get bubble tips as large as you can find. Those 55 baby clowns will grow to about 1.5~2" pretty quickly and will be constantly 'rubbing' 24/7 on their hosts.

You will notice over time that tentacles in the center of the anemones will begin wearing out and disappear due to the constant activity of the fish. If this is a long-term plan it is something to keep in mind. Your approach is correct though, giving the clowns lots of anemones to roam around is the way to go.

09/16/2017, 05:41 PM	#2
Zagzoo71 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: New Springfield, Ohio Posts: 242	BTA Update... Well... 3/4 of the first BTA's stayed put for one week, getting ready to possibly add 10 - 12 more in the next few days. One of the 2 new rbta's is mia.. been missing for 8hrs.. so i guess 3/4 staying put were i placed them isnt bad to start. __________________ Tank #1: 180g "in the wall" ClownFish Harem Tank! Current Tank Info: 180g In the wall build

09/18/2017, 10:15 AM	#4
D-Nak Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 5,797	Have you decided on which species of clownfish? I guess it's a little late to recommend not going with BTAs, but if you're planning to have ocellaris or percula, having either magnifica or gigantea anemones makes for a nice display. Once settled in, IME both mags and gigs don't wander much, unlike BTAs. They're both difficult to find and need to be QTed, but after that point, I consider them very hardy anemone despite what you may read. One BTA in your MP40 could take out your whole tank. 20 of them is asking for trouble. I've gotten a large gig stuck in an MP40 and it actually stopped the wetside from spinning. The result was an injured nem (it eventually recovered) but my point is that it didn't nuke the entire tank because the nem wasn't turned into a puree. __________________ Tank info: 120 gallon 48x30x20 high DT. Clownfish breeding rack in full swing: C-Quest Onyx, Bali Aquarich P1 Picasso + Rod's Onyx, wild percula + Rod's Onyx.

09/18/2017, 12:04 PM	#5
Zagzoo71 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: New Springfield, Ohio Posts: 242	I got foam covers on order for my power heads to keep them out. Still deciding on what species of clowns to go with. __________________ Tank #1: 180g "in the wall" ClownFish Harem Tank! Current Tank Info: 180g In the wall build

09/23/2017, 12:38 PM	#6
Zagzoo71 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: New Springfield, Ohio Posts: 242	Little update.. been about 1 week since I added 9 GBTA's (7 made it) and added 1 RBTA past thursday. Redid some rock work to get a few gbta to move into view.. everyone basically settled in and happy.. no one has moved it last 4 days. Youtube Link: ClownFish Harem.. 13 BTA's __________________ Tank #1: 180g "in the wall" ClownFish Harem Tank! Current Tank Info: 180g In the wall build

09/27/2017, 01:43 PM	#7
Zagzoo71 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: New Springfield, Ohio Posts: 242	can I mix any other nem with bta's? or will it be a sting fest if they get to close? __________________ Tank #1: 180g "in the wall" ClownFish Harem Tank! Current Tank Info: 180g In the wall build

10/20/2017, 12:29 PM	#8
Zagzoo71 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: New Springfield, Ohio Posts: 242	Well... Little update... seems all the BTA's want to be on one side of the tank this week. The biggest gbta decided it will just shove itself in front of the others. Next weekend still gonna be picking up around 12 rainbow bta's.. then in 2 weeks 40 lightening clowns!! __________________ Tank #1: 180g "in the wall" ClownFish Harem Tank! Current Tank Info: 180g In the wall build

10/20/2017, 01:09 PM	#9
Kinetic Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 7,230	Looks really great. It's kind of crazy how much your BTAs are moving. Do you ever wonder if conditions in the tank aren't right for them to settle down? I have little experience with BTAs moving around (I've had a few in the past, but they attached and stay put pretty quickly). I always assumed that if they're happy, they'll stay put. If they're wandering so much, maybe they're looking for something they don't have. Your flow looks pretty strong. What about lighting? Or do you think all the movement is totally normal? My current rainbow BTA didn't move for 3 days, then wandered the entirety of the tank (even face planted on my mesh cover for my gyre pump, good thing that thing was on minimal flow) for about a week. It stayed put for a week, and now it moved 5 inches. So maybe they just keep walking forever? Lightning maroons will be amazing. I like the cuteness of ocellaris, but the lightning maroons look incredible.

10/22/2017, 06:38 PM	#14
Zagzoo71 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: New Springfield, Ohio Posts: 242	Here is the picassos I am getting 50 of: __________________ Tank #1: 180g "in the wall" ClownFish Harem Tank! Current Tank Info: 180g In the wall build Last edited by Zagzoo71; 10/22/2017 at 06:47 PM.

10/23/2017, 04:18 PM	#15
Zagzoo71 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: New Springfield, Ohio Posts: 242	well it looks like I will not be adding 12 rainbow bta's this weekend. Vendor over sold at a swap meet last weekend. But, the good news is probably be getting 4-5 rainbows.. and 1 is the mother rainbow (were all the clones were coming from ) and she is 12" across!! Soo.. little change of direction.. since all the bta's like the right half of my tank, ill keep putting them there. On the far left side of the tank putting a saddle carpet in tomorrow!!! __________________ Tank #1: 180g "in the wall" ClownFish Harem Tank! Current Tank Info: 180g In the wall build

10/24/2017, 05:16 PM	#16
Zagzoo71 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: New Springfield, Ohio Posts: 242	Well finally one of my rbta split!! First one ever I owned that split: Total now 14 bta's!! https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5...EZDeGRLcS05dmc __________________ Tank #1: 180g "in the wall" ClownFish Harem Tank! Current Tank Info: 180g In the wall build

10/25/2017, 06:18 PM	#17
Zagzoo71 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: New Springfield, Ohio Posts: 242	__________________ Tank #1: 180g "in the wall" ClownFish Harem Tank! Current Tank Info: 180g In the wall build

10/31/2017, 02:24 PM	#18
Mongo77 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: New York Posts: 146	Can't wait to see the tank with the clowns added. Nice choice of clowns!

10/31/2017, 06:28 PM	#19
Zagzoo71 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: New Springfield, Ohio Posts: 242	Another update: Added 3 more rainbow BTA's, 2 in the 3-4" range, 1 around 8-10" __________________ Tank #1: 180g "in the wall" ClownFish Harem Tank! Current Tank Info: 180g In the wall build

11/01/2017, 11:33 AM	#20
sunkim622 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Posts: 24	I had a friend who's darwin clownfish started breeding so he tried raising them. After a couple tries he had probably 80 baby clownfish and nowhere to put them. I had a huge 4" darwin in my 85 gallon tank so I got rid of all my other fish and turned it into a harem tank by taking 50 of his. It was awesome with the one huge female and 50 babies swimming around. Keep this up! It looks like it's coming around nicely. Good luck!

11/18/2017, 05:33 PM	#21
Zagzoo71 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: New Springfield, Ohio Posts: 242	Well today waa the day!! I picked up my clowns from the local breeder. 55 clownfish to be exact, here is the make up" - helmet perc - platium perc - picasso perc - darwin percs Accilimated for almoat 2hrs, 1 darwin didnt make it. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/QeptrTgWp_0 __________________ Tank #1: 180g "in the wall" ClownFish Harem Tank! Current Tank Info: 180g In the wall build

11/19/2017, 02:22 AM	#22
Kinetic Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 7,230	Wow they're all in the middle. Good things those BTA's are well established already, having so many clowns smashing themselves into it would be pretty traumatic =) Looks great! So many different sizes too! Good luck with all of them! Keep us updated.

11/19/2017, 05:51 AM	#23
Silfer Gonnae no dae that. Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Scotland Posts: 293	I'm doing a 2ft cube with a small clown harem too, probably 10 baby clowns. From speaking to others and my own personal experience of 21 Btas right now if you want them to bubble and stay that way you need low flow and strong lighting close to the water line. My bubble tips are all nicely bubbled and I have a single vortech mp10 qd on lagoon mode. Once a day I stick it on NTP for an hour or so.

11/22/2017, 04:12 PM	#24
eppersonm16 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 46	What kind of lighting are you running and at what intensity and spectrum? thanks,

11/22/2017, 05:49 PM	#25
clorox Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 550	This is cool. From personal experience, having had 20 clowns with gigantea anemones, try to get bubble tips as large as you can find. Those 55 baby clowns will grow to about 1.5~2" pretty quickly and will be constantly 'rubbing' 24/7 on their hosts. You will notice over time that tentacles in the center of the anemones will begin wearing out and disappear due to the constant activity of the fish. If this is a long-term plan it is something to keep in mind. Your approach is correct though, giving the clowns lots of anemones to roam around is the way to go.