Clown Rearing

Warnberg

Well-Known Member
Well I believe my two clownfish are starting to show signs of nesting. They are hanging together in a old shell of a clam that was on the live rock I got from a friend, they seem to be cleaning the half shell and when in there together they quiver..... anyway I am looking for any info on Clown rearing, there nesting behavior, what to expect, etc, etc....

So do any of you have an insights for me? Any good books to pickup and read? What do I need to prepair for (equiptment, foods, etc) the eggs and rearing?

Thanks
 

cheeks69

Wannabe Guru
RS STAFF
Going into great detail on the rearing of clownfish fry is outside the scope of this column. If done correctly, it would likely require several columns unto itself. With this in mind, I will offer a very basic guide on what is required for successful rearing of fry. Please use this only as a starting point. For a more detailed account, please try and acquire the reference book by Wilkerson (2001), as noted in the reference section below.

Clownfish larvae left in the aquarium with their parents will likely be consumed by the parents. As such, removal of the larvae is essential. The easiest way to go about this is to remove the fry just prior to hatching. Since the eggs are attached to a flattened stone, it may be easiest if you provide this stone for your fish. Shells, ceramic tiles or the bottom of clay pots work excellent in this regard. Once removed, place the stone into its own aquarium. Water movement over the eggs is vital to the well-being of the eggs. A properly placed air stone should suffice nicely. Ensure the air stone is supplying ample water agitation around the eggs.

Prior to the eggs hatching you must make certain that food will be readily available to the larvae. At the time the larvae hatch their overall size will dictate the need to feed them live foods called rotifers. It is likely that the aquarist will need to grow their own live foods unless your local stores are doing this and selling it retail, which is doubtful. For extensive information regarding the culturing of rotifers, check here. Of course, rotifers will require food themselves, so that they are nutritious. Phytoplankton is best used to fill this need and it is rather easily cultured. For extensive information on culturing live phytoplankton, check here. Live phytoplankton can also be purchased from local or online sources, though it may be more economically viable to culture it yourself. You can expect the need to feed live rotifers, and thus culture live rotifers and phytoplankton, to continue for as short as seven days and up to fourteen days, depending on the size of the larvae. This is actually when the larvae metamorphose, and thus are capable of consuming live nauplii. Once again, the home aquarist will have to culture this live food. For extensive information on culturing live brine shrimp, check here. By day 15, or possibly sooner, you should make an attempt at transferring the clownfish from live foods to pulverized dry foods with anticipation of feeding exclusively pulverized dry food by day 25 to 30. The food is pulverized so it is small enough to be consumed by the small fish.

In this series of photos the reader can clearly see the development of the fry, from the early stages when they are first laid by the female, to the silver encased eyeballs ready to hatch, and moments after hatching.


Time to Quit Clownin' Around: The Subfamily Amphiprioninae
 
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