Rearing Picasso Percula Clownfish!

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
Thanks everyone. This is just a minor set back ;)


is this stagnant water? i use a simple little sponge for air exchange....1 bubble per second roughly...that way the rotifers wont get sucked in but also utilizes air exchange and filtration. dont add so much phyto also...you only need to add enough phyto for them to get by. light green tint...

as for the 8 days the picasso's are probably their own wierd times
make sure u record the day and times they laid and estimate times of hatching

hope this helps sorry for the loss :(

Thanks for the tips.
May I see a picture of your set up?
What lighting are you using?
 

GSELLERS

Has been struck by the ban stick
I dont have it set up right now....:) but i use a 2.5 gallon tank and a regular purple square sponge filter as seen in magazines made by lee's i believe. all the sides are painted flat black (keeps the fry away from the glass) and the bottom is painted flat white so the clowns can portray depth in some cases. i was using a 10w screw in flourescent bulb from walmart in the fish aisle in the canopy. i use a tiny heater, and i use lunar lights. it has been said that lunar lights inscrease the chance of survivability by 20%.
 

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
I am using a 2.5 gal also but am thinking of possibly using a 5gal next time.
I have the sides wrapped in black trash bags, a 50 watt heater, air tube (no airstone) and a dim light overtop

Here is a photo of it before adding the clown eggs, rotifers and phyto.
200806152houroldLarvae005.jpg
 

GSELLERS

Has been struck by the ban stick
take the trashbag off it will put too much glare in the tank...the clowns will be at the walls chasing their reflection insted of eating. black cunstruction paper works the best besides painting....walmart. the best place th shop for clownfish breeding supplies...well some of them...


how fast was your air bubbling?. if it was too fast itll damage the fry. i shoot 1-2 bubbles per sec. also did you ad anything for filtration or ammonia removal? like prime, or something similar?
 

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
Thanks Adam :) I'll do better next time!

take the trashbag off it will put too much glare in the tank...the clowns will be at the walls chasing their reflection insted of eating. black cunstruction paper works the best besides painting....walmart. the best place th shop for clownfish breeding supplies...well some of them...


how fast was your air bubbling?. if it was too fast itll damage the fry. i shoot 1-2 bubbles per sec. also did you ad anything for filtration or ammonia removal? like prime, or something similar?

Thanks. I'll get some construction paper instead.

It was gentle to my 'normal' ratings but I do believe it was too strong for the little fellas.
I guess it was approx 10 bubbles (no airstone) per second in the 2.5 gal.
MUCH stronger than your 1 bubble per second.

I use Amquel for ammonia removal.

Question: do you use live phyto or instant algae? I have both on hand.
 

chris&barb

Member
Re: Spawn II

:cry1:

Well, my attempt at raising #II failed.

Yesterday I pulled the eggs 1 day early because they had already begun to hatch (so much for the eight day mark) the night before and most were already gone.

I successfully got them into the nursery tank with heater, gentle airstone and it was completely blacked out for about 2 hours. All but maybe a dozen hatched (they turned white) so I had about 75 or so swimming around.
I added seived rotifers and some phyto plankton.. then added more phyto plankton. They were eating very well at first but about an hour later began twirling around and all eventually died.

I THINK I messed up with the very high PH of the live phyto and the mass quantities of rotifers that demanded a lot of oxygen. :dunno:

:cry1:


You can see their silver bellies filled with rotifers so I know they were eating well.
Tiny little buggers aren't they!

keep your head up:eek:lsmile:

its not uncommon for the first few spawnings to not do well. i think you said the egg count on this one was just over 200, should be closer to 500/800 so i would increase feedings to the parents to increase egg #'s and larval strength (2 or 3 times a day, as much as they can eat in 15min's).

i would also look at the lighting. if they are "head standing" then the light might be too bright. we use egg crate with about 6 or 8 layers of paper towels on top under a dim 15watt CF bulb for the first few days and then remove some towels as time go's by.

what density are you keeping the rotifers in the rearing tank?
 

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
Thank you for your response Chris&Barb :)

The egg count was low because the male ate most of it in the beginnig of spawning but he eventually stopped eating them.
I do feed them to saturation with my homemade mush (they love it!) no less than 3 times per day (more on weekends and days off work).

The light might have been too strong. I will copy your eggcrate & paper towel method next time :)

The rotifer count in the nursery was around 10-15 per mil.

What size tank do you use at first?
I used a 2.5 gal but I might use a 5 gal next time.

Ohhh... the pair are busy again cleaning the clay pot substrate :dance:

Thanks again!
 

Frankie

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Sorry about the loss Doni. Keep your head high! I never knew a more persistent reefer then you. Trial and error, trial and error, thats how we accomplish great things like you have with your beautiful aquarium.
 

nikkipigtails

Well-Known Member
I'm so sorry it didn't work out Doni. At least the loss has provided you with more knowledge so you can succeed in the future. Good luck!
 

chris&barb

Member
The rotifer count in the nursery was around 10-15 per mil.

What size tank do you use at first?
I used a 2.5 gal but I might use a 5 gal next time.


we keep the rotifers at about 15 to 20 per mil. in the rearing tank, feed 3 time per day for the first few days then 2 times from then on.

we use 10gal tanks with about 3gal in them untill they go through metamorphosis, then we increase water to about 7gal. they stay in the 10gal tanks untill they are over a half inch.
 

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
haha, wow just wow! lol just subscribing to this thread, is this the first batch?

Yes, that is the first batch to hatch but the clownfish's second spawn.
She will lay again in the next few days.

Keeping the rotifers fed and waterchanged still goes on though :cool:
They have to be fed twice a day and a 30% water change performed ever other day. That is a lot since I have TWO 5 gal buckets inside the garage and TWO 10-15 gal containers outside :cool: I have many different cultures right now because I am afraid that one (or more) may crash. Once I become more confident, I will reduce it down to only two vessiles.
 
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