New adventure into breeding my cinnamon clown fish.

[leslie]

Ok this is our plan.....tonight we are going to move the cinnamon clowns eggs and the mom and dad over to our 28 gallon Nano cube. The eggs should be ready to hatch in 2 days. We are going to try and see if all of the micro algae cover will help them survive and of course target feed. This is the tank we are going to put them in.

If we are taking the wrong approach, please chime in and give suggestions. Cant wait to hear what everyone has to say. Thanks.

 

[leslie]

Ok we are into the process of getting the fish that is in our 28 gallon nano out. Then once we do that we will transfer the rock with the eggs and the parents. How does this sound?

 

[whippetguy]

Sounds like a good start. Good luck with your venture.

 

[leslie]

Ok, have the fish out of our 28 gallon nano, now the tricky part is catching the mom and dad fish! We are having one hell of a time doing that. We really dont want to break down our 85 gallon to catch them!

 

[leslie]

we have now got the momma, now we need the male. We have also transfered our eggs to 28 gallon nano. Now all we need is the daddy!!!! Damn he is being difficult! The momma was no problem to catch!

 

[leslie]

Ok all the eggs are off the rock. Most came off from just switching them from one tank to the other, the others looked like they may have hatched, however can not find any baby frye at all in our tank. We are guessing this is just a dud run for this batch. I don't think the eggs were the right size or color to have hatched. Guess we will just wait on the next batch and go from there.

 

[leslie]

Well the parents are going near the rock again that they typically lay there eggs on. I am not 100% sure they are cleaning it and getting it ready for next lay. I hope they lay soon.....I would so love to see some baby clowns swimming around! I am trying my best!

 

[ddelozier]

No prob bud, an egg laying set will lay more again in a few days. Once the fry have hatched, you want to remove the parent anyways....i knwo a friend who breeds clowns. Once the eggs are layed, he moves the parents the day before hatching and points a powerhead at the eggs for the last 12 hrs, right up till lights out. Clownfish eggs wont hatch till after the lights go out. Im quite well versed in breeding clowns, even though i dont have time to do it myself.

Once the fry hatch, be ready to feed live rotifers for 3-4 days, followed by mix rotifers and freshly hatched brine for 3-5 more, follwed by brine only(less than 48hrs old) for 7 days till morf... baby brine till they are 1/2" long or so and mix in frozen or gut filled live brine for the next month. the first 29 days, baby clowns are just like babies...fed 3/4 times per day, frequent water changes, lots of attention. After 30 days, they're quite easy to keep on live/frozen brine(frozen is best = get em trained on it) with mix of other foods. they are sell/tradeable at roughly 5-6mo or 1" long.

 

[leslie]

Thank you for your advice.

 

[leslie]

So far still no eggs. The pair are starting to show interest again into the rock they laid eggs on....hopefully this is a good thing. They still have not started cleaning the rock like they usually do. Who knows, may take a while since i moved them to a new tank.

 

[leslie]

Still no eggs. She has dug out a pretty good size hole around their laying rock. I am hoping this is a sign that they are going to start laying again soon. I am just patiently waiting.

 

[leslie]

Well as for right now they have decided not to lay any eggs. I will post again when they do. Hopefully it will be soon. IDK what else to do other than just give them some time. My lfs told me it could take them 6-8 months before they start laying again if I changed them to a new tank, I am begging to believe him now. Its just a waiting game I guess. I will post again when I see some eggs.

 

[ddelozier]

add more diversity to their diets, heavy on Mysis shrimp. Also increase the tank temp to 80-81 Degrees F, and use either rotifers or baby brine shrimp(frozen works), put a bit in the water. Clowns can taste if the conditions are right for eggs. Also check the salinity. make sure its no higher than 1.022sg, and you might want to lower it to .019.

these can stimulate clowns to lay. Warm slightly less salty water with traces of potential food for the babies.

 

[leslie]

Well thank you very much for the advice.....I will try that and see if it works. Temp is already around 80-81, however they were laying eggs in water temps in the other tanks at 76-80. and prob lower salinity, not sure what that was. Now I am having a prob with flatworms, I have to get rid of those now before I can even worry about raising baby clowns! Its like one prob after another! I know patience is the key......I just need to develop that skill!!!! EEERRRRGGGGG!!!!!!

 

[leslie]

Ok now I have a problem. My female clown was chasing my male clown all around the tank last night like she was trying to hurt him. They were both breathing hard and I can not figure out why that happened. Now he is at the back of the tank and she is staying where they both normally stay. Its like he is scared to get near her, however she comes out and swims beside him at the back of the tank. Is this normal behavior??? I am so confused when it comes to these clown fish. If anyone can give me an idea as to why this may be happening I would greatly appriciate it. Thanks!!!!!!

 

[ddelozier]

Unless they are injuring each other, its normal. The femail(dominant), will on occasion beat up or terrorize the male. He will respond with submissive behavior, ie laying on his side and shuddering as if having a seizure. Its clownfish for "I GIVE UP". If she scares him too badly, he'll pick a safe spot and stay there. She will usually go and wiggle/cuddle with him to let him know all is well. A pecking order has to be established, ones its done, they'll be inseperable.

 

[leslie]

yeah he has found that safe spot and she is coming up too him like she is checking on him. They have been insperable for 3 yrs now. Why did she do that now? Or do that they do that every once and a while? Maybe when they were in my 85 gallon tank it was not as noticable like it is in my 30 gallon tank. She didnt seem to be hurting him, just terrorizing him last night. He is acting scared to even go around her now.

 

[ddelozier]

were they moved together to a new tank? If they are in their own tank, she'll set the boundries of where he's allowed to go. If he's hugging a particular spot, thats the spot where she has informed him he's safe. She's the explorer of the pair. if he ventures into places she feels he shouldnt, she'll beat on him. When he goes back "home" she'll cuddle with him to comfort him.

 

[leslie]

Yes they were moved together to the new tank, maybe seprated for about 30 mins and thats about it. And thank you for your info. I will post later and let you know if he has went back to there spot. I just have not seen that happen before and it really had me concerned. You have made me feel better, thank you.

 

[leslie]

Ok as of right now I want to change this thread to My Adventures With Cinnamon Clowns. Does not look like I will be breeding them anytime soon. If they do lay eggs I will restart this thread.