Advice needed! Clowns laid eggs.

[Cyclist]

This morning our clown fish laid eggs and both of them are guarding them so much that the female has now taken on body damage.

My concern is what to do or how to keep the fry safe?

The fish are located in a 40 breeder with two tangs while my new aquarium cycles.

When the eggs hatch in a few days, how/what should I do to protect them from becoming live food for the fish?

 

[cloak]

Unless your planning on removing the fry and rearing them in a separate tank there's really nothing you can do. The clownfish will most likely spawn again so I wouldn't worry too much about it right now.

 

[Cyclist]

I would like to remove them, but I think that is going to be a taunting task.
I was thinking of buying a 10 gallon and an air pump. Just not sure how to get the hatched fry out of the 40 and into the 10 efficiently.

 

[patrockp]

I used an overflow modified to have a slow flow, a .5MM mesh and a flashlight at night, just after the eggs get a silver tip, waited a few hours and did the transfer. If you are expecting to raise them to full size you will likely need multiple cultures going strong before attempting this (algae, brine shrimp, etc. ). It's a lot of work, but doable

 

[Cyclist]

I used an overflow modified to have a slow flow, a .5MM mesh and a flashlight at night, just after the eggs get a silver tip, waited a few hours and did the transfer. If you are expecting to raise them to full size you will likely need multiple cultures going strong before attempting this (algae, brine shrimp, etc. ). It's a lot of work, but doable

Thanks for the addition information.

I think that this time I'll let nature run its course as I just don't have the room or time while the DT is cycling. Sad because the eggs have really caught the attention of my kids who are following their development.

 

[cloak]

You could try putting a flat rock or perhaps a small clay pot where the clownfish spend most of their time. Hopefully they'll spawn on one of these and then you can remove the eggs to a separate holding tank and go from there. GL.

 

[patrockp]

Probably best at this time not to take on too much, especially while your cycling(he said to the cyclist )
It is fascinating to watch them develop, even with a magnifying glass you can see them squirming around in the case a few days before hatching, I have put a red filter over a flashlight to watch them hatch out before too. Yea I'm obsessed.

 

[arman]

If your plan is not raising them i would advise you not to seperate them and let the guys feed on them(its a delicious one )
But if you like raising them you first need phytoplankton and routifers culture.
Then you can think of raising your own clowns,but it needs a lot of time.

 

[Cyclist]

I'm running bare bottom in the 40. So they managed to lay them in the corner right on the glass.

 

[MT. Reefer]

My clowns lay eggs every two weeks and have been laying for six months or more. The eggs go from orange to black to bright silver. Mine hatch in about nine days. A lot goes into raising the little guys. It looks like the most important thing is getting the right foods. Nothing you can rush into. Check out this thread. I found it very educational. I haven't tried it yet but I'm getting close.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-first-attempt-raising-clownfish.160119/

 

[MT. Reefer]

I used an overflow modified to have a slow flow, a .5MM mesh and a flashlight at night, just after the eggs get a silver tip, waited a few hours and did the transfer. If you are expecting to raise them to full size you will likely need multiple cultures going strong before attempting this (algae, brine shrimp, etc. ). It's a lot of work, but doable

Mine lay on a large piece of coral. I have tried to cover their laying spot multiple times with multiple items. They either push whatever it is out of the way or just move to a different spot. I even tried taking out "THEIR" large piece, but then she stopped laying altogether. My last idea was just to transfer the whole piece into the 10 gal tank that I was planning to raise them in. So, could you explain your transfer method in more detail?

 

[Cyclist]

So tonight looks like they may hatch. We decided to raise them. So I've moved all fish except the two clowns out of the 40b. Once they hatch we will remove the two clowns. After a few days, we will transfer the babies to a 10g and continue to raise them in there for a week or two until we release them into the DT

 

[Zenlikeyoda]

So tonight looks like they may hatch. We decided to raise them. So I've moved all fish except the two clowns out of the 40b. Once they hatch we will remove the two clowns. After a few days, we will transfer the babies to a 10g and continue to raise them in there for a week or two until we release them into the DT

Oh I would love videos / pics of the eggs (and fries)! Post some when you can =)

 

[Cyclist]

I'm a knuckle head. Thought I turned off the MP40 last night. This morning I realized that I had not and to my sadness, the hatched and all were sucked into the MP40 at some point. I lost them all.

 

[Pura Vida]

I'm a knuckle head. Thought I turned off the MP40 last night. This morning I realized that I had not and to my sadness, the hatched and all were sucked into the MP40 at some point. I lost them all.

I wouldn't feel like a knuckle head. Raising clowns in a reef tank is almost impossible. Even your circulation pumps are to strong for the fry. Good news is usually you have a new clutch within days of the last clutch hatching

 

[patrockp]

Mine lay on a large piece of coral. I have tried to cover their laying spot multiple times with multiple items. They either push whatever it is out of the way or just move to a different spot. I even tried taking out "THEIR" large piece, but then she stopped laying altogether. My last idea was just to transfer the whole piece into the 10 gal tank that I was planning to raise them in. So, could you explain your transfer method in more detail?

Sure. Keep in mind this is a 120 in-wall mounted main display tank, there are easier methods...

I made a "u-tube" style overflow and cut the left side of the skimmer box, slightly lower then the rest of it (the intake). This gave me a slow laminar unidirectional flow in a confined space. 2/3rd's of the way to the right side of the intake I installed a screen capable of preventing the fry from going sump-bound. On the right side of the screen is ware the siphon tube was located, heading back to the sump. It was basically a trap, too much flow going over the left edge of the intake to swim "upstream" back into the tank, but not so much as to damage the delicate young while keeping them captive for an hour or two. This is a delicate balance.

I set up the "trap" with about 30 minutes of light left in the day then I would start about 20 minutes after lights out; all powerheads, skimmers, moon-lights, and ambient lights off, return pump 1 off, pump 2 throttled waaay back (~250 gph( the room becomes eerily silent)).

Directly over the "intake" I place a mini mag light (AAA) with a translucent filter pointing towards the hatching nest and watch the magic happen. After an hour or so when I feel that I have all I'm going to get (face smashed against the glass like a kid at the candy store ), I shut down the remaining return pump long enough to extract them out (turkey baster style) and do the transfer to the grow out tank. Grow out is filled/ being filled with the parent tank water continually with the trap water overflow while collecting the fry so there is no shock in terms of variations with water chemistry or temps.

After the transfer the overflow is removed from the grow-out tank, leaving a pre cycled bubble filter and main tank is returned to norms.

Pics available if you like!..

 

[Pura Vida]

Sure. Keep in mind this is a 120 in-wall mounted main display tank, there are easier methods...

I made a "u-tube" style overflow and cut the left side of the skimmer box, slightly lower then the rest of it (the intake). This gave me a slow laminar unidirectional flow in a confined space. 2/3rd's of the way to the right side of the intake I installed a screen capable of preventing the fry from going sump-bound. On the right side of the screen is ware the siphon tube was located, heading back to the sump. It was basically a trap, too much flow going over the left edge of the intake to swim "upstream" back into the tank, but not so much as to damage the delicate young while keeping them captive for an hour or two. This is a delicate balance.

I set up the "trap" with about 30 minutes of light left in the day then I would start about 20 minutes after lights out; all powerheads, skimmers, moon-lights, and ambient lights off, return pump 1 off, pump 2 throttled waaay back (~250 gph( the room becomes eerily silent)).

Directly over the "intake" I place a mini mag light (AAA) with a translucent filter pointing towards the hatching nest and watch the magic happen. After an hour or so when I feel that I have all I'm going to get (face smashed against the glass like a kid at the candy store ), I shut down the remaining return pump long enough to extract them out (turkey baster style) and do the transfer to the grow out tank. Grow out is filled/ being filled with the parent tank water continually with the trap water overflow while collecting the fry so there is no shock in terms of variations with water chemistry or temps.

After the transfer the overflow is removed from the grow-out tank, leaving a pre cycled bubble filter and main tank is returned to norms.

Pics available if you like!..

Please post pics or even start a new thread witht them. I'm applauding loudly!

 

[tj w]

Pics pics pics.. I think that it is one of the neatest things to see when raising fry

 

[patrockp]

My apologies if led you all astray, my last attempt at raising the GSM's was about 7 years ago and ultimately I was unsuccessful.
I ran out of time and energy working the 9 to 5, with summer coming up and the parents cycle drifted off of hatching out on the early weekend. keeping rots,phyto,BBS, and collecting the fry on the weeknights got a bit too intense, coupled with a mass die off of 35 @ 1 CM long each, I needed a break. I still have the equipment I built and was offering up pics of said overflow trap. I'll upload some soon, bear with me.

 

[Bunnee911]

I'm running bare bottom in the 40. So they managed to lay them in the corner right on the glass.

Listed under "they'll do it every time".