advice on trying to spawn my clowns

[R33F3RMAN]

hi all,

have a pair of clowns that i have been trying to breed for about a year now, just looking for some general advice on how i can get them to spawn, i’ve noticed them cleaning their pot lately but still no eggs and they usually wander away after 5 minutes can anyone offer some advice

 

[Pete Luna]

There isn’t a trick, some people say lower salinity others say raise temp. As for me it will happen when it happens

 

[Dom]

When your clowns are happy, they will spawn. I have a pair that are about 8 years old. They spawned for the first time 6 months ago and have been doing so on a regular basis ever since. Go figure...

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

As I understand it, the main things are proper feeding (probably several times a day) and making sure there's nothing stressing the fish out. From there, you pretty much leave them alone and they spawn.

I don't know what you're feeding, but from what I've seen with others, I'd recommend trying LRS Fertility Frenzy, black worms, and NLS or TDO pellets (Otohime is a proven brand too, but it seems to have fallen out of favor somewhat in recent months/years) for the food. Adding enriched Rotifers and pods/BBS wouldn't hurt either - and you'll need to culture the rots for the baby clowns anyway. Fresh clams are pretty much always a good idea too. That said, the feeding doesn't have to be overly complex or expensive (Paul B fed clams and blackworms and had spawning), the above is just what I've seen work for a large number of people.

Beyond that, I've heard the following tips from at least one breeder (no guarantees these would work for/help you, but it's what I've heard from a couple of confirmed breeders): clowns like dirtier water, a 14 hour light period, slightly lower salinity (1.020), and a higher temp (80-82F).

 

[hoytoyed]

Love is in the tank today.
Mine have spawned a few times and it looks like its about every 6-8 weeks.
They look happy but their anemone looks embarrassed from their procreation efforts. He’s shyly withdrawn himself out of the mix.

 

[JPM San Diego]

My experience with Ocellaris clowns: the key was having my lights on a timer.
I did not feed my clowns anything special. They, along with all of my fish in those days, received TetraMarine flakes.
My maintenance was nothing special. A water change whenever my schedule allowed it.
Most of the time I did not have an anemone. They had an abalone shell they called home.
When I turned the lights on and off manually, they would stop spawning.
When I used a timer they would spawn every two weeks. This went on for several years.