Breeding Clownfish Setup

[flyingfish]

I know this has been discussed. But. Am considering breeding my new clowns. It has been very difficult and expensive to purchase nice healthy clowns with awesome coloring. My clowns are small yet so it would be a while before they breed. I'm guessing at least a year. In my reading I have seen different methods of filtration for the entire setup. You have brood tank(s), fry tanks and grow out tanks. Also a setup for live food. At this point I would leave my pair in the DT. But I have a couple questions to start.

-where do you get a safe flowerpot, preferably without pesticides. I know you have to soak it for a couple days. Can you use RO/Di for this?

-do you keep your tank at 80, 1.023? Light requirements different from a normal reef?

-for a separate tank,has anyone used media for filtration or live rock. I heard that LR does not remove enough ammonia/nitrite as needed for regular feedings. Thanks!

 

[gioNVA]

I get my flowerpots from home depot or lowes. I soak mine in rodi for about 2 days just to make sure but some say a quick rinse is ok.

I keep my broodstock and fry tank at 82 degrees and 1.023. Lighting requirement is minimal. Just a shop light or somewhere around 10000K temperature should be ok. Lower light levels will keep algae growth minimal. You will have to feed a lot so lots of nutrients for algae to grow.

For filtration, I have a combination of marine pure blocks and live rock in the sump. If you have a high bioload, they are not efficient in processing ammonia and nitrite. You would have to have a lot of live rock if you plan on growing out hundreds of fish. I also have a small TMC fluidized sand filter running and that takes care of the ammonia/nitrite. I also run biopellets to help out with nitrates but still struggling with that. Will look into running a remote DSB, a denitrator, or algae scrubber soon.

Good luck with your breeding adventure!

 

[flyingfish]

Thanks!! I really appreciate all the useful information. How much are you breeding now? Do you keep you lights on each tank 16 hrs a day? Have you heard on anyone using Kaldnes K1 media? Do you use a skimmer,UV, etc? Are all your tanks connected? What age do you offer your babies? Has anyone used canister filters or reactors to help? I'm guessing your running your bio pellets in a reactor. Sorry lots of Qs.

 

[gioNVA]

I probably only do 1 batch every 3 months as it is time consuming. I do keep lights on about 16 hours a day. I used Kaldnes K1 but switch to a fluidized sand filter due to space. I do use a skimmer and only have UV on the broodstock tank. I keep the babies in a separate system from the parents in case there's a disease outbreak. Yes I have an Avast spyglass reactor that I use for biopellets.

 

[flyingfish]

Wow, nice. I will have to read up on the fluidized sand bed. Thanks so much for the reply. Eagerly learning!

 

[flyingfish]

What is the best way to divide a tank as far as shading the glass?

 

[gioNVA]

I use black acrylic dividers but i know some paint the glass dividers with krylon fusion.

 

[flyingfish]

Where do you get those?

 

[gioNVA]

ebay...just search for black acrylic sheet. Size would depend on your breeding tank.

 

[flyingfish]

What are you using for tanks?

 

[president89]

I use black acrylic dividers but i know some paint the glass dividers with krylon fusion.

Don't spray glass with Krylon Fusion. I did this in my first clownfish broodstock system. The paint will chip off and the fish will see each other eventually. UNLESS you do two panes of glass per divider and paint the inside of the glass and put the two panes of glass together - but that's a lot of extra work and extra cost.

3/8" Gray PVC Type 1 Grade 1 PVC sheets are the best in terms of dividers. You can find them on eBay. Unfortunately they don't come in black.

Acrylic will bend if there is pressure on it - if you cut some teeth on top and bottom that will release the pressure. Go with the PVC sheets it's similiar cost.