Does anybody know why my clownfish fry keep dying? My first batch survived,but after that the next batches keep dying. I feed the fry rotifers and seem to eat it. Also the tank is a 10 gallon but I have it set up on the floor, could that be affecting it?please help me because the clowns laid more eggs yesterday and I really want to raise these.
Clownfish fry dying
- Thread starter Richie49
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FLAdaboy
Well-Known Member
A lot of things go toward the success of raising clowns from fry to fish. There are tons of resources on how to do it. The best thing to do, is really keep a schedule. If you're doing everything "correct", then catalogue everything.
In your tank, do you remove the parents? When?
What's the temp?
Did you paint the bottom of the tank white? It helps
Do you have a light in the corner for fry to see food and gather?
Do you do daily water changes? If so, are you matching parameters exact?
How green is your water?
You should be able to raise a few with just a few best practices. Hopefully this can give you an idea of things to consider. At the end of the day, it takes some time and patience. Good luck.
In your tank, do you remove the parents? When?
What's the temp?
Did you paint the bottom of the tank white? It helps
Do you have a light in the corner for fry to see food and gather?
Do you do daily water changes? If so, are you matching parameters exact?
How green is your water?
You should be able to raise a few with just a few best practices. Hopefully this can give you an idea of things to consider. At the end of the day, it takes some time and patience. Good luck.
swissgaurd
Well-Known Member
what are you using to tint the water
jenreefer
Well-Known Member
In order to help you, you must be willing to interact with us and discuss your tank setup and parameters. There are as many reasons for failure as there are clownfish out there.
I recommend you read through the extensive library of reference material on the subject and then trouble shoot your setup based on what you have learned.
My questions for you:
1. what are the fry tank parameters? PH, temp, salinity
2. What does your setup look like? tank, heater, lighting, etc
3. At what stage are the fry dieing? be specific with days.
Just because you raised one batch, unfortunately does not insure that you have grasped all the finer points in raising fry. We are here to help, but without a dialogue with input from both sides it is difficult.
I recommend you read through the extensive library of reference material on the subject and then trouble shoot your setup based on what you have learned.
My questions for you:
1. what are the fry tank parameters? PH, temp, salinity
2. What does your setup look like? tank, heater, lighting, etc
3. At what stage are the fry dieing? be specific with days.
Just because you raised one batch, unfortunately does not insure that you have grasped all the finer points in raising fry. We are here to help, but without a dialogue with input from both sides it is difficult.
Ok so they all started dying by around day 2 or 3. The salinity and Ph I have not checked. The only thing I don't have though is an ammonia badge alert. Could it be that all the dust falls into the tank since the tank is on the floor?I do not tint the water, I just add the rotifers in.
jenreefer
Well-Known Member
I think you will need to do some more reading on how to raise fry. Here is an excerpt from a paper on raising fry. I have attached a link to the full article.
Once hatching is complete and you've removed the substrate and turned down the air, or transferred the larvae from the parent tank, add phytoplankton and rotifers to the larval tank. The rotifer density should be thick so that a larva can run into one at every opportunity. You should have about two rotifers per body length of larva. This is why I start off with a 2 1/2 gallon tank. The phytoplankton will keep rotifers well fed until the larvae can find and consume them. This is known as co-culturing. In a case where there is a poor survival rate of larvae, you may only find it necessary to add rotifers once, as the rotifers will multiply at a rate that keeps up with their consumption by the larvae. In this case, you will only have to add the phytoplankton to keep the rotifers well fed. The light above the tank initially should be very dim but enough light so that the larvae can find food. Too bright and the larvae will try and swim to the bottom to get away from the light, which will eventually kill them. A newly hatched larva's eyes are very sensitive to light, and it cannot see beyond about half an inch. Use a towel to diffuse the light, or raise the light if needed. The light can be left on 24/7 for the first four days to give the larvae ample feeding opportunities. Once they've become proficient at hunting rotifers, you can then decrease the rotifer density, and by that time, use full-strength lighting.
http://www.fellsman.se/akvarium/raising_clownfish.pdf
Once hatching is complete and you've removed the substrate and turned down the air, or transferred the larvae from the parent tank, add phytoplankton and rotifers to the larval tank. The rotifer density should be thick so that a larva can run into one at every opportunity. You should have about two rotifers per body length of larva. This is why I start off with a 2 1/2 gallon tank. The phytoplankton will keep rotifers well fed until the larvae can find and consume them. This is known as co-culturing. In a case where there is a poor survival rate of larvae, you may only find it necessary to add rotifers once, as the rotifers will multiply at a rate that keeps up with their consumption by the larvae. In this case, you will only have to add the phytoplankton to keep the rotifers well fed. The light above the tank initially should be very dim but enough light so that the larvae can find food. Too bright and the larvae will try and swim to the bottom to get away from the light, which will eventually kill them. A newly hatched larva's eyes are very sensitive to light, and it cannot see beyond about half an inch. Use a towel to diffuse the light, or raise the light if needed. The light can be left on 24/7 for the first four days to give the larvae ample feeding opportunities. Once they've become proficient at hunting rotifers, you can then decrease the rotifer density, and by that time, use full-strength lighting.
http://www.fellsman.se/akvarium/raising_clownfish.pdf
Blue Lip
Well-Known Member
Your problem is not tinting the water. Rotifers need to be well fed to have nutrional value.
