CLOWNFISH LAID EGGS HELP! WHAT DO I DO??

[clownfishmama]

They just laid them and are still laying more

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Do you have a separate tank?

 

[clownfishmama]

Do you have a separate tank?

Not at all! I’m a beginner, didn’t expect them to do this until a few years!

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Not at all! I’m a beginner, didn’t expect them to do this until a few years!

Okay, then the chances of them surviving is near impossible. Research breeding clownfish if that's something you'd like to do in the future.

 

[Eric R.]

The clownfish will likely keeping spawning every few weeks, so if you want to try your hand at raising the larvae you can start preparing for future spawns. Here’s a good bit of info from reef nutrition on what you would need to do: https://reefnutrition.com/pages/clownfish-101

 

[clownfishmama]

Okay, then the chances of them surviving is near impossible. Research breeding clownfish if that's something you'd like to do in the future.

For real? I can’t just set up a new tank and raise rotifers? I’m going to try at least

 

[sfin52]

For real? I can’t just set up a new tank and raise rotifers? I’m going to try at least

Well you have to move the eggs. Everything in your tank will eat them. And once hatched mom and dad won't protect them and may eat the babies.
Feeding them in the DT will be next to impossible.

 

[1112-425XL]

I have a mated pair that have been laying eggs in their hammer coral about every three weeks for the last couple of years. The male takes care of them for a couple weeks while the female patrols the perimeter. Then they do it all over again.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

For real? I can’t just set up a new tank and raise rotifers? I’m going to try at least

You can, but usually you have the tank set up before the clowns lay the eggs so you can transfer them over as soon as they are laid.

 

[JayM]

It sounds like your best bet is to let them be food. Raising baby clownfish sounds pretty intense, and unless you are prepared beforehand, likely to be an exercise in futility.

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

I wrote a thread on this a while back. It should give you an idea of the work involved to raise them.

How I successfully raised baby clownfish

I slightly panicked for a second when I first saw a bunch of little orange dots in my aquarium right next to my ocellaris clownfish and their anemone. My immediate thought was that it was some weird algae or pest. A few seconds later I realized my clowns had laid eggs! I thought it was pretty...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Eric R.]

For real? I can’t just set up a new tank and raise rotifers? I’m going to try at least

I say go for it, setup a larval rearing tank and learn to raise rotifers. You might get lucky and succeed your first try, or maybe you’ll succeed on your 4th or 5th try. Either way, you’ll learn something, and you can’t get to the 5th try without giving it a 1st try.

You probably have about a week to until the eggs hatch, but if they end up laying every 3 weeks, you may have another try in a month or so.

 

[Eric R.]

I don’t move the eggs to the rearing tank until the day I expect them to hatch. The parents do a good job keeping the eggs clean while they develop.

A microscope is a nice piece of equipment to have so you can examine/count the density of your rotifer culture.

 

[clownfishmama]

I don’t move the eggs to the rearing tank until the day I expect them to hatch. The parents do a good job keeping the eggs clean while they develop.

A microscope is a nice piece of equipment to have so you can examine/count the density of your rotifer culture.

They ate them all but before I left the house I saw them actively trying again so maybe they’ll leave me a surprise

 

[Eric R.]

They ate them all but before I left the house I saw them actively trying again so maybe they’ll leave me a surprise

My pair don’t do that, but that’s not unusual the first time or first few times I hear. It’s possible the eggs weren’t fertile. They’ll like spawn again with good conditions in the tank and a good diet, and it may take a few spawns for them to figure it out. In the meantime, you can work on setting up your larval rearing tank and rotifer culture.