I believe my clown fish are getting ready to spawn!

[RedFrog211]

Last night I witnessed my female clown cleaning the rock with her tail— I’m really excited and hope this means they’re happy enough to spawn! I don’t have a way to remove the rock though. Would I be able to gently remove the fry after they hatch? Guess acclimation to a nursery would increase stress and mortality rate.. any suggestions?

 

[Jesse O.]

Last night I witnessed my female clown cleaning the rock with her tail— I’m really excited and hope this means they’re happy enough to spawn! I don’t have a way to remove the rock though. Would I be able to gently remove the fry after they hatch? Guess acclimation to a nursery would increase stress and mortality rate.. any suggestions?

The fry are very small almost invisible when they hatch. I've never done this but I assume it's possible if you are careful about it. Maybe you could catch some fry in a cup or something if you cannot get a fine enough fish net.

 

[KrisReef]

Let them go at it a few times before you try to raise eggs into fish. From what I understand the first go generally isn't successful. If you want to raise clownfish you will need lots of live food and a whole lot of management. It can be done, but the corals like to eat too?

Good luck. It is fantastic that your fish are this healthy and happy. Congratulations!

 

[RedFrog211]

The fry are very small almost invisible when they hatch. I've never done this but I assume it's possible if you are careful about it. Maybe you could catch some fry in a cup or something if you cannot get a fine enough fish net.

Yeah I guess that would be difficult. Is there any way to safely remove the eggs from the rock? I’d imaging not, but figured it couldn’t hurt to ask!

 

[RedFrog211]

Let them go at it a few times before you try to raise eggs into fish. From what I understand the first go generally isn't successful. If you want to raise clownfish you will need lots of live food and a whole lot of management. It can be done, but the corals like to eat too?

Good luck. It is fantastic that your fish are this healthy and happy. Congratulations!

Thank you so much! I probably will let them do a couple batches, so they get used to the process. I’m really hoping to see what the offspring look like though! Female is a Snowstorm and male is a phantom

 

[Jesse O.]

Yeah I guess that would be difficult. Is there any way to safely remove the eggs from the rock? I’d imaging not, but figured it couldn’t hurt to ask!

Not sure, the only thing I've heard is that it generally takes about 7 days for the eggs to spawn. You can tell when they spawn when they turn all silver; at that point they need complete darkness to spawn.

 

[RedFrog211]

Not sure, the only thing I've heard is that it generally takes about 7 days for the eggs to spawn. You can tell when they spawn when they turn all silver; at that point they need complete darkness to spawn.

Awesome! Thank you I’ve read so many forums about it, and I’ll probably go through and reread a few!

 

[jjencek]

The new fry will get eaten pretty soon after they are born. So it is probably ok to practice catching them. They are attracted to the light. Get a small light next to the glass. They will be born after your lights are out. In my case it takes 30-40 minutes. Catching them is the easy part. The rest will need a lots of reading and work. Good luck!