Is my Clown with eggs?

[Midevil]

We are new to the hobby and noticed our clown about a week ago was getting really fat. She seems to be getting bigger and my wife noticed a spot behind her fins that seems to be an opening that we had not noticed before. We just want to make sure and see what if anything we should or should not do if / when she lays eggs if thats the case. Thank you in advance for any information.

 

[D-Nak]

It could be the angle of the photo, but it looks like the fish is deformed. It could be a bladder issue.

Typically, without the presence of a male (since you didn't mentioned another fish, I assume she is the only clownfish in the tank), the female won't lay eggs. Furthermore, the male fertilizes the eggs after they are laid, so even if she does lay, they won't produce offspring.

 

[foxt]

If you do have a pair, have you noticed the kind of behavior that they typically exhibit when getting ready to spawn? That's another clue to look for ...

 

[LadyMac]

Clowns are pigs. How much do you feed? She could just be overeating. She swimming ok? Looks a little bloated but as long as she’s swimming ok then she will be fine. I do suggest that if she’s eating a lot, cut back some. They can eat themselves to death. A healthy fish is at proper weight. Not over and not under. They should all have a little belly but nothing too fat.

 

[Midevil]

I have 4 clowns. 2 have paired with the larger one. Nothing seems different other than her size. She is swimming well and active. The other two have been picking at the same flat spot on a rock, like grooming it. We feed twice a day, only what they can eat while we watch. LOL

 

[LadyMac]

I have 4 clowns. 2 have paired with the larger one. Nothing seems different other than her size. She is swimming well and active. The other two have been picking at the same flat spot on a rock, like grooming it. We feed twice a day, only what they can eat while we watch. LOL

Sounds like she may indeed lay eggs then. Congrats

 

[Midevil]

Wait..... Congrats? What the heck do we do? LOL.

 

[LadyMac]

Haha that I’m not sure on. See if you can find any breeding posts here, and read. Chances are if they lay, and you’re not prepared the fry won’t make it. But if they do it would be a cool learning experience.

 

[Midevil]

I dont think we are ready, but from what i have read it will happen often as long as conditions stay the same. So maybe not this time but we will be prepared for the next ( my wife hopes! )

 

[LadyMac]

Definitely! Read, read and read some more. Good luck!

 

[Slingshot357]

Yes, Read about it. I think they need certain water conditions. I'm fairly certain I read somewhere that the water should be warmer than normal. I think it said 83f. But that's awesome if she is, um, brooding? Not sure what it's called with fish. LOL

 

[D-Nak]

If they are breeding, you don't need to -- and shouldn't -- change anything. It means the clownfish are "happy" and should breed regularly. If you want to condition the fish to have healthy clutches, I suggest feeding them a combination of LRS Fertility Frenzy and mysis.

My only concern is that you have two fish that are trying to mate with the female. Is that correct? I'm guessing one will lose and will become an outcast.

If you're interested in breeding, head over to this forum:

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/fish-breeding-forum.153/

 

[InkedReefLady]

We also have a pair that breeds every month. I was told if we wanted to try to rear the eggs to put 2 tiles together with opposing sides out (i.e. 1 slick side and 1 rough side) in a tee-pee style. She will pick which side she likes and lay her eggs on it. Then, you can take the tiles out and rear the eggs in a different set up.

We haven't done it yet, though and she's been laying since the spring!

Good luck!

 

[foxt]

I have had a pair of clowns in my display that started laying eggs about 4 months ago, and they have continued to lay eggs on a very regular basis. Always in the same spot. It is very cool. If you want to try to hatch and raise the fry, do go read as much as you can about the process.

Unfortunately, my clowns picked a large rock as "the spot" for their nest, and I can't remove it from the DT. This makes it tricky to get the eggs out, and since my DT is 220 gals and has lots of fish in it, I need to get the eggs out to have any chance at rearing the fry. My only hope is to have the female lay the eggs on something else that I can easily remove. I've tried putting tiles, rocks, other things in the spot where they nest, but each time, they manage to push/pull/otherwise move the thing out of the way. They are way more creative at this than I ever imagined. It is a game at this point, and I will eventually win, but I am being cautious because I don't want to mess up the routine they have been sticking to.

So, my advice to you is to carefully watch where they are targeting for nest, and see if you can figure out a way to be sure you can remove the eggs once they are laid. People who do this for the purposes of breeding use flower pots or other objects in dedicated tanks and the clowns cooperate. When it's a DT, it take a bit more due diligence ...

 

[DeepSouth]

Wait..... Congrats? What the heck do we do? LOL.

Pass out cigars.

 

[D-Nak]

I have had a pair of clowns in my display that started laying eggs about 4 months ago, and they have continued to lay eggs on a very regular basis. Always in the same spot. It is very cool. If you want to try to hatch and raise the fry, do go read as much as you can about the process.

Unfortunately, my clowns picked a large rock as "the spot" for their nest, and I can't remove it from the DT. This makes it tricky to get the eggs out, and since my DT is 220 gals and has lots of fish in it, I need to get the eggs out to have any chance at rearing the fry. My only hope is to have the female lay the eggs on something else that I can easily remove. I've tried putting tiles, rocks, other things in the spot where they nest, but each time, they manage to push/pull/otherwise move the thing out of the way. They are way more creative at this than I ever imagined. It is a game at this point, and I will eventually win, but I am being cautious because I don't want to mess up the routine they have been sticking to.

So, my advice to you is to carefully watch where they are targeting for nest, and see if you can figure out a way to be sure you can remove the eggs once they are laid. People who do this for the purposes of breeding use flower pots or other objects in dedicated tanks and the clowns cooperate. When it's a DT, it take a bit more due diligence ...

I had this exact same problem with my pair in my DT. They actually worked together to push the small tile I placed where the female usually laid.

If you want to remove the eggs to raise them, you can glue (I used two part epoxy) a small tile where the female lays so she can't remove it. Let her lay on it a few times, then between cycles you can pry off the tile and put it back in the same spot so it's easily removable. The next time she lays you'll be able to remove the eggs without any problems. Just put an identical tile in its place so you can repeat the cycle.

The other option is to glue a frag plug to the bottom of a tile, and wedge it into the rocks so they can't remove it.

 

[Breadman03]

What to do now? You might rear the fry, but that is not an easy or "spare time" type of project. You'll want to read up a bit and prepare cultures of phyto and rotifers ahead of time. I'd considered it, but there is essentially no market for them around me.

This makes it tricky to get the eggs out, and since my DT is 220 gals and has lots of fish in it, I need to get the eggs out to have any chance at rearing the fry.

I recently saw one of the aquarium companies released a fry trap. I didn't look terrbily closely, but I think it used a small LED to attract the fry and a column of air bubbles to sweep them into a holding chamber. I suspect that it's plenty effective for a hobby.

 

[foxt]

I had this exact same problem with my pair in my DT. They actually worked together to push the small tile I placed where the female usually laid.

If you want to remove the eggs to raise them, you can glue (I used two part epoxy) a small tile where the female lays so she can't remove it. Let her lay on it a few times, then between cycles you can pry off the tile and put it back in the same spot so it's easily removable. The next time she lays you'll be able to remove the eggs without any problems. Just put an identical tile in its place so you can repeat the cycle.

The other option is to glue a frag plug to the bottom of a tile, and wedge it into the rocks so they can't remove it.

Thanks for the suggestions. I actually tried gluing a tile over the area that they have been using, and they still managed to push it off. It wasn't glued down too well because i went light on the glue, didn't want to mess up the rock and have them stop laying in case this plan failed. I used super glue, maybe I will give the epoxy a try next.

Unfortunately the frag plug trick won't work, there's no place in the rock to place a frag. They've only been at this a few months, so I'm tentative about messing around too much with them at this point. I did try lifting the eggs off of the rock using a trick I picked up in another R2R thread, but I think I damaged them in the process because only a few hatched. I'll keep trying to get something on top of the rock ...

 

[D-Nak]

I recently saw one of the aquarium companies released a fry trap. I didn't look terrbily closely, but I think it used a small LED to attract the fry and a column of air bubbles to sweep them into a holding chamber. I suspect that it's plenty effective for a hobby.

I think you're talking about the Vossen larval trap that's sold at BRS:

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/larval-trap-vossen.html

I bought one directly from Chad before BRS sold them, and it works great. You'll be able to collect plenty of babies, enough to make them worth rearing.

 

[Breadman03]

I think you're talking about the Vossen larval trap that's sold at BRS:

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/larval-trap-vossen.html

I bought one directly from Chad before BRS sold them, and it works great. You'll be able to collect plenty of babies, enough to make them worth rearing.

YES! I was hoping someone would think of the name.