Leave eggs with parents or remove?

SueAndHerZoo · Jan 16, 2015

I have a pair of clowns that laid eggs about a year ago. They were in my large, community tank and by the next morning the eggs were gone so I'm not sure if the clowns ate them or if the other fish did.... I'm guessing the other fish. I promptly set up another tank (you can never have just one!) and moved the mated pair into that, all by themselves. Finally a year later, they have laid eggs again.

I've ordered the rotifers and rotifer food and currently have two tanks running empty at the moment so one of those will be used for the hatchlings. Couple of questions, though, if I may:

Am I better off leaving the eggs with the parents as long as possible or can I remove them into the hatchling tank now? I had placed a pot in the tank and they used it to lay their eggs so transfer would be easy. Since I'm new to this I'm not sure if I will be diligent/knowledgable enough to catch the hatchlings before their parents eat them (or they get sucked up in the filter) so I'd feel better removing the eggs to a safe haven now. I know I would have to situate a bubbling rock near the eggs so that they get aerated but I'm wondering how "iffy" that practice is. Are the chances of the eggs surviving MUCH better if left with the parents, or is the success rate almost equal if you remove the eggs and do artificial fanning and aerating?

Also, the two tanks that I have up and running (empty for now) are a 2.5 gallon Fluval (bare bottom that I used to raise seahorse fry) and an 8 gallon biocube (with a sandbed). Do i do the larger tank with sand or the tiny one with bare bottom?

Thanks in advance.... I'm so anxious to go home for lunch to see if the eggs are still there. These parents are newbies so I don't know if the eggs are viable, if they ate them, etc.
Sue

Rjramos · Jan 16, 2015

Hi Sue.
Congratulations on your spawning pair of clowns!This is a subject that adds another dimension to the hobby. I have learned al lot and still learning about breeding marine fish. Your questions now are few compared to all the ones that will come up to succeed in raising clownfish. To answer your question briefly. You are better off removing the eggs to a larval tank ( 8 gal. Preferred over 2.5 gal.), with darkened sides, bare bottom, and a rigid airline tubing without a stone circulating through the eggs. The eggs should be separated from the broodstock tank the day before they hatch at night ( usually day 6-8). The eggs will appear shinny silver from the larvae's eyes. Then starts the feeding and maintaining water quality until they reach metamorphisis. A large culture of enriched rotifers is a must have, otherwise they starve and die. I can keep going on with the process involved, but better, I suggest you read, "Breeders guide to marine aquarium fishes" by Matt Wittenrich, all the information u need!!

SueAndHerZoo · Jan 16, 2015

Thanks for the reply and advice - much appreciated. I do like the idea of removing the eggs from the tank (as opposed to letting them hatch and then removing the larva) but my question is can I remove them NOW or are they better off if I wait until it's closer to their hatch day? Is the rigid airline tubing sufficient aeration and fanning for them or is it better for that to be done by the parental pair for as long as possible?

Why do you prefer bare bottom tank? For ease of siphoning out sediment and keeping the tank cleaner? I'd rather not have to remove all the sand in my cycled, running biocube if there's only a slight advantage to a bare-bottom tank.
Thanks again.
Sue

Rjramos · Jan 17, 2015

Leave the eggs with parents until the day before they hatch, the parents do a better job fanning them. The air bubbles blowing past the eggs once you separate them into larval tank are to be gentle, you should see slight movement in the eggs but not turbulence. A bare bottom is a must, imho. You will be feeding a heavy density of rotifers which many are not consumed and die and sink to the bottom. The sand will hide this and not give you the cue of when to siphon the bottom, app 2-3x/ week. You also risk syphoning a larvae out because you can't see it between sand grains. Darkening the sides of the larval tank helps create contrast to improve prey capture. Most breeders use 5-10 gal round black tubs. Hope your successful! If you really want to get into this, again, I suggest you read the book. There is a lot of information to learn.

SueAndHerZoo · Jan 18, 2015

Thanks again, I will most definitely get and read the book. I am not setting high expectations on successfully raising any clowns from this batch but it will definitely be a first step in the "trial and error" that occurs with many things in this hobby. I am very good at learning from mistakes and have successfully raised seahorse fry so I am aware of the amount of dedication, work and COST involved in the process. I guess I will use the 2.5 gallon Fluval to put the eggs in next Thursday and will be setting up a 10 gallon, bare-bottom tank to move any survivors into a week or two later.
Thanks for the replies and answers!
Sue