Lightning Maroon Babies

[kchristensen8064]

I highly recomend raising live foods first. This will help you in the long run. What you raise, be it copepods or rotifers, you can feed to your reef tank. That's what i did with my live foods that I didn't need. You can never have too much practice culturing live foods

I have a small AIO that I think I'm going to make into a copepod breeding tank. I want to try to keep a healthy population going, just to add to my reefs. So if I can be successful with that, then I'm one step closer to trying to raise fry one day.

 

[Cooper 2020]

Research a lot but you will likely adapt to what works for you. Ammonia is the hardest thing to control during the 1st two weeks because you have a lot of food going in and fry deaths are plenty, the sponge filters are only so good at first. Lots of small water changes , I used a Seneye to monitor as well as liquid test kits.
Keeping spare sponges in your sump as already mentioned is a must.
I found keeping the rotifer culture going the hardest part, the culture I had established for several weeks before crashed on day 3 of my first batch of fry. I had a lot of clownfish fry deaths and was left with 10 to go through meta.
For the next batch of fry I ordered several litres of rotifers from a company over here tried to restart the culture but ended up just ordering fresh from the company every 4 days until I could get them through meta and on Otohime powder food.
Don’t underestimate how many rotifers you need. Keeping enough in the water so the fry can eat well without them having to swim much is the key. After meta I didn’t move them onto Baby brine shrimp I used Ocean nutrition instant brine shrimp which they seemed to take quite easily even though it wasn’t live.
It’s worth having a go as long as you are prepared.

 

[kchristensen8064]

Research a lot but you will likely adapt to what works for you. Ammonia is the hardest thing to control during the 1st two weeks because you have a lot of food going in and fry deaths are plenty, the sponge filters are only so good at first. Lots of small water changes , I used a Seneye to monitor as well as liquid test kits.
Keeping spare sponges in your sump as already mentioned is a must.
I found keeping the rotifer culture going the hardest part, the culture I had established for several weeks before crashed on day 3 of my first batch of fry. I had a lot of clownfish fry deaths and was left with 10 to go through meta.
For the next batch of fry I ordered several litres of rotifers from a company over here tried to restart the culture but ended up just ordering fresh from the company every 4 days until I could get them through meta and on Otohime powder food.
Don’t underestimate how many rotifers you need. Keeping enough in the water so the fry can eat well without them having to swim much is the key. After meta I didn’t move them onto Baby brine shrimp I used Ocean nutrition instant brine shrimp which they seemed to take quite easily even though it wasn’t live.
It’s worth having a go as long as you are prepared.

Thank you for the advice. I've read a lot of people's experience on here. I will definitely do all the research I possibly can before giving it a go. It's unlikely that it will be anytime soon, but maybe one day.

 

[Cooper 2020]

These guys are slowly going to their new homes ( did have quite a lot);Smuggrin
Loved seeing some of the unusual varieties develop just wanted to share these with hints of blue albeit small

 

[andrewkw]

Hi, I am happy so say might lightning maroons have started laying! Do I want S or L strain rotifers? I'm trying to make a list of all the things I need and will order everything by Monday. If I get everything quick I can try this batch if not, I will be ready for the next.

 

[Thespammailaccount]

Hi, I am happy so say might lightning maroons have started laying! Do I want S or L strain rotifers? I'm trying to make a list of all the things I need and will order everything by Monday. If I get everything quick I can try this batch if not, I will be ready for the next.

Following!

 

[Surfzone]

I would go with L strain rotifers

 

[californiarob]

Hi, I am happy so say might lightning maroons have started laying! Do I want S or L strain rotifers? I'm trying to make a list of all the things I need and will order everything by Monday. If I get everything quick I can try this batch if not, I will be ready for the next.

L strain are better and I use Nano micro algae

 

[californiarob]

Research a lot but you will likely adapt to what works for you. Ammonia is the hardest thing to control during the 1st two weeks because you have a lot of food going in and fry deaths are plenty, the sponge filters are only so good at first. Lots of small water changes , I used a Seneye to monitor as well as liquid test kits.
Keeping spare sponges in your sump as already mentioned is a must.
I found keeping the rotifer culture going the hardest part, the culture I had established for several weeks before crashed on day 3 of my first batch of fry. I had a lot of clownfish fry deaths and was left with 10 to go through meta.
For the next batch of fry I ordered several litres of rotifers from a company over here tried to restart the culture but ended up just ordering fresh from the company every 4 days until I could get them through meta and on Otohime powder food.
Don’t underestimate how many rotifers you need. Keeping enough in the water so the fry can eat well without them having to swim much is the key. After meta I didn’t move them onto Baby brine shrimp I used Ocean nutrition instant brine shrimp which they seemed to take quite easily even though it wasn’t live.
It’s worth having a go as long as you are prepared.

Cooper you are doing such a great job, adding the nems and separating the fighters is a true hobbyist not like the mass produced clownfish mills out there, the issue with Lightning’s is so many, they are all inbred too a point from the original mother, B.Premnas are fighters and can be difficult to pair, then there’s the longer morph period...(I am old school and call it morph from 30 years ago not meta used today) and just as you know you can’t keep all together like most Amphiprion clowns, keep us up to date please

 

[Cooper 2020]

Thank you. They have all but 2 pairs gone to their new homes. Lockdown postponed selling them so they are 8 months plus .Keeping them with nems certainly helped. I have found they seem happy in a trio as long as they weren’t interfered with. I sold one from a trio that was smaller than the other 2, they had been together from the start once I did this the remaining 2 fought a lot but they eventually calmed down and were homed together. I’ve managed to sell all in pairs, as in they were already living happy together not just put together at the last moment. The trio separation was the only set I had real issues with. It was a lot of juggling around to keep them happy. I’ve learnt a lot and think people should give it a go if they want to. I won’t be doing again though but I do think Covid lockdown really made it more difficult than it needed to be because I wasn’t able to sell them during that time.

Good luck to anyone giving it a go

 

[Cooper 2020]

Hi, I am happy so say might lightning maroons have started laying! Do I want S or L strain rotifers? I'm trying to make a list of all the things I need and will order everything by Monday. If I get everything quick I can try this batch if not, I will be ready for the next.

Congratulations,

 

[californiarob]

Thank you. They have all but 2 pairs gone to their new homes. Lockdown postponed selling them so they are 8 months plus .Keeping them with nems certainly helped. I have found they seem happy in a trio as long as they weren’t interfered with. I sold one from a trio that was smaller than the other 2, they had been together from the start once I did this the remaining 2 fought a lot but they eventually calmed down and were homed together. I’ve managed to sell all in pairs, as in they were already living happy together not just put together at the last moment. The trio separation was the only set I had real issues with. It was a lot of juggling around to keep them happy. I’ve learnt a lot and think people should give it a go if they want to. I won’t be doing again though but I do think Covid lockdown really made it more difficult than it needed to be because I wasn’t able to sell them during that time.

Good luck to anyone giving it a go

can you post pics of the parents I would love to see them

 

[Cooper 2020]

Sorry didn’t post up a picture totally forgot , the female lost the markings on the lower half of her body once she started laying, not sure why.
Anyhow a video I took a few days ago. They lay every 10 days and hatch every 7 days.

 

[andrewkw]

How often and how much are you feeding them post meta? My oldest hatched August 28th but I've lost a couple and I feel like it's because they aren't getting enough food. There is a new ammonia alert badge in the tank and I have been doing nearly daily water changes. Initially with very slow drips, now a little quicker. I just added an air stone instead of just straight bubbles to increase oxygen and add a tiny bit of flow.

I am feeding a combination of newly hatched baby brine, 1 day old brine shrimp as well as B1/B2. I put in a little salifert scoop sized portion of food approximately 6 times a day but I never see them go crazy for the tiny pellets like they did for rotifers or will for baby brine. Lately I have been trying to get them to eat the tiny bits of LRS but no luck so far, although I just started this.

 

[ajjw0828]

Does it take time for the spots/ lightning speckling to develop? Or are they born with the speckling they will have already showing?

 

[andrewkw]

Does it take time for the spots/ lightning speckling to develop? Or are they born with the speckling they will have already showing?

All clownfish, really all fish other then cardinals and maybe a couple other species are born as larvae. For Maroon clownfish it takes them about 10-14 days to go through metamorphosis and start looking like baby fish. They will get 1 stripe, then 2 then 3 and start showing patterns around this time. Lightnings take an especially long time to show their full patterns. I do have some that are just over 30 days old with really nice patterns.

 

[ajjw0828]

All clownfish, really all fish other then cardinals and maybe a couple other species are born as larvae. For Maroon clownfish it takes them about 10-14 days to go through metamorphosis and start looking like baby fish. They will get 1 stripe, then 2 then 3 and start showing patterns around this time. Lightnings take an especially long time to show their full patterns. I do have some that are just over 30 days old with really nice patterns.

Thank you! I guess I'm wondering because I bought a couple from a breeder that said the white will develop the lighting feature with time. However I've had them for about 5-6 months and its still primarily solid white. Just wondering if they will ever develop the lighting?

 

[andrewkw]

Thank you! I guess I'm wondering because I bought a couple from a breeder that said the white will develop the lighting feature with time. However I've had them for about 5-6 months and its still primarily solid white. Just wondering if they will ever develop the lighting?

This is not my thread, but perhaps you should post pictures of them. I am new to breeding maroons myself but it's my understanding it will take about 6 months until they reach a sell able size and if you've had them for 5-6 months they should be close to 1 year old.

 

[ajjw0828]

This is not my thread, but perhaps you should post pictures of them. I am new to breeding maroons myself but it's my understanding it will take about 6 months until they reach a sell able size and if you've had them for 5-6 months they should be close to 1 year old.

Attached is the best pic I could get. They live in my fuge with a couple nems.