My clownfish just laid eggs!!

[Richie49]

Hi I was wondering what I needed to have/do to raise my clownfish fry.
What size tank?
What to keep inside tank?
How to feed rotifers?
How to cultivate rotifers?
And what the total setup might be? Thanks in advance

 

[Richie49]

Please help me?

 

[gar732]

Do a google search for "pickles guide to breeding clownfish" that will give you a pretty good run down of what you are going to need to do. It is pretty involved and there is a learning curve but it is a pretty cool expierence. Here is my thread for when I was raising Picassos, you should be able to get some pretty good info here too. If you have any more questions just let me know and I'll try to answer them as best I can. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/picassos-breeding-project.166777/

 

[Defiant Arms]

i read on another forum a guy suggested to set up two buckets of rotifers incase something happens to one or you get lazy

 

[Richie49]

Ok and what would I need for the fry tank?

 

[Bunnee911]

I have killed millions of rotifers. Never did get the knack.

 

[Richie49]

Also my clowns ate all the eggs except one? Is it normal for them to eat their first batch of eggs?

 

[gar732]

Ok and what would I need for the fry tank?

A 10g tank with the bottom painted white and all the sides but one painted black, a heater, an air line, and a light. I use just a simple clip on desk lamp but be careful not provide too much light. Too much light and all the fry will swim to the bottom and die. You can just use a low wattage bulb and a couple sheets of paper to defuse the light a little. Use about 5g of water from the broodstock tank and you can add more water as the fry grow. You will need to tint the water for the fry, as well as to feed the rots. I used rotigrow+ because I didn't want to have to worry about maintaining another culture.

I have killed millions of rotifers. Never did get the knack.

Rots are actually pretty easy so long as you don't over think it. A 5g bucket with a ridged air line is all you really need. I harvest about 32oz of water from the culture every day and add the same amount of water back in. I feed twice a day and change out to a clean bucket once a week. That's about it. I ran two cultures for close to a year and never had an issue with either.

Also my clowns ate all the eggs except one? Is it normal for them to eat their first batch of eggs?

This is completely normal and may or may not happen a few more times. They sometimes take a little bit to figure things out, just give them some time. No worries as their first few clutches may not be the strongest anyway so you generally want to skip the first few clutches. Just make sure you feed them well and you should do fine.

Like I said their is a learning curve and you may have to tweak a few things so that they work for you. Just don't expect your fist atempt to yield great results and don't get discouraged if you lose them all the first few tries, just ask questions and don't change too many things at once so you have a good idea of what works.

 

[Richie49]

Ok thanks so much for the info and do the rotifers need a heater or no?

 

[Richie49]

I found this on ebay, do you think this is good to start the rotifer culture?

 

[Bunnee911]

I get healthy rots from @carolinaclownfish

 

[Richie49]

But do you think this is worth the price?

 

[gar732]

Rotifers don't need a heater so long as you keep them in an area of the house that is heated. I've bought rotifers from eBay before only to waste my time and money. Last time I bought online I bought from reed mariculture (which is also where I got then rotigrow+) and they worked out great, well worth the money. I just currently bought from an lfs, that has been the cheapest route so far. The worst part of buying online is the shipping.

 

[Richie49]

Ok and @gar732 what is oto and b1? I saw it in your old thread and was wondering what it was?

 

[Bunnee911]

Pellet food

 

[Richie49]

Isn't pellet food too big for the fry?

 

[gar732]

It's a pellet that is polverized to different sizes. I use otohime a and b1, the a and b1 referred to the size. A is almost a powder and b1 is slightly larger. I tried to simplify things where I could like skipping the phyto culture for the rots and going with the rotigrow+ and likewise with the food I skipped the bbs and went with the otohime a. Around day 7 or so I start to introduce oto a and by day 10 I stop feeding rotifers. I over lap the oto b the same way before I stop feeding the a.

I've seen a lot of people using the tdo chroma boost now but I've never used it so I can't comment on the quality but I think it's supposed to be pretty good and it's available in 3oz bags. The otohime is only available in 1lb bags and a little goes a long way with these foods.

 

[Richie49]

Ok thank you so much for clearing that up for me, and do you have to feed the rotifers everyday or no?

 

[gar732]

The rotigrow+ is concentrated so I think I was feeding about 12-15 drops twice a day. The culture I have going now I started only about a week ago so I'm not having to feed as much right now. You want the water tinted green, too much and you'll crash your culture, when the water lightens to a light green/yellow it's time to feed again. Depending on salinity and temp the rots will grow at a different rate so you have to figure out how much your culture will need. If you decide to go the phyto route I'm not sure how much you will need to feed but you will have to enrich them before you feed to the fry.

 

[Richie49]

Ok but when I change the water of the rotifers, do I get rid of some water as well as the rotifers in that small water change or do I strain them and then dump out some water?