My clownfish just laid eggs!!

[gar732]

You have to harvest some of the rots everyday otherwise the culture will become overpopulated and crash. You just remove the water with the rots and sell them, give them away, or just dump them down the drain. It's a waste but it's necessary to maintain a healthy culture. When you first start the culture you can wait a few days so that the culture can populate before you start to harvest.

 

[Richie49]

Ok and do you replace the water with .019 salinity or regular tap water?

 

[gar732]

You have to replace with salt water otherwise you'd lower the salinity. I keep my cultures covered so I don't get much evaporation if any. I never top off. I just simply place a bucket cover loosely on top of the bucket.

 

[Richie49]

But the salt has to be the same right? At .019?

 

[Richie49]

The salt water*

 

[gar732]

Yes, I mix up a 5 gal bucket at a lower salinity that I use just for rots.

 

[Richie49]

Oh ok so that's everything for the rotifers?

 

[gar732]

Pretty much, other than what I've covered I'd say a rotifer sieve is a good investment. You'll need it to strain you rotifers. You don't ever want to add the rotifer water to a fry tank. I got mine on eBay. They sell filter type contraptions and rotifer floss and all types of stuff but I was able to keep mine going for some time with no issues the way I described. Keep in mind that like everything in this hobby there are many ways to do it and someone else may have different ideas that may or may not work better for you.

 

[Richie49]

Ok and instead of a sieve, can I use a coffee filter instead? And I can't find the rotifer floss on ebay, can I use any other type of floss?

 

[gar732]

The coffee filter doesn't really work that well and is more of a pain to try to use. The sieve is about $18 shipped and worth it IMO. There is a kit that comes with rots a some feed for I think $32 but I couldn't get a culture going from the rots they sent me (I tried that kit) and I never bothered to try the feed since I ordered the rotigrow from reed. The sieve worked well though. I've never used the rotifer floss for anything but reed sells that as well.

 

[Richie49]

Oh ok thanks for the info, I'll let you guys know when she lays more eggs lol

 

[Richie49]

Update :
The female might lay eggs today or tomorrow, the ovipositor is out and the male is cleaning the pot like crazy. Can't wait. Should I be prepared to raise this batch or wait until the next one?

 

[Richie49]

Update AGAIN:
She just laid another clutch and this one seems bigger than the first one. Should I be ready to raise this batch or no? Please let me know

 

[Richie49]

Can someone please let me know?

 

[gar732]

That's up to you to decide. If you feel youve done sufficient research, your rots are up and running, you've got bbs or a small particle food, and you've got a tank setup for them then I'd say give it a shot.

 

[Richie49]

But will the clowns eat them still or do you think they've learned from their first batch not to eat them?

 

[gar732]

You'll have to wait and see. Some times it takes a few tries before they figure things out. Keep them well fed, I've heard that sometimes helps, and you'll get stronger fry for it the next batch.

 

[Richie49]

Ok well I ordered everything I need, now let's just see if they'll actually let them hatch this time.

 

[Frop]

Our LFG has a whole breeding room for clownfish. Kinda nuts. I think it is the shop keepers prize piece in his store. Usually customers aren't aloud in the back room unless employee takes you there to buy live rock or something.

 

[bairdimusprime]

Our LFG has a whole breeding room for clownfish. Kinda nuts. I think it is the shop keepers prize piece in his store. Usually customers aren't aloud in the back room unless employee takes you there to buy live rock or something.

I know a few store owners who's home bred clowns are their bread and butter... they seldom let people in the back as well... but I get to show my kids whenever we go to those stores the breeding process. i hope to get mine up and running by new years