My first attempt raising clownfish

ReeferMadness09 · Nov 21, 2015

JMLewis, looks like one of those future surprises is now. Happy to post that my snowflake pair have their first clutch of eggs. They could have laid previously which i thought they did but i might have missed. Unfortunately I can't get a good picture of them and the nest because its in the worst place possible and they aren't in my breeding setup either which will prove a pita for sure! Here is a picture of the pair from when i originally got them. Nice color and markings!

JMLewis · Nov 23, 2015

ReeferMadness09 said:
JMLewis, looks like one of those future surprises is now. Happy to post that my snowflake pair have their first clutch of eggs. They could have laid previously which i thought they did but i might have missed. Unfortunately I can't get a good picture of them and the nest because its in the worst place possible and they aren't in my breeding setup either which will prove a pita for sure! Here is a picture of the pair from when i originally got them. Nice color and markings!

Awesome and congrats! Really curious how many will be snowflakes as well. Do you have any info on that?

Without doung any research on it myself I'd suspect the majority will come out regular but have a higher chance some will be snowflake.

I have a black and white snowflake and an ORA Snowflake, they haven't laid any eggs yet but I'd love to see what their offspring would be. A lot of the reason I'm so interested in your thread.

Unfortunately they're in bad shape atm because of a major foul up on my end but hopefully they pull through and I can find out some day!

ReeferMadness09 · Nov 24, 2015

Thanks JM. I'm honestly not sure how many would end up being snowflakes. I haven't done tons of research on it but from what i understand the first thing it would depend on is if the snowflake gene is dominant or not. Then you could break out the ol' punnett square (remember that from jr high?? haha) and break the results down. So based on 2 snowflakes as my breeding pair i believe the results would be 50% snowflake, 25% regular and 25% that would get a double dose of snowflake gene. Without getting TOO scientific, the double dose is speculated to be fatal so i dont believe those fish would survive rearing. With your pair, you would probably have similar results.

Maybe someone whos more of a subject matter expert on the gene topic could chime in. If not hopefully yourself or anyone else reading this thread finds the info helpful.

shane91 · Nov 24, 2015

This was a great thread to read. Especially since my woman wants to try this herself. So I can help. I'm really interested in a Wyoming white non locally around me

ReeferMadness09 · Nov 27, 2015

I'm glad you found it interesting Shane! Its a project im sure both of you will find really rewarding once you get underway.

reefhobby · Nov 27, 2015

Check pm please?

chessplayer86 · Nov 29, 2015

ReeferMadness09 said:
Clown eggs finally hatched last night/ early this morning. It happened on the 8th day. It was a pain collecting the fry from the display with bowl. I collected as many as i could but ended up leaving some in the display. I'm currently working on another system for future easier collection.

This is a picture i snapped of some of the fry collected. I tried to count in the beginning but you can see thats kinda insane.

there are 180 in there.. I used a software to calculate these.

ReeferMadness09 · Nov 29, 2015

Thats pretty cool, what program is it? Definitely much easier on the eyes that way.

Bo N Rachel · Nov 29, 2015

Loving this Thread can't wait to start breeding one day! Keep it up

misael888 · Dec 9, 2015

Ok so it took me a lil over an over but I just read your entire thread. And WoW is all I can say.!! Lots of up and downs but what an amazing job you've done. Congrats on all your success. Looking forward to seeing more and learning. I currently have a wild caught ocellaris and a platinum that started spawning.

cameronh · Dec 10, 2015

This has been a cool thread. Awesome job!!

ReeferMadness09 · Dec 16, 2015

This guy has developed a different pattern, almost like a bicolor angel except black and white. Should be pretty cool to see as it gets bigger!

melypr1985 · Dec 16, 2015

That's cool. Never seen one with that pattern. Maybe you can name it and breed for more like them!

Bunnee911 · Dec 17, 2015

Will you be using a larva catcher?

domination2580 · Dec 17, 2015

Wanting to breed clowns as well...any lessons you can send my way?

ReeferMadness09 · Dec 17, 2015

I have a larval catcher but i'm not currently using it. I've used it in the past and had ok results and other times really bad results. Since all my clowns are in their own individual tanks i just wait for the eggs to hatch and gently collect them with a turkey baster. As far as lesson, im not sure. If you want to get into breeding quickly pick up an older established pair or currently breeding pair. Easiest way for me is to have the clowns in their own tank. While you're waiting for them to start spawning...read read and read some more so you can start your rot culture and have everything ready without problem when you start getting eggs. This way you can focus all your attention on getting the larvae to survive and not have to worry about the rest. Most importantly dont give up so easy as the beginning can be a bumpy road!

domination2580 · Dec 17, 2015

Hmm...I've read you want rotifers to start then brine...is this what you did did u just keep with rotis

ReeferMadness09 · Dec 18, 2015

Rotifers are the first food you'll need. I started my culture immediately after i noticed my clowns had laid eggs. Rotifers multiply quickly so within 4 days or so you could start harvesting them to feed. Some people switch over to baby brine shrimp as early as the 5th day. I find myself transitioning between the 2 food for a little longer than that. I've read some people skip brine all together and use otohime or tdo i think.

ReeferMadness09 · Jan 16, 2016

Little update

Not much to report on honestly. I've been struggling with culturing live phyto, who would have thought it would be such a pita! I've had limited success with it but it had caused quite a bit of headache and my rot cultures really suffered. In the end I've gone back to rgcomplete as it just makes life MUCH simpler. While this phyto battle raged on my success rearing clowns has been 0% for one reason or another, too much going on in life i guess. Things seem to be getting back to normal and with eggs laid hopefully I'll have more to post about.