Yellow tail damsel laying eggs?

[bjledbetter]

I was doing a water change this morning and come across this on the glass and the fish protecting it. The fish has dug out the sand bed under it also. Are those eggs and how do I take care of them if it is? Whats the hatch time? Sorry for the bad pics I cant reach the glass inside the tank there to clean it

 

[ritter6788]

Cool! Something you don't see every day. I'm guessing it is tough or impossible to raise the fry in aquariums since I've never heard of anyone raising Damsels. Keep us updated.

 

[bige]

That's cool. Did you know they were paired?

 

[clowns101]

Yes! Those are damsel eggs, 3 years ago I think (IIRC) when I had my 29 gallon tank, I bought 2 damsels and I put a tile in the tank hoping my paid or tomato clowns wOuld lay on it, the anemone moved and then the damsels took over the tile, 6 months later, I was in the tank cleaning going to remove the tile, I pout my hand in, and when I noticed these white dots on the tile I wondered what it could be, then it dawned on me, damsels eggs. They laid a batch about the soar of a quarter and did this EVERY Tuesday. They are amazing breeders if in the right conditions, unfortunately, they aren't valuable, hard to raise, and not worth it to raise either, lol.

They need a supers all rotifer and they call those the SS strain, it's a hard one to find and only a few have them, they are captive made to be smaller and are the only things that will successfully raise these fry.

These guys are pretty easy to get breeding, I wasn't even expecting mine to start breeding and boom, they did, keeping them well fed, healthy and fat is the key though, the fry make good coral food!

 

[hyperboy]

Very cool!

 

[Degener8]

first post i have seen of this. Very exciting even if terribly hard to raise... think of them as free food for your tank. Hopefully they continue to do this. I would not change a thing especially don'y clean the area they are laying in. Any change may throw off their breeding cycle. Keep us updated on gestation etc.

 

[bjledbetter]

I had no idea that I even had a mated pair. I put 4 of them in the tank almost 2 years ago bc they are my schools colors plus they were cheap. I cant do anything with this batch but I may try to raise the next set just for the fun of it, and it will give me a chance to practice keeping the rotiefers alive so when my clowns decide to start laying. I did some searching last night and only found one guy who raises them on a regular basis.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Wow very cool! This is also a first thread like this for me.

 

[laskopyre]

Just like Clowns101 says, they are pretty tough to raise. Very small fry, and not worth the effort. It is possible to do though, with the correct rotifers. The normal rotifer used for clownfish fry would be to big for the yellowtail damsel fry. Damsels and clownfish are in the same family genus. Very easy to pair, as long as you get 2 juveniles. Seahorsesource.com has the s-strain rotifers. Don't know of anyone carrying the SS-strain though. L-Strain would be to big.

 

[bjledbetter]

My tank has went nuts. First the damsels spawn and now my clowns who have never hosted are really checking out my gbta and starting to swim in and out of it, I think my tank is about a month late on spring fever

 

[wysiwyg]

well congrats on the spawn. like posted above free food for your corals and fish but probally not worth the time or money to raise them

 

[bjledbetter]

I may try it sometime just to see if I can do it. I have my tank because I enjoy watching it and enjoy the hobby. If I spend 20-30 dollars and half the summer and only raised a couple of them id be happy just bc I had the chance to do it and most people dont take the time to even bother with them bc there not worth much. I do this hobby to enjoy not get rich. But Hopefully one day the clowns will start spawning or ill get a pair of cards and try them and make a few bucks lol. BTW any one that can help me find the ss strain it would be appreciated

 

[WestOhooligan]

LOL...you'll spend more than 20-30 dollars! The L-Type rots will be more than that. I was thinking about dedicating one of my tanks to YT damels though, just to say I've done it.

 

[BarbH]

Very cool and exciting even if nothing comes from the spawn.

 

[reefsandrotts]

everyone says not worth it,
but i feel anything we can captive breed is worth it.
Tell you what pop tyree's or some other stupid off the wall name in front of them and now their worth 50 times the amount of any other damsel.

 

[ritter6788]

everyone says not worth it,
but i feel anything we can captive breed is worth it.
Tell you what pop tyree's or some other stupid off the wall name in front of them and now their worth 50 times the amount of any other damsel.

Totally agree. If we can get Yellow Tail Damsels to breed in captivity we should do it. Less to be removed from the ocean of any livestock is a plus. A Tyree Yellow Tail Damsel would sell for at least 4x what a Petco damsel costs.

 

[bjledbetter]

Well the eggs are definantly fertile there growing and turning a silver color so I expect a hatch in the next day or two. I keep checking them at night with a flashlight and the male keeps attacking the glass and everything that gets close to them, I still havent been able to find the rots to raise them tho.

 

[Just Clownin Around]

I believe I got mine from reeds. It was a few years back but might want to check there also ask on mofib if anyone is willing to sell you some

 

[bjledbetter]

Hey just a update. I cant seam to ever catch them hatching but i believe that they are bc both sets of eggs have developed eyes and then one night just disappeared, ive had two dets laid so far and the second was bigger than the first. Im expecting a new set anyday now

 

[WestOhooligan]

How long after hatch do they tend to lay?