On Sunday, I looked in my tank and thought, what the heck is growing in my tank NOW?? At first, I thought it was some type of fungus. Took about a minute for me to realize that my pair of Ocellaris Clowns had laid their first batch of eggs! I've had the clowns for about 15 months, and they immediately paired up with my Sebae Anemone. I never really noticed any behavior indicating they might spawn soon, so this was unexpected and very exciting!! I know very little about breeding clowns, but from what little I read, I understand it's a pretty complex process, time consuming, and there's tons to read up on before diving into it. I may read up over the summer, and when the summer is over and my vacations are over, I might attempt to raise a batch (clutch? brood?) in the fall... if the clowns keep spawning. There are maybe a couple hundred eggs. Today is day 5 and it looks like I can see tiny black eyes now. Are the eyes supposed to be silver the day before they hatch, or do they hatch the day after the eyes are visable? Curious about a couple things. I know that any larvae, if the eggs hatch, won't survive in the display because there won't be anything for them to eat, and they will probably get eaten by other fish or skimmed out, but let's say that lack of food wasn't an issue, wouldn't the babies take cover in the Anemone and have protection there from other fish like they would in the ocean? The clowns laid the eggs, on the rock right under the 13" Sebae Anemone. The Anemone is usually draped over this rock, but since the clowns laid the eggs, they seem to be keeping the Anemone off of the rock so that he's not draped over their eggs. The Anemone is almost standing at attention for lack of a better description. When the lights are out, they seem to be allowing the Anemone back into his normal position and he's draped over the eggs and the rocks. This is quite neat to watch and so much better than checking out your tank and finding some pest or
nuisance algae! Pam
