Breed Clownfish | Saltwater Fish

[UNIXMan]

Has anybody ever seen this? This is the second spawn where i've seen the fry actually stuck half in and half out of the egg casings. I have NEVER seen this before. What will happen is, they will sit there until they die, and no amount of blowing water on them will help them come out. This last time I got about 30% live hatch, 30% "stuck" and the rest look like they're dead or dying.

I'm stumped.

[DirtStar]

What are the ages of your fish?
How long have they been spawning?
What foods/vitamins are you feeding?
How many times are you feeding the parents before and during eggs?
Are you water parameters in check? Mag, Cal?
How many days until hatching?

I have never read about this happening, but sounds like if it is the second spawn,
then it may just go away after a few.
If not, then something is probably just off. Maybe start adding vitamins to their food (parents) such
as selcon or something.
Test your water to make sure everything is fine.

If all else fails, sounds like maybe one of the parents may have an effect with a deformity.

[UNIXMan]

Thanks for responding. Water parameters are good and no problem keeping everything constant. I feed them flakes and frozen foods. I also dose Reef Complete (Strontium, Magnesium, Manganese plus some vitamins). I don't change any habits during the spawn, except I might feed them one extra time on the day the eggs are laid or the day after. Female is usually looking for food all day after she's done.

The tank is well established over a year and a half. I got the first clown just after it was set up and the second over a year ago. They were both about 2-1/2 inches when I bought them and have spawned five times since January of this year. The first three spawns were OK. It's only the last two. The fry that hatch seem to be normal, but still have the expected die off.

Thanks.

[DirtStar]

Most clownfish spawn every 14-15 days, with hatching after 8 days +/- 2 days

If they are not spawning regular, maybe is there something disturbing them?

Would you want them to spawn more often? if so,
I would up your feeding, as I feed about 5 times a day.
I would start to add in some frozen krill and maybe brine shrimp (BS, only for fun, since it is not nutritional)
Also, if you dont have one yet, put in an LED blue lunar or moon light.
I have a foot long strip that has maybe 12 or 15 LEDs in it and it comes on as my actinics go off for the night. Set it on a timer or hook it into your controler if you have one.

I added two young juvies about 4 months ago, and the one just mated with my large Occ.
it is kinda funny to see him under 2 inches, with her being 3 1/2+. She is almost 4 times his size.

Keep the updates, as hopefully it just goes away.


Rob

[UNIXMan]

Hi Rob-

Well, the other fish in the tank do bother them occasionally. Also, I've rearranged things a few times and messed them up a little I'm actually working with a biologist now who thinks it may have to do with vitamin supplements. Will give it a try. The other thing he says it could be is that, because these are all remote hatches, he thinks I might not have a strong enough current on the eggs to help them break free. He thinks the diet is fine -- just maybe add some vitamins.

Mama clown is rounding up for another spawn and should lay again within a week by the looks of her. He gave me some suggestions for how to fix the current problem. I will let you know what happens as soon as I have news. Meanwhile, thanks much for your help.

[DirtStar]

Sal,

Sounds about right.
Disturbing the tank by rearranging is fine, but it could stop them from spawning all together.
Or, some may just put it on hold until they are comfortable again, which is what yours are doing.
It i normal for the first spawn or two to be small and inconsistant or large % of bad eggs.

It is only when they spawn regular that the are consistant.
I would recommend Selcon as the vita suppliment. You can get it off ebay, or a few online places, maybe a LFS, but it is widely used and many pros use it.
Let you mysis defrost in a small cup and then add in 1ml to the cup and let soak for a good 10 min.
Feed this to hem every few days, and you should see improvement.

[UNIXMan]

Already in the plan

The worst annoyance to the clowns seems to be the other fish, actually. They don't like me sticking my hands in there, but somehow they know I'm only trying to help them out by plugging up the holes where the tang and the angel can get to the nest. Excellent example:

DSCI0051.JPG (236.73 KiB) Viewed 500 times

I am going to try the Selcon (my biologist friend also suggest that) as well as trying to tweak their diet a little. Will keep you posted.

[UNIXMan]

I have confirmation from an Ichthyologist the problem has to do with the hatch itself. I pull my eggs out of the main tank (easier, sort of, than fishing for fry). But this means I have to do the male's job of washing the eggs and keeping the water moving around them. I didn't have enough current around the eggs.

I have another clutch of eggs coming soon. I will test this out and increase the flow, which my friend says will help them come out.

[DirtStar]

I didnt realize that was the case.

You need to have small bubbles constantly moving accross the eggs.

If the eggs are on a tile, prop the tile up (with eggs underneath) and place an airstone under the
eggs. You want a steady medium flow...they say too much is better than not enough.

[UNIXMan]

Hi Rob-

He used a lot more words than you did, but that's "exactly" what he said.