Breed Clownfish | Saltwater Fish

[Quantrill]

Well, my two clowns have apparently paired up. They've been cleaning a ceramic tank decoration and getting real aggressive toward their tankmates. The ate the tail off of my pearl jawfish so, I decided to give them their own space. I figured that'll be better for them and their tankmates. I had to move them to the sump temporarily to get them to leave the jawfish alone. They had him cornered! Anyway. I set up a 20T with new live sand, new water and that's been circulating for two days using an Aquaclear 70 filter. I put a sponge over the intake to help keep the fry from getting sucked in. It's very porous though so I'm not sure how well that will work. I always used plain old sponge filters, driven by an air pump when I was raising freshwater angels, can I use those for salt water? Until I have a few successful spawns, I think I'd prefer to just let the parents raise them. Any other advice would be greatly appreciated! As soon as the temperature stabilizes, I plan to move the clowns over. Oh and I pulled the sponges from my sump to go in the HOB filter to help get the bacteria going. I put new sponges in the sump.

Thanks
David

[DirtStar]

David,

Sounds like you have some XP with the aquariums.

First thing though, if you move the parents, it may disrupt them from spawning.
It could take a few weeks to a few months until they are comfortable again.
Not always the case, but they might not even spawn again.
They have to get in a comfort zone, and to do so, make sure you feed very well,
up to 5 times a day. Feed a variety of foods, frozen and pellet, flake, etc.

Put in a tile to them to lay eggs on.
Have good water and parameters, and keep the temp around 82F.
Have a lighting schedule with a moon light also.

Wait patiently.

To raise the larvae, you need a seperate tank.
There is no way possible to raise them in a display tank.

For a larvae tank, you only need a heater and an airstone to begin.
You will need a live rotifer culture to raise rots.
You will then use a sponge filter after the fry are a good 2-3 weeks old.

Read more, and ask more questions.

Good luck!

[Quantrill]

Thanks! I've got a 10 gallon I can set up for the fry and tons of sponge filters left over from breeding angels. I always let the parents raise the angels but I guess that doesn't work with clowns? I was also thinking about getting them an anemone. I know there's no guarantee that they'll even host on it but clowns just look like they have so much fun with them when they have one. Any recommended anemones for average lighting? I'm just using standard fluorescents. I don't have the cash for the really high powered stuff. I've also got several spawning slates somewhere. I put the ceramic tube that they were cleaning from my main display tank in their breeding tank. They really seem to like it for some reason......

[DirtStar]

Anemones need good lighting.
I cant recommend any as I am not sure.

I had one, but it didnt make it when I moved my tank. Never got another-yet!

They could possibly spawn on the ceramic if they were cleaning it.

[Quantrill]

Interesting, apparently they slept in the ceramic tube last night. When I got up this morning they were just waking up. One was peeking out of the top of the tube and one was peeking out of the hole in the side. In my 120G display tank, they always slept behind a certain piece of LR. It's almost like they're "hosting" on/in this ceramic tube as that appears to be "home base". They will wander around the tank for a while but they always return to the tube, and frequently. Sometimes the male will hang around inside the tube and the female is outside, almost as if she's standing guard. Anyway, I just thought that was interesting..............

[UNIXMan]

David-

Do EXACTLY what you would do for finicky freshie angels!! Clowns are much better parents than any cichlids -- even Tilapia. I do a lot of remote hatches just the same because my clowns are not alone and get harassed quite a bit. One thing I've found is you need more air than with angels. A lot more -- with tweaking I've gotten almost 100% hatch. That's the easy part. They don't ball up like angels, so fishing them out is really tough. That's why I pull the eggs rather than the fry. If you can raise angels you only have to tweak what you already know for success with clowns. FEEDING the fry is the problem, just like with angels. They're as picky as angels and more sensitive to what they eat than discus. Fortunately, you won't have to make egg paste

Feed the parents well. Never hurts to give them vitamins, but what they really need is astaxanthan. Two good places to get that are cyclops or beef heart, but only feed a small amount of beef and never more than once a week. You should get eggs every 12 days once they get going, but the first few spawns will probably be small and take longer between. That's normal.

You will read a lot of stuff here and elsewhere on the internet that will sound "wrong" if you have experience raising angels. I will tell you from my own experience that if it sounds wrong, it is! Do what you know is right, but remember these guys live in the ocean, and there are things they need that you have to just think about. You'll do fine.

[raphfasi]

Hey so am i,

I was looking over the posts and saw that you had said to keep the water temp around 82? mines only at 77, since it was said to keep it between 75-80 so unexperienced i shot for the middle.

Should i make it warmer

Thanks.....

[UNIXMan]

The right water temp depends on a lot of things: What else lives in there, what species of fish, how old are they, do you have anemones? I keep mine at 79-80. Most anemones like hotter water, about 85, but some like colder water -- less than 75 at all times. Before you buy anything, you need to research how to care for it and make sure it will be compatible with the animals you already have. That includes temperature, lighting, and water chemistry.

Clownfish can live in water as cold as 70, but that doesn't mean you should lower your temp. If you have other fish in your tank, as I do, you need to consider their needs. Most reef fish do well in that range. Higher is better for some and usually doesn't hurt most fish. You may find some of your fish will do better at higher temperatures. You might consider raising the thermostat one degree at a time for a few days and seeing how that goes over a few days, but I don't see a need to unless you have dwarf angels. Then I would raise it to 79 or 80 over the course of a week. Just my opinion

Best advice: Take it slow. Read a lot of information about things you are interested in and ask a lot of questions if you don't understand something. Also, keep in mind that much of the information you will find on the internet is "wrong" and that you'll find better info at the library. Don't read something and jump on it -- see if you can find more info elsewhere. One great site you might try out is Wet Web Media (http://www.wetwebmedia.com). They have a lot of good info and great answers to questions people submit by email. Good luck!