Clownfish eggs will hatch about 7-10 days after they are laid, depending on the water temperature. Each day you should check the eggs. When the eggs get a silver color, they will hatch that night. You will notice that each egg has a silver, reflective eye. This means that when the lights go out they will hatch. You must remove the clownfish fry from the tank and put them into the fry tank. To do this, turn off every filter and pump in the tank. There must be no current or flow in the tank.
Once the lights have gone off, wait about 30 minutes and shine a bright flashlight into the water. A mag light works great. Do not shine the light directly at the eggs, this will delay the hatching process. The clownfish will be attracted to the light and swim towards it. Start a siphon with air hose and begin siphoning the clownfish fry into a bucket. This is usually easier with a helper. One person will hold the light, and another should hold the siphon hose. When most of the fry are caught you can easily pour the fry into the breeding tank.
There also is a variation on this technique. The night of when the eggs are supposed to hatch you can remove the live rock that the eggs were laid on and put it into the breeding tank. Take care not to expose the eggs to air. If possible fill a bag with aquarium water and place it into the tank. Put the rock with the eggs on it into the bag and lift out the rock and bag. Place the bag underwater in the breeding tank and remove the rock. This method is ok but doesn’t work if the clownfish laid their eggs on a large piece of live rock that is at the bottom of your tank. If this is the case you can place a piece of tile or a broken terracotta pot in the location that your clownfish usually lay eggs. They will lay eggs on the tile or pot and it can easily be removed the night of the hatching.
Once the eggs are in the breeding tank, make sure they are well aearated. Place an air stone or airline tube close to the eggs so that they are moving slightly from the current. This will ensure the eggs are getting enough air to hatch properly. The eggs will hatch directly into the breeding tank and you won’t have to move them. I have not had great sucess with the removing the rock method. I think it is because the breeding tank and my main aquarium did not have the same water parameters. Always make sure that the two tanks have the same salinity and temperature before moving the eggs.
I would like to known more and how to breed them .
what tape of set up that I will need …
Thank’s steven
I have just launched the breeding clownfish forum, it can be found at http://www.breedclownfish.com/forum/
ask any questions you have in the forum.