Maroon Clown Eggs

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dia_cero2002

Premium Member
I have a pair of maroon clowns who have laid eggs. The eggs are almost ready to hatch. My question is, what should I do so they have the best shot at surviving after they hatch? Should I remove them from the main tank before they hatch? They are on an old shell that I could easily remove from the main tank. Is that a good idea? My main tank is a 210 gallon with lots of flow and other fish. What would you guys suggest? Thanks.
 
if you do not remove them they will not make it, but before you remove them to try and raise them you need to make sure you have food for them. they need very small food and without the right stuff will not last long. you need cultures of phyto and rotifers going so they can eat well.
 
Fill a 10 - 20 G tank with water from the large tank.

Add a heater and bring the temp to the same temp as the large tank.

Move the shell to the small tank.

Add an air pump with an air hose positioned such that the air bubbles will pass over the eggs (they must be aerated at all times).

Add a small amount of phytoplankton.

After they hatch, add rotifers - lots and lots and lots of rotifiers.

I 8 or 9 days, start adding BBS.

Change a large part of the water each day - use water from the large tank for the first 3 - 4 days. Then use a mix of water from the large tank and fresh SW for a few days (decreasing the percentage of water from the large tank each day until the change is all fresh SW).

Don't get to upset if you lose a lot of the fry - it happens.

They will probably lay every two weeks or so so you will have lots of chances to get better.

[edit]

Rift to Reef had small strain rotifers. Don't know if they still have them, but they are perfect for the fry.
 
Nice Frank!
There is a way to leave them in the tank till after they hatch but it will require you to stay up into the wee hours of the night or morning to catch them. You use a light to attract them and you catch them with a trap at the surface. I haven't heard of too many people that have a lot of success with hatching them off of a shell because it's hard to get the air bubbles to flow over the eggs right and I think that (and the mortality rate of grow out) is why Frank said you will loose a large number of them. Out of 100 eggs (if this is their first batch) you might be able to get 10-20 through metamorphasis. As they lay more eggs (I think every two weeks, I've lost count of my clowns) the egg clutches get bigger. I know of a guy with Perculas that are now reaching 400 eggs.
Someone can explain the method of catching them after they hatch if you're interested.
 
2 methods.

Very Low tech --

On the night you expect them to hatch
Before sunset, setup the 20G tank with about 5 G of water from the parent tank - with heater, air pump
Just after sunset turn off all the lights and pumps on the main tank
Every 15 minutes or so use a flashlight to see if they are hatching
When they hatch, scoop the fry out of the main tank and put them in the 20 G

They will begin to hatch 30 mintues to ???? after the lights are out.


Easier

Google "larval snagger" and build one. Wilkerson's design is ok but there are other designs on the web that are easier to use
Set up the 20 G
Turn off all the pumps and lights on the main tank
Install the snagger and turn it on
Check for the hatch and move the fry in the snagger
Catch the fry which don't enter the snagger
 
Thanks for the help guys. I went out of town and when I got back, they had already hatched and were nowhere to be found. However, they've laid eggs several times since then. They laid more eggs on Sunday night. I'm setting up my 10 gallon right now. My question is, where can I get phyto and rotifers? I live in north Plano. I saw Bayou has some rotifers but he lives in North Richland Hills and that's a little too far for me. Anyhow, if anyone could point me in the direction of phyto and rotifers, i'd be very appreciative. Thanks. Also, how much phyto should I add to the 10 gallon before they hatch? Thanks again.
 
Hey,
haven't been here for a while.

Anyway, you can go to the Dfwmas homepage, under newsletter, you can see an article (very detailed) I wrote on raising clownfish. It's divided into three parts, Feb, March, and April

However, I can tell you right now, the rotifers you need are "S" strand because maroon clown larvae are much smaller than ocellarius, and it's good to also have the "L" strand for the second stage, or else they'll start dropping like flies if they don't have enough food to eat. If you only use "S" strand, it means you'll have to feed twice as much at all stages until they can go on powder flake or baby brine.

If you need more help you can email me. I don't check pm here very often.
 
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