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A Clownfish Spawn


Ron Popeil

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the pinnacle of any clownfish nerd is the spawning of their fish. today, some 163 days after their purchase, my clownfish decided to lay some eggs. some 200 eggs. color me excited!

 

this is considered a small nest. eventually, i could be looking at nests with 600+ eggs!

 

the following success is linked to patrick at saltwater fantaseas for the healthy and spectacular amphiprion chrysopterus pair and heteractis crispa anemone. joel at waves for the cube aquarium and parts, and JR at upscales for the oceanpure salt that somehow triggered a spawn.

 

now, for some pictures!

 

here is the nest and the anemone. it looks like a smudge of algae with bubbles, which is what i initially thought it was. but right above the tentacles on the left side is where to look....

 

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the eggs:

 

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and some fatherly attention:

 

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thanks again!

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Sweet, you planning on breeding? I would be interested in raising, you should put a terri cotta/clay tile in there for them to lay on then they would be easy to remove to grow out. You cannot net them with a brine net and the fish will eat them, but very cool! 14 days from hatch they will hatch 2 hours after night lights... fun fun, keep us posted.

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definetely interested in raising the fry. the world definetely needs captive bred chrysopterus clowns. i think im going to let this nest hatch on its own, while i do some research and set up. and the next few batches try my hand at fry rearing. nyles, be prepared for some collaboration. and jansen, be prepared for some mass rotifer production sooner than anticipated....

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thank you everyone for your compliments and support. here are the pictures of the nest today. day four since discovering the nest.

 

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at this point the anemone has its tentacles hiding most of the nest. i assume this isnt a problem, but i would also assume the male to take a more active role in shaping the anemone so its not so close. but no one seems to mind. the nest has shrunken in numbers, taken on a more sporatic shape, but the eggs seem to be continuing their development. the current temperature of the system is 79 degrees.

later today, i begin work on my algae/rotifer/fry set up...

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i think i have about two more days. i hope im here to watch, since, ill be in portland saturday and sunday...

 

but from reading a thread by john hardman on RC, it seems that the breeders on the hobbyist level are tired of the algal crashes and the work put into timing the fry/copepod/algae cultures, so how much easier it is with products like Instant Algae. Apparently a few drops a day provide a significantly dense culture that aids in rapid rotifer population growth. only problem is the stuff is expensive. but it does keep for about three months, or indefinetely if frozen....

 

check out this site:

http://www.reed-mariculture.com/microalgae/

 

its split into hobbyist and professional use stuff. hobbyist products are like Rotifer Feed vs the professional scientific name Nannoclopsis O specifics...let me know what you think. perhaps we can do a split order.

 

as for the amquel, using chlorX is the other product recommended as well, because it helps keep the ammonia down. which rotifers produce a significant amount of, and it allows they better water conditions, is what i gathered.

 

however, i purchased my seven 2 liter bottles yesterday. now i just need some rigid airline tubing, a small shelving unit...and i should be set. LETS GET STARTED!

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well, from what ive been reading, its good to use in addition to. the guys were swearing by it in the thread, but then ceasing its use later on. i still have a bunch more to read. this literature is endless.

 

ps you and i have seven bottles of club soda to drink today. i hope youre thirsty.

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Jordan, So excited for you bro,, I dont think most people here understand what an achievment this is.

 

People, most hobbiest can not even keep this clowns alive, let alone get them to spawn. This is NOT your average clown spawning story, this is something that could really start off into a major change in this species of clownfish in the hobby, it is a very big deal.

 

Jordan, am I correct that currently there is no one that has been able to captive breed this species?

 

Let me know if I can help, if I can get some dibs on possible babies in the future, Ill get you all the Reeds you need. Call it a sponsorship. If you can make this happen, just mention my business and my help.

 

I do have some rotifeast, although I am unsure if it is still good. Ill check with Randy at Reeds Mariculture as well, I wouldnt be the least bit suprised if I could get him to throw in some goods to help make this happen. They are a good company with good products.

 

Let me know when and what you need.

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thank you for the compliments joel. as far as i know, ive only read of two hobbyists who have bred this particular species of clownfish. i know there have been attempts and alleged successes at ORA and Eco Tropic, but for whatever reason they dont continually work with this species. it was always hoped to happen for me, but never expected.

 

as for reeds mariculture, i have heard great things. the more i read about raising microalgaes and rotifers, the more split it becomes on how to do it: either culturing your own or using precultured products. it appears a growing number of breeders are prefering to use the reeds instant algae products in place of culturing their own algae. at the moment i have zero experience with this area of marine husbandry, so im ready to fiddle around with culturing myself to see how much of a burden it will be. ill have plenty of chances to experiment, especially with a new batch of eggs expected every 8 to 14 days. in theory. anyways, thanks again very much joel for your support. i look forward to the help.

 

this is now day five since the nest was discovered. the nest has gotten progressively smaller and sporatic. the other noticeable change is in the eggs, they are increasingly more silvery and more developed. i imagine the eggs will be hatching within the next two days.

 

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unfortunately, i have to be out of town until sunday evening, i hope they hold out until that night before hatching. after the eggs hatch, i will try to insert an acrylic tile in place of the nest and keep my fingers crossed they use it for future nests. im not prepared at the moment to raise any fry from this nest, however, if anyone else would like to try, let me know.

 

i know that the eggs typically take on the color of the adults, but this batch seemed much more paler than expected. so i have really upped my feeding in hopes of increasing future nest size and health, perhaps even egg color. my female is....really rotund at the moment.

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