Jump to content

A Clownfish Spawn


Ron Popeil

Recommended Posts

my apartment is running out of electrical outlets.

 

on the evening of day four, the fry really are developing well. their eyes are developing more structure. i can discern the parts of their tail. i can see that they are filling their little bellies on rotifers. i did my first water change today, maybe a 1/3 of a gallon of fresh saltwater, preheated and set for a salinity of 1.020. i used an expired plastic gift card to scrape the bottom layer of sediment off and simultaneously used a vinyl tube to siphon out the scraped pilings.

 

i got some preliminary pictures tonight, terrible of course, but they are a tease until this weekend when my photographer friend arrives in town.

 

DSCF1382.jpg

 

DSCF1374.jpg

 

DSCF1373.jpg

 

thanks for the continued support!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

day 9.

 

there are six left. still eating rotifers. lots of them. if i had to guess, id say at least one of them has gone through metamorphosis, or is close. they all appear to have a shimmery blue spine. their eyes have distinct features now. but they are still tiny, and do not resemble clownfish. in the next day or so, i will attempt frozen cyclopeeze.

 

either monday or tuesday night my next nest will hatch. i hope to be far more successful with this nest than the first.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

here is one of the smaller, mid developed fry. this is the only good picture ive been able to get, thanks to mr rothwell. im really fascinating by how the fry all have distinct blue vertebrae and shimmery blue stomachs. their transparent tail sections are slightly yellow hued. i tried some frozen cyclopeeze yesterday, thawed and squirted in with a small eye dropper. no interest. a bit too large i think.

 

DSCF0637.jpg

 

this is the last nest, the day of hatching on monday:

 

DSCF0598.jpg

 

DSCF0616.jpg

 

i expected the nest to hatch monday night, and infact a few did. as of yesterday, there were no new fry, just the original five or so. by that afternoon, i began lowering the salinity to 1.020 to begin the process of feeding those that survived, but made sure to keep a light over the tank and then turn it off at night just in case more hatched during the second night.

 

this morning, there are several hundred fry all swimming about! i just completed the first water change in the day old fry tank. i didnt understand why anyone would need to make that siphon/filter thing described in wilkersons book...until today. there are just so many tiny tiny fry. i did my best to remove all of the dead fry and eggs, naturally sucking up a bunch of living ones in the process. i used an eye dropper to replace them as best i could. after that, i set in my 53 micron sieve container and just siphoned water directly out of that. i added rotifers and some isochrysis to start them off.

 

as for the 11 day old fry, the six that remain, im going to add a sponge filter ive been culturing for the past month. i added some two day old brine shrimp today. i dont notice the fish specifically targeting them yet. two of the six are growing much more rapidly. they favor the current of the bubbles and the surface for feeding.

 

after this, im going to skip a few nests. if anyone wants to take a stab at some fry raising, let me know. i should have some more eggs in another week.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

jordan just wanted to chime in and send my congrats and hopeful wishes. Sure sounds time consuming and tedious. Let me know if there is any supplies you need "sponsored" to help.

 

I chime in rarely, but have been watching progress regularly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

there is speculation that too much air on the nest is what causes such high mortalities. so ill be trying to rig up water flow instead of an air flow on the nest the night of the hatch.

 

its now day 16. my six little clowns got their stripes over the weekend. very exciting. im absolutely thrilled by their recent appearance, reminds me what i am raising. im working with them and cyclopeeze and they are almost getting the point. some will eat certain morsels, and then ignore others, and some of the clowns just havent understood the cyclopeeze are food. but any day now i think they will subsist on them completely until i can get them onto pulverized flake. using the sponge filter in the tank has been a blessing, as the water quality has stabilized and doesnt require as frequent or as large of water changes.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

day 24.

 

the little babies are almost completely fed off flake foods now. i add baby brine just to make sure they stay full every three days or so. of the five babies i have from this nest, there is one that is visibly dominant and chasing the others frequently. i finally got some decent pictures. in the next week or two i hope to add them to a 10 gallon tank with some liverock and a small bubble tip anemone.

 

top down shot

DSCF0820.jpg

 

the clearest shot i was able to get

DSCF0799.jpg

 

the little hungry group

DSCF0817.jpg

 

DSCF0786.jpg

 

as for the second batch, i dont know if i just got lazy or complacent, but im down to just three. regardless, another nest is just a few more days from hatching. i think ill have enough time to really dedicate myself to it. thanks again to joel from waves for all the help!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...