True Percula Clownfish hard to keep? What?

[STiTCH87]

So I was on LiveAquaria.com reading about their True Percula Clownfish and it says "The True Percula Clownfish is not for the inexperienced, which poses a challenge for many new hobbyists."

Are True Percs really that hard to care for? They say Ocellarus are the easy ones, which I can see, but how is a True Perc hard to care for?

 

[Popeye]

I had a pair for years. No special care required. Great fish.

 

[STiTCH87]

That's what I figured. I want to buy a pair of true percs as small juvenilles and eventually hope to have a breeding pair.

 

[Takara]

i think liveaquaria really exaggerates a lot just to cover themselves. they really like to be considered quite reliable.

 

[STiTCH87]

Yeah I agree because their "minimum tank size" on alot of fish is often far higher than necessary.

 

[Popeye]

Mine laid eggs repeatedly, but I never tried to save the fry. Very hardy. Interesting to watch. Ate whatever was offered. Never bothered any other fish.

 

[STiTCH87]

Yeah i'd really love to try and raise some fry. Thing is I don't really have the room for a sump.

Would a HOB refugium be appropriate for raising fry?

For example this 14" one?

Or maybe there's an in-tank option?

IDK I don't want to clutter my DT, but I don't have a spot to put a sump either so it's kind of a catch 22. If only I had a custom built low-height stand with a 10g sump...

 

[JohnK]

True percs are quite hardy IMO, though IIRC somewhat less hardy than ocellaris.

To raise the fry you probably need a few seperate tanks. You would need to raise rotifers, artemia, and greenwater, each in seperate cultures. The fry need to be kept in a small seperate tank. They would have no chance in a sump or ref or anywhere else really. They would be far too small to fight any noticable current, and once they were caught up in the current they would rapidly become food for something.

A culture system can be pretty simple and cheap, coke bottles, air pump and stones, shop light, not much else. The tank for raising fry can be as simple as a 5 gal tank with an airstone.

 

[JayM]

^ Come to the meeting next Saturday, and hear about it

 

[STiTCH87]

Ugh I knowww I want to go to that meeting so bad but can't make the drive plus I have work. =\

What do you think I rough price would be for all the supplies to raise fry? Could always breed more than clownfish too if I had all that greenwater and rotifers lying around...

 

[JohnK]

I think the cost of a culturing / fry raising set up would vary tremendously depending on the creativity, cheapness, and level of OCD of the keeper.

There are a couple of really good articles online as well as at least a couple of good books that cover raising clowns. {and the club does have at least one good book on it in the library}

Just google "raising clown fish fry" and you'll get a bunch of info. Here's a start, note the links on the right;
http://www.clownfishsite.com/breedingraising-and-feeding-of-ocellaris-clownfish-fry/

 

[STiTCH87]

Well i'm def. creative, certainly cheap, and have a medical case of OCD... Lol. So maybe it's not too unrealistic for me. =]

 

[JohnK]

Maybe perfect

From what I've read, I would say the biggest investment is your time. It's not a big expense, but there a lot of things that have to be kept up with daily to keep everything working smoothly. Skip a day or two and Mr. Murphy will have a culture of something crashing, then that will deprive something else of food and so on. A healthy dose of OCD would be very helpful here

 

[STiTCH87]

Welp not sure why i'm getting ahead of myself here, gotta get a pair, get them breeding, and get a 2nd tank before any of this, lol. But nice to know I would most likely be capable of it.

 

[JohnK]

Read now, spend later