Afboundguy's breeding journey...

[afboundguy]

First off don't get too excited this is in the very very preliminary stages but I must be doing something right as my clowns have started to breed again and this second clutch is much better looking!

I have always wanted to try and raise clownfish at least once and now that DT is in the basement wife mentioned I should try! Probably didn't hurt when we went to pick up some stuff from @Kens Bees and she saw his baby clowns so thanks!

I have already got my phytoplanlton cultures going with Nano and Tetra stains thanks to @Mixed Reefer and plan to try and start some Tisochrysis and Rhodomonas cultures as well in the near future plus 2-3 different kinds of copepods for my future goal of having another fat and healthy madarin!

Hope to be a week or two away from starting rotifer culture but I have decided to try and capture the larvae as they hatch in the tank and not try and get them to lay on something as of now since they are laying on a cylindical piece of live rock.

With that being said I found this great setup that I am in the process of 3D printing now and can't wait to try it!

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

It is a free design from thingiverse and if it works well I would be inclined to maybe print some for other paid members for basically cost which is probably around $5 and definitely under $10 .

Stay tuned BRS let the shenanigans begin!!!

 

[wdebenedettojr]

My clowns laid eggs often for years but stopped a year ago. All of a sudden they started laying again. Always thought of trying to keep them as well good luck!

 

[dz6t]

What are the parents look like?

 

[Ortizdrz]

Would also love to see the parents

 

[afboundguy]

My clowns laid eggs often for years but stopped a year ago. All of a sudden they started laying again. Always thought of trying to keep them as well good luck!

I have noticed they stop breeding when the tank isn't doing so well, such as when I ignored my tank for almost 2 years, but when the tank is doing well and I am feeding them 2-3 times a day they do the dirty constantly...

 

[afboundguy]

What are the parents look like?

Would also love to see the parents

They are misbar percula clowns that I got from a member 10+ years ago...

Female

Male

 

[afboundguy]

What are everyone's thoughts on plumbing in the future hatch/rearing tank into the system to allow for better water quality? I plan to plumb in the growout tank once the larvae is large enough to be moved to a growout tank. I know the hatch/rearing tanks are not supposed to have much flow but I was thinking more along the lines of plumbing it in with valves so that when I have the larvae I could simply isolate the hatch/rearing tank from the main system by simply turning valves...

I had thought that if it was plumbed in I could easily do small minor water changes and have the leftover rotifers and phytoplankton go into the main system and the ammonia buildup would be easily handled. I also thought this would be a good way to keep the hatch/rearing tank cycled. My main concerns would be the isopods and other microfauna getting into the hatch/rearing tank hurting or eating the larvae's food source. Ideally I would think I would keep it isolated from the system for 10+ days at the start to keep those microfauna out of the tank to give them a chance to get to the metamorphosis phase. Thoughts?

 

[afboundguy]

Well it's day 8 since they laid this batch and I think they started to hatch last night as I saw a few larvae "swimming" around in the tank this morning and a patch missing. I say "swimming" as I am sure the current within the tank killed them as they were just tumbling around flipping all over the place.

I did start experimenting with using a mixture in my brine shrimp hatchery of about 75% phyto (nanno and tetra mix) to salt water. I used tank water as I take out roughly as much tank water as I put in in phyto every week so my salinity doesn't continuously go up.

 

[afboundguy]

I also made a new brine shrimp hatchery with my father in law today as I think this design will be easier in the long run having the bottles start subsequent days especially if I hatch them in phyto to gut load them! I have the caps and ball valves on order and should get them by the end of the week

 

[Seapets]

I also made a new brine shrimp hatchery with my father in law today as I think this design will be easier in the long run having the bottles start subsequent days especially if I hatch them in phyto to gut load them! I have the caps and ball valves on order and should get them by the end of the week View attachment 208870View attachment 208871View attachment 208874View attachment 208875

I used to do it this way, but it’s too much work lol

 

[Seapets]

I used to do it this way, but it’s too much work lol

Good luck in your journey

 

[afboundguy]

Rest of the eggs hatched last night thankfully as the female has been looking quite full of eggs the past few days to the point I was worried about her!

Well not an issue as I checked this morning to see if the old eggs hatched last night and there was the biggest batch of new eggs so far! Been keeping log of laying and hatching but 8 days was the normal years ago and seems like that will be what it is this time as well!

I ordered two more strains of phyto that I should get next week to make 4 total strains plus I ordered 3 different copepods and I will be getting a rotifer starter culture from @Seapets in a few weeks as well!

 

[afboundguy]

I used to do it this way, but it’s too much work lol

I have the circular hatchery that is super easy but it gets dirty real fast. The new setup cost me nothing as we used all scrap wood so if it is horrible compared to the circular hatchery I have both options.

 

[Sparent25]

Very cool!

 

[afboundguy]

Very cool!

Thanks! Fingers crossed I can at least raise one batch!

 

[afboundguy]

Still making progress slowly but surely. Have the Nanno and Tetra cultures in 1 gallon jars (2 each) and I added another shelf to the temporary setup for more room today!

Before

After

 

[afboundguy]

Also upgraded my air pump to a single 200 gallon sized pump that has 4 outlets. I was already up to 2 different air pumps and would have needed a third for the T-iso and Rhodomonas cultures I will be starting tomorrow since I am doing this right now

I have never boiled SW for phyto before but T-iso is supposed to be a nightmare and can't get much more sterilized than boiled SW! I will let it cool overnight and use it for the cultures tomorrow! Did way too much of it since the T-iso and Rhodomonas cultures will only be 16 oz to start but oh well!

 

[afboundguy]

3 different pods. Plan to split them so I have 2 jars of each shortly once they start to take off even more!

 

[afboundguy]

I already have new strip lighting I will be using to upgrade I just need to make a bracket. I plan to have 1-2 strips on the front and back and then 2-4 inbetween the jars to the culturew get light in all directions.

Thanks to @Mixed Reefer I plan to also add some mirrors to increase the light output even more. Just need to keep my eye out for super cheap mirrors for sale!

 

[afboundguy]

After a few weeks once the T-iso and Rhodomonas cultures are up and running in 1 gallon jars I will start rotifer cultures and then set up a grow out tank! I have a spare 10 gallon tank with an old Fiji AIO insert kit that I plan to utilize!