• Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.

breeding clowns having issues need advice

N

nightmarepl

NJRC Member
hey guys, so ive been trying to breed my clowns " saddleback / ocerellis clown " theyve been in the tank together for months now id say 10ish they have a bubble tip anemone that they both sleep in, they do the " dance " the saddleback back is about 2-3 inches and the ocerellis is about 1-2 the saddleback is pretty aggressive to new comers and towards my shrimps
was told that you cant pair a saddleback with a ocerellis but i dunno my lfs said you can i tried looking it up but cant really find the info on it
was also told to try a small clay pot anyone have any ideas
tank is 10gallons mini reef let me know please
 
iTzJu

iTzJu

Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
your going to have a better chance breeding the same speicies, but im not saying that hybrids do not happen.

also, it might take years before any pair of clowns will breed. it depeds on their age and sexual maturity. breeding also is encourage by outside factors as well like diet and the tanks parameters from what I believe.

the above is from what i've read before. maybe someone who has bred clowns before can chime in with a more thoughtful answer.
 
N

nightmarepl

NJRC Member
oo thanks gents yah i might replace my saddleback but want to either sell it or get a decent trade its a healthy fish plus got some size to it about year old aswell so gotta think of that too
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

@MadReefer thanks for the plug. @nightmarepl Sorry for the late reply. Not sure how big the "spot" is where your clowns are resting. Clownfish cannot lay eggs on the bta (e. quadricolor) - so they need a spot either vertically or horizonally near by. The clay pot is an idea as it provides a surface for the female to lay eggs, but also allows you the option to remove the pot for improving fry mortality (i.e. you don't need to catch them when they hatch).

Regarding different species, Judeo has covered it - obviously the same species is ideal, cross breeding can be done... Also please note that a BTA is not the normal host for the two species of clownfish you have, but that should not stop them. I have multiple BTAs and my clownfish didn't seem to have any problems.

I could go on and on but before I do this...what are you going to do with fry? If they do breed they will produce eggs every 14 to 18 days. In order to raise these eggs you must have a suitable live rotifer supply.
Very briefly prior to eggs hatching you will require the following:

Food setup
1) Bucket (i.e. old salt bucket) with saltwater and some type of aeration. Ideally you have two buckets, one as a back up. Light and heater are not required.
2) Live rotifers (reed mariculture is my preferred supplier)
3) A sieving device to capture rotifers
4) Phytoplankton to feed the rotifers. They do not necessarily have to be live.

Fry Setup
1) 5 gallon tank for initial fry setup
2) 10g for grow out later
3) airstone, air pump, heater and basic light.
4) all sides of the tank should be covered in black construction paper or similar to create a darkened effect. This will help the fry sight the rotifers.
5) Slight tinting of the water with phyto

There is a facebook page for clownfish breeding. It seems to get a lot more people than the old MOFIB site. But the mofib site might give you some basic info. Similarly although dated, Joyce Wilkerson's book on Clownfish is still an excellent resource.

I would first try and get the rotifer culture set up before being concerned about whether my clowns are breeding or not. If they are doing the dance you could try feeding more heavily as the bigger my female got the more obvious it became that she was preggo.

After reading all this and you still want to go forward - just reply back. A lot of people just let the eggs hatch and be eaten by the tank.
 
Last edited:
N

nightmarepl

NJRC Member
Hawkeye said:
@MadReefer thanks for the plug. @nightmarepl Sorry for the late reply. Not sure how big the "spot" is where your clowns are resting. Clownfish cannot lay eggs on the bta (e. quadricolor) - so they need a spot either vertically or horizonally near by. The clay pot is an idea as it provides a surface for the female to lay eggs, but also allows you the option to remove the pot for improving fry mortality (i.e. you don't need to catch them when they hatch).

Regarding different species, Judeo has covered it - obviously the same species is ideal, cross breeding can be done... Also please note that a BTA is not the normal host for the two species of clownfish you have, but that should not stop them. I have multiple BTAs and my clownfish didn't seem to have any problems.

I could go on and on but before I do this...what are you going to do with fry? If they do breed they will produce eggs every 14 to 18 days. In order to raise these eggs you must have a suitable live rotifer supply.
Very briefly prior to eggs hatching you will require the following:

Food setup
1) Bucket (i.e. old salt bucket) with saltwater and some type of aeration. Ideally you have two buckets, one as a back up. Light and heater are not required.
2) Live rotifers (reed mariculture is my preferred supplier)
3) A sieving device to capture rotifers
4) Phytoplankton to feed the rotifers. They do not necessarily have to be live.

Fry Setup
1) 5 gallon tank for initial fry setup
2) 10g for grow out later
3) airstone, air pump, heater and basic light.
4) all sides of the tank should be covered in black construction paper or similar to create a darkened effect. This will help the fry sight the rotifers.
5) Slight tinting of the water with phyto

There is a facebook page for clownfish breeding. It seems to get a lot more people than the old MOFIB site. But the mofib site might give you some basic info. Similarly although dated, Joyce Wilkerson's book on Clownfish is still an excellent resource.

I would first try and get the rotifer culture set up before being concerned about whether my clowns are breeding or not. If they are doing the dance you could try feeding more heavily as the bigger my female got the more obvious it became that she was preggo.

After reading all this and you still want to go forward - just reply back. A lot of people just let the eggs hatch and be eaten by the tank.
Click to expand...
Sweet advice man I’ll get the supplies ready before adding the pot i have most of it the rotifers are the only way to feed these little guys?
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

any luck with the pair? From other sources I've learned that rotifers are only needed two days, then afterwards you can try TDO.

I have been getting by with some really old otohime I still had from years gone by. I probably need to up my game and get something else.
 
N

nightmarepl

NJRC Member
Hawkeye said:
any luck with the pair? From other sources I've learned that rotifers are only needed two days, then afterwards you can try TDO.

I have been getting by with some really old otohime I still had from years gone by. I probably need to up my game and get something else.
Click to expand...
nothing yet the dances go by and thats it im upgrading my tank to a 32 which is cycling atm
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top