Caught 6 baby percs so far...

[Hawkeye]

Ah....2 more dead today. I don't know if they were just messed up by the light or lack of eating. One of my rotifer cultures appears to have crashed - the 3 brine shrimp all dead /MIA in there. I read in wilkerson's book an adult brine shrimp is like a canary in the mine for the culture.

I am using a second culture to re-start the first one.

So the first day 10 % loss. Day 2 20% loss. Day 3...? hopefully none!

I am now back to 6 percs (as per the thread title).

I told my wife if I lose all of them - it will be sad but I am enjoying trying to keep them alive. It's definitely a challenge.

Here's the dead perc:

Here it is next to a penny for scale:

 

[Phyl]

Nagel (now there's a name from the past) used to keep black paper on the sides of the tank walls to prevent light from approaching the tank from the side. This apparently increased survivors. That's about all I remember, but if you search for nagels threads here you may find something worth reading.

 

[Hawkeye]

Nagel (now there's a name from the past) used to keep black paper on the sides of the tank walls to prevent light from approaching the tank from the side. This apparently increased survivors. That's about all I remember, but if you search for nagels threads here you may find something worth reading.

yep - done that. The remaining fish appear to sight the food fine. Just not sure what exactly caused the death of the two. They were thin though and swimming down into the bottom - hence my theory that the light above shocked them to death this morning. Or maybe they ate too many thin rotifers from the bad culture. I just hope the rest are ok.

 

[JRWOHLER]

I am sure in nature the death rate is over 90% ... but don't know what percent is considered good for CB...still you are doing pretty good IMHO.

 

[Hawkeye]

One more dead this morning. I think the co-culturing is not the right move.

I finally got the rotifer sieve, decap'd brine shrimp today. Great packaging by brineshrimpdirect. Will post a separate thread on that.

The ammonia badge is starting to show some ammonia. I did a partial water change - maybe 10%. I might do another if the badge remains light green. It's hard to tell because the water itself is tinged green due to the co-culturing.

 

[Hawkeye]

So I ended up doing a 50~80% water change in a panic....and everyone survived! The 5 fish that remain appear to be eating and growing. I am having some problems with the standard flurescent/no fixture on the 10 gallon tank - it is TOO bright and causing disorientation. Will note this for future to get a dimmer light or move it higher.

The bc29 may never be used for grow out since the 10G is plenty big for 5 clowns. Right now the bc29 has got like 3 gallons of about 10,000 brine shrimp....lol. In about 8 days they will be adult sized and ready for some major feasting.

 

[SWITCH420]

cool deal so 5 alive and swimming. would the baby percs.eat blackworms if so i can give u some

 

[Hawkeye]

thanks for the offer but blackworms are too big for the babies.

Right now 5 are still alive. Today is day 11.

I am not on the schedule that is in the book. Apparently the clowns didn't read the book.
1 clown has gotten thru metamorphosis and actually looks like a teeny tiny clown. It has claimed the heater as it's home.

Another has gotten the telltale waggle of the clownfish tail swim. The other 3 are runts and still remain in larvae form. I am a little concerned since the undernourished bodies tells me they may not survive the stress of metamorphosis.

I am still hatching brine shrimp like a mad man.

 

[Phyl]

Have you considered emailing Randy Reed to see what he suggests to up the nutrtion to the clownfish? I can reach out to him if you think that may be of benefit...

 

[mnat]

Are you fortifying the baby brine with anything (vitamin c, brightwells amino, etc.)?

 

[Hawkeye]

Are you fortifying the baby brine with anything (vitamin c, brightwells amino, etc.)?

Nope. One Hour old /Day old artemia have no mouth. So they cannot ingest the selcon/vit c. I could bathe them in the stuff and perhaps the clowns will eat them. As the artemia mature - they lose some fat but gain protein and develop the mouth for filter feeding.

I am leary of messing with additives as the larva water could foul.

Have you considered emailing Randy Reed to see what he suggests to up the nutrtion to the clownfish? I can reach out to him if you think that may be of benefit...

with only 5 babies - I don't think that is necessary. Maybe the next batch when I have a hundred...

 

[Tazmaniancowboy]

Glad to hear they are still around Hawkeye, Keep trying don't give up. This is pretty cool to hear.

Taz

 

[Dave]

Have you considered adding some pulverized flake food?

 

[Hawkeye]

Have you considered adding some pulverized flake food?

I read that you can try this at day 4 - but the tank is so "big" relative to the fish that I feel that the flakes would just go straight to the bottom and foul the tank.

I won't risk it until they make it past meta and are maybe 15 days or 20 days old at least.