Clownfish Spawn 2.0

mickeysreef <*))))< · May 13, 2020

OK so my first clownfish roe (i believe this is the correct name - feel free to correct me if i am wrong) was a bust. live and learn. I had the wrong food and failed to use the sponge filter I already had. So fast forward exactly 3 weeks later and second set of roe is about to hatch. I still do not have the right food. I ordered monday with overnight but the rotifers will be here tomorrow. i believe that some will hatch tonight but maybe not as I just moved the pot and i probably disturbed the process and delayed it another day.

mickeysreef <*))))< · May 13, 2020

so this is my fry jar

painted it black. had planned to paint the bottom white but ran out of time. just sitting on blank printer paper for now.

left a viewing strip with temperature monitoring system

bit of light gets through the bottom... not a bad thing

cover painted black too. I think you can make out the pot in there. lots and lots of silver eyes in there.

so I believe they eat their yolk for the first 24 hours and my rotifers are scheduled to be here by 1030am tomorrow. will post pictures of my attempt to begin a culture

Ezve · May 14, 2020

Looks amazing. Good luck

Hockeynut · May 14, 2020

Looks good, what will you use to maintain temp

mickeysreef <*))))< · May 14, 2020

Hockeynut said:
Looks good, what will you use to maintain temp

ive got a 100 watt adjustable heater in there

mickeysreef <*))))< · May 14, 2020

yes I see fry swimming in there

mickeysreef <*))))< · May 14, 2020

mickeysreef <*))))< · May 15, 2020

I still have fry that are alive. my 3 gallon jug did crack on the bottom and start leaking. so I moved them into a 5 gallon bucket wrapped with a blanket

meanwhile I can't see any rotifers... I have them in another 5 gallon bucket with greenwater and I see a lot of little flicks in there with a light but I don't see anything when I strain it through a coffee filter. the coffee filter does stop flowing after just a little so I empty that into the fry tank.

Hawkeye · May 17, 2020

mickey said:
meanwhile I can't see any rotifers... I have them in another 5 gallon bucket with greenwater and I see a lot of little flicks in there with a light but I don't see anything when I strain it through a coffee filter. the coffee filter does stop flowing after just a little so I empty that into the fry tank.

it's possible the density isn't very high yet. The bags you have bought there will be good seed material - but not sure if you can harvest them already. As the rotifers reproduce/grow - they will start to leave a little detritus along the bottom and sides of the bucket. You will have to occasionally swap buckets to clean it. One thing that is argued a lot is whether to have the rotifer water "boiling" or a gentle air. I went with gentle to moderate. I read or heard at a meeting that if the water is too turbulent, it strips the eggs off the rotifers increasing mortality and reducing their ability to reproduce. However that meeting was like 10 years ago and the folks on the "internet" swear that a boiling cauldron is no issue. There is at least one guy on this board that breeds clowns and I'm sure could chime in. I did breed clowns as a challenge but no where near as professional as some other set ups are.

mickeysreef <*))))< · May 17, 2020

Hawkeye said:
it's possible the density isn't very high yet. The bags you have bought there will be good seed material - but not sure if you can harvest them already. As the rotifers reproduce/grow - they will start to leave a little detritus along the bottom and sides of the bucket. You will have to occasionally swap buckets to clean it. One thing that is argued a lot is whether to have the rotifer water "boiling" or a gentle air. I went with gentle to moderate. I read or heard at a meeting that if the water is too turbulent, it strips the eggs off the rotifers increasing mortality and reducing their ability to reproduce. However that meeting was like 10 years ago and the folks on the "internet" swear that a boiling cauldron is no issue. There is at least one guy on this board that breeds clowns and I'm sure could chime in. I did breed clowns as a challenge but no where near as professional as some other set ups are.

I have the water bubbling pretty good and the rotifer density is definitely up. I forgot to plug in the heater and all the fry died save one or two. it could have also been lack of rotifers.

I'm hoping for big success with the next fry, there were at least 75+ in this last one. I'm going to set something up more permanent soon.

Hawkeye · May 18, 2020

mickey said:
I forgot to plug in the heater and all the fry died save one or two. it could have also been lack of rotifers.

For what it's worth I would tint the rotifer water more. When it gets to that color (in your pic) it means they are eating and need more food.

mickeysreef <*))))< · May 18, 2020

i dont think im making plankton fast enough

Hawkeye · May 20, 2020

mickey said:
i dont think im making plankton fast enough

rotifers are not picky - they will eat dead plankton. I forget what I used before but I purchased some phyto/rotifier diet in a bottle form at the local fish store (before lockdown). Otherwise you could buy live phyto online. costs start to add up quick though.

mickeysreef <*))))< · May 20, 2020

Hawkeye said:
rotifers are not picky - they will eat dead plankton. I forget what I used before but I purchased some phyto/rotifier diet in a bottle form at the local fish store (before lockdown). Otherwise you could buy live phyto online. costs start to add up quick though.

I'm getting there. I'm at 2 buckets of rotifers. I think I was feeding them too much because the water turned brown in one bucket. I did a double harvest on that one. the other bucket is a respectable green.

the phytoplankton is a bit harder to grow but I'll going to try feeding the rotifers 32 oz a day so it should catch up soon.