-
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.
Hawkeye's AGA 120
- Thread starter Hawkeye
- Start date
You are in a catch 22 with those lights, great money savers but you are scared to adjust them to get what you want looks wise. I sorta feel like at this point if you are considering replacing give the adjustment a shot and if you have to replace them at least you will have a reason.
Can you run the output of the skimmer back to the start of the sump? That is what I do to keep the circulation going through the fuge, since I stole the splitting return from you I run part though the reactor and back through the sump.
Good job dad on the clowns.
Can you run the output of the skimmer back to the start of the sump? That is what I do to keep the circulation going through the fuge, since I stole the splitting return from you I run part though the reactor and back through the sump.
Good job dad on the clowns.
wow - i neglected this thread while i was busy padding the clownfish log. ;D
First batch - remains at 5. I'm really proud of them - they are looking great in the bc29.
Second batch - this has been a catastrophe. I went from 17 post meta to now 7 left - huddled together in a 5g hex.
third batch - for the first time, I think they actually ate ALL the rotifers I gave them. I had to dose two more batches of rotifers.
Here's a pic of the 3rd batch: this is at 2 days old:
2nd day batch - one of the last pics I have of all of them alive like that: :'(
Let me talk equipment for a sec. My tunze ATO has been running great but I've been sloppy doing water changes and accidentally got salt water on the terminal strip connector. It got so bad the ATO wouldn't properly connect.
Anyways - a quick trip to Radio shack (model 274-680) and $3 later - fixed. If anyone needs the part - let me know. I'll sell it to you for a quarter! lol.
Finally - i had originally had planned to do a Sea horse tank with non-photosynthetic gorgs and sun corals. unfortunately I never got to that because of the clown breeding. But I still have a sun coral. Looking good in the sump! lol.
First batch - remains at 5. I'm really proud of them - they are looking great in the bc29.
Second batch - this has been a catastrophe. I went from 17 post meta to now 7 left - huddled together in a 5g hex.
third batch - for the first time, I think they actually ate ALL the rotifers I gave them. I had to dose two more batches of rotifers.
Here's a pic of the 3rd batch: this is at 2 days old:
2nd day batch - one of the last pics I have of all of them alive like that: :'(
Let me talk equipment for a sec. My tunze ATO has been running great but I've been sloppy doing water changes and accidentally got salt water on the terminal strip connector. It got so bad the ATO wouldn't properly connect.
Anyways - a quick trip to Radio shack (model 274-680) and $3 later - fixed. If anyone needs the part - let me know. I'll sell it to you for a quarter! lol.
Finally - i had originally had planned to do a Sea horse tank with non-photosynthetic gorgs and sun corals. unfortunately I never got to that because of the clown breeding. But I still have a sun coral. Looking good in the sump! lol.
JRWOHLER said:
JR - you should stop by one night when you are on your way in to practice. I assume the knee is well enough now to work out. 40% more - you are too funny. Yeah well that sounds good except I was like at 300% more before!
I ran into a problem on wednesday. I had a long day at work and didn't get back until late and the brine shrimp hatchery I set up had tipped over again spilling it's contents into my sump. Not worried about the display - but those shrimp were needed for batches 2 and 3. So I quickly set up a new batch and fed them today. I will probably stay home tomorrow and monitor this closely as the introduction of brine shrimp results in stress during the metamorphisis period.
I was able to order some more Rotifer Diet thru OGII. Brian was really great to assist. Overnighted, then at a great price. Great transaction all around.
Thanks bax - honestly it's been more trial and error then anything special i'm doing. I would love to be able to help others who have egg-laying clowns to try this. If only so that we could become net-contributors to the hobby rather than the usual (enter hobby, take wild-caught percs out of ocean).Baxreefs said:
Phil, finding this thread for the first time. While I admit I didn't read every post completely because I'm at work and don't have the time, I skimmed through pretty good.
I have to agree with Bax on the point about having at least some survive in every batch. It seems like you are continually learning from your experiences and looks like you will become pretty effective at breeding them very soon.
Just keep in mind that nature is full of unknown variables and "life" itself is a mystery. Sometimes you just have to accept that luck plays a big part in the success of breeding. There are probably many things going on in the life cycle that we aren't even aware of, or can control at all. Simple genetics could very well be at play and not necessarily just the environment you are creating for your hatchery. Laws of Nature, Survival of the Fittest, and all that jazz...
Anyway, keep up the good work. I'll be sure to follow along with your updates!
I have to agree with Bax on the point about having at least some survive in every batch. It seems like you are continually learning from your experiences and looks like you will become pretty effective at breeding them very soon.
Just keep in mind that nature is full of unknown variables and "life" itself is a mystery. Sometimes you just have to accept that luck plays a big part in the success of breeding. There are probably many things going on in the life cycle that we aren't even aware of, or can control at all. Simple genetics could very well be at play and not necessarily just the environment you are creating for your hatchery. Laws of Nature, Survival of the Fittest, and all that jazz...
Anyway, keep up the good work. I'll be sure to follow along with your updates!
no worries - i'll probably update this once a month - if that. Updates are all going into the clownfish log. That alone is taking a lot more time than i ever anticipated.
Today - most of the batch 3 babies have sunk to the bottom. They look dead - but I know they are going thru metamorphosis. It's a weird stage where they are stressed - but come out looking orange clownfish instead of these ugly black things now.
Today - most of the batch 3 babies have sunk to the bottom. They look dead - but I know they are going thru metamorphosis. It's a weird stage where they are stressed - but come out looking orange clownfish instead of these ugly black things now.
Gotcha. Maybe I should just keep tabs on the clownfish log instead then. 
Would love to see pics of the metamorphosis stage.
Would love to see pics of the metamorphosis stage.
Nothing new - unless you want to know that i am still battling bryopsis. I've fallen completely off pace with water changes. Focus has been all on the baby clownfish and their water changes.
The only thing interesting is that the clowns have started laying eggs again. This last batch was laid on 3/21 and should hatch around 3/29 or so.
I placed two 90 day old clowns in the main display in a box to see how the mommy would react. She seemed "ok" with it then yesterday both of them somehow escaped the box. I was able to recover one but not before I saw the female clown chase after it. It almost looked like she tried to bit the little guy but I think it was more of a "i am the boss" display then actual damage. I couldn't find the second clown.
I waited until lights out and sure enough it came out. I think it was hiding behind the magnet of the wavebox. Big sigh of relief because I was checking the sump/cheato/skimmer/ everywhere.
Anyways I re-jigged the box to prevent further escapes. I think if i ever decide to add the babies back into the display - it will be like 20 of them...not 2.
The only thing interesting is that the clowns have started laying eggs again. This last batch was laid on 3/21 and should hatch around 3/29 or so.
I placed two 90 day old clowns in the main display in a box to see how the mommy would react. She seemed "ok" with it then yesterday both of them somehow escaped the box. I was able to recover one but not before I saw the female clown chase after it. It almost looked like she tried to bit the little guy but I think it was more of a "i am the boss" display then actual damage. I couldn't find the second clown.
I waited until lights out and sure enough it came out. I think it was hiding behind the magnet of the wavebox. Big sigh of relief because I was checking the sump/cheato/skimmer/ everywhere.
Anyways I re-jigged the box to prevent further escapes. I think if i ever decide to add the babies back into the display - it will be like 20 of them...not 2.
Have you super-dosed Mag (sorry if I've missed that bit)? I know Brian battled it until he blacked out the tank for a few months! His LPS and clams did fine with actinics only during the "blackout". Good luck with the Bryopsis.
Good luck with the new clutch!
Good luck with the new clutch!
i've got some SPS that I picked up from napoli's tank that has been going great - i'd hate to see it suffer if i shut the lights too long - but that is definitely a step I will take.
on the mag - lets just say i've used 2 gallons already. I am using another technique of dosing the mag directly into the bryop/root structure. Time will tell if that concentrated blast in their vicinity will work or not. That was tip'd to me via pm. Hopefully (fingers crossed) it works. I noticed the majority of the stuff is growing off the fake rock I bought from Seazen - one of the vendors from Frag Swap 08. Hopefully there is no connection.
More than likely i need to control my nutrients/phosphates better - but my husbandry has been horrid since i've been raising clowns. The main display has taken a back seat for sure. :
on the mag - lets just say i've used 2 gallons already. I am using another technique of dosing the mag directly into the bryop/root structure. Time will tell if that concentrated blast in their vicinity will work or not. That was tip'd to me via pm. Hopefully (fingers crossed) it works. I noticed the majority of the stuff is growing off the fake rock I bought from Seazen - one of the vendors from Frag Swap 08. Hopefully there is no connection.
More than likely i need to control my nutrients/phosphates better - but my husbandry has been horrid since i've been raising clowns. The main display has taken a back seat for sure. :
So - note to everyone - 90 day old clownfish are not welcome by their mommy.
Here you see a pair of 90 day old clowns in a specimen container. I thought - they were too big to fit thru the small holes ( you can see one on the upper right). But of course both slipped out one night after being in there for a week. Oh and in the background you can see my bloated fat yellow coris wrasse. : Crayon and PA scraper included in the pic for scale.
So because they escaped I got to see them interact with mommy and she was not pleased. I swore if they were smaller she might have swallowed them. The poor little guys went hiding. It was sheer luck I was able to get them again.
So now they are in this container:
Finally - ever wonder what a bunch of baby clowns bunched up together looks like? Here are some 2 month old ones huddling up. Supposedly they do not do this in the wild - only in captive raised tanks:
Here you see a pair of 90 day old clowns in a specimen container. I thought - they were too big to fit thru the small holes ( you can see one on the upper right). But of course both slipped out one night after being in there for a week. Oh and in the background you can see my bloated fat yellow coris wrasse. :
Crayon and PA scraper included in the pic for scale.
So because they escaped I got to see them interact with mommy and she was not pleased. I swore if they were smaller she might have swallowed them. The poor little guys went hiding. It was sheer luck I was able to get them again.
So now they are in this container:
Finally - ever wonder what a bunch of baby clowns bunched up together looks like? Here are some 2 month old ones huddling up. Supposedly they do not do this in the wild - only in captive raised tanks:
I still can't get over how cute those lil guys are though!