trying my hand at breeding clowns

[Clownfish Depot]

Not sure but fish are not eating I might be over feeding but I don't see them eating

How many times a day are you feeding?

 

[frezel]

At first they ate and first day was fine, second day I noticed it slow down by day 3 and 4 they seemed anoyedd by the food, hey would not eat they just let the food bounce off their head or sink to bottom, well needless.to.say I lost 3 pairs and have one left, water quality is good so I dunno maybe stress of move not sure, the last set of clowns are doing great a osc and a Darwin pair but the Darwin is a baby like 8 months old and osc is like 5 years so.it will be awhile before I have babies. I will officially say breeding is not for me. I wish it was it seems like such an awesome experience , but I have learned if.someone doesn't help oh the experience sometimes is not as great as you learn mistakes he hard way

 

[Clownfish Depot]

Hey Filip
I am sorry to hear about your losses
Do you have any idea of why they passed? Sounds like you said you checked all your water parameters, so maybe the fish were sick. Did the fish look "normal"?
Do you have any pics of them before of after they passed?

Don't get discouraged. The hardest part, at first, of trying to breeding clownfish is waiting for your fish to actually lay eggs. I can be frustrating some times, so that's why it's important to start with quality fish that are already breeding or close to breeding age. We like to see results from all the preparation we are doing for the clowns and its frustrating when nothing but bad things happen.

My advice to start would be to get just get 1 breeding pair of clownfish and keep them in a controlled environment with pristine water parameters. You should be able to find a regular occ or Perc breeding pair for $200-$250. Feed them well and often and they should start laying eggs in a short time. You can get a lot of practice with them and then if you see that you enjoy it you can expand and get more pairs. Remember just 1 reliable breeding pair should lay a nest every 10-14 days so that's 2 nest a month if you collect them all. You will need a new separate 10g tank fry tank for every nest you collect. Over the course of 6mths you could have twelve 10g tanks going before your first batch of clowns would be ready for a new home.
A lot of people don't have the space for that so just imagine if you have 3 or 4 active breeding pairs. You would need a warehouse over the course of 1 year.
So, please don't give up. Just regroup, take it slow, and I am sure you will get recharged enjoy the experience. Please let me know if you have any questions

Thanks
Brian

 

[frezel]

Thanks Brian, maybe I need to regroup my system. I have a 40 with hanging filtration, maybe I should plumb a setup with a sump and seperate holding tanks. I feel badly putting clowns in a 10 gallon tank, is that what everyone uses or they do 20 gallons, I have an ato system I could put on the tank but I was adding water everyday and checkig salinty frequently. Maybe I should setup 2 x 10 gallon tanks and plumb it into my sump, cycle tank wih test fish etc, but i know tank was cyciling for awhile and parameters were good. I dunno thanks for the encouragment, maybe ill revamp.

 

[Clownfish Depot]

Don't feel bad about putting the clowns in a 10g tank. They like the feeling of being safe and secure in their own little "corner of the world"

Most breeders I know keep their brewing pairs in 10g or similar size tanks, but they have a few to as many as you have space for, tied into a main sump/filteration system.
Even in huge reef tanks clowns usually stay in one section.
In regards to your tank, I would get it drilled an tie it into a sump. If that's not possible right now then get some sponge filters and seed them in your reef tanks sump for a few days to help with the cycle in the new tank plus you can move over some LR too and get some bioballs and a protein skimmer. Just take it in steps. You will be fine

 

[frezel]

My tank was cycles with rock from my 15 year reef , I still don't get where I went wrong, doesn't make sense. I'm gonna try plumbing my tank to my main system. Give it another whirl I guess. Just stinks man I have fish older then my kids in my main tank I have a 15 year old osc in there now. Maybe ill get myself up and running and buy some older fish from you for your help. ill put.together a list of questions ill pm ya , feel free to answer at your convience thanks again

 

[Clownfish Depot]

Yeah you can plum a 10g tank or 2 to your main system to house your clown pairs you want to breed, but you won't be able to keep the pairs at the ideal temperature.
I will look for your PM. I am in NY now dropping off a few pairs of fish, but I will answer as soon as I can

 

[RobbReef]

Tagging along.

 

[frezel]

What are ideal temps 85 and st of 1.020?

 

[frezel]

so today i went and got myself 5 x 10 gallon tanks, i think i will use 3 for broodstock and the other 2 for fry or fry and rotifers. i plan on plumbing 2 x 40 breeders into system one will be the sump and the other will be the growout. for now they will have to share a sump and when i grow i plan on having broodstock one one and growout on another seperate sump.

 

[frezel]

thanks, been sketching my layout i plan to build it soon stay tuned for the build

 

[frezel]

sad day today, my clownfish of 16 years died today, for the past few days he has not seemed right. i will say he has been in tank by herself for years never had a partner and about 2 weeks ago i introduced a clownfish to see if they would pair. my fish chased the other one and bite up his fins, then something weird the face on my clown got bigger as if she was growing overnight, her whole body starting morphong it was weird , for 16 years she stayed small and sleek. do you think she was really an it and started to chamge into a girl towards the end? and the age and event killed her, or maybe just coincedent? and age really did her in. water parameters unchanged

 

[Just Clownin Around]

sounds like whoever you bought your new fish from had a bad bacteria or protozal infection and it attacked your fish. hopefully you qt'd the fish before putting it in your setup

 

[temper76]

What up frezel ,I found a new book on how to breed and raise clownfishes it could answered a lot of questions you might have in the future I spoke to the guy that wrote the book n let me tell you in 30 minutes he answered a lot of questions I had this guy most def knows his stuff the name of the dudes book is call ( CLOwnfiSh 411)

 

[oceancube]

^^^^anybody bought this book that will give a review?I really want to purchase but want to make sure it's worth the $30 price tag..

 

[frezel]

What up frezel ,I found a new book on how to breed and raise clownfishes it could answered a lot of questions you might have in the future I spoke to the guy that wrote the book n let me tell you in 30 minutes he answered a lot of questions I had this guy most def knows his stuff the name of the dudes book is call ( CLOwnfiSh 411)

30 bucks for a book is cheap. thanks for the heads up

 

[frezel]

kinda excited i order all the plumbing parts , bulkheads, etc, bought a new panworld pump and loc line hoping to get started

 

[CALI DIPPIN]

I got a book on breeding i could sell for $20 ? Its a aquarium handbook from beginner to breeder

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Eienna]

Nice tank. That pinkish-orangish coral on the upper left in the first picture...what is it?

 

[Eienna]

Sorry to hear about your clown. It sounds like you were very attached to it.