Clownfish breeding build thread - first go at it

[Mr Cob]

Thought I would share my modest attempt at breeding clownfish.

First... I'm new to this area of reefing. I used to breed cichlids 10 years back and that was simple.. nothing to it. Trying to breed clownfish has taken much more research, time, energy and money. Ok.. maybe not money just yet because I have been trading equipment and coral like nobody's business. 2 MP10's out the door, MP40 out the door, 85g system out the door and more.. not to mention tons of coral gone!

Anyways.. I have the following pairs:

Platinum (f) A. percula x Darwin misbar A. ocellaris (bonded pair ready to spawn) - in a 29g BioCube
Snowflake (f) A. ocellaris x Darwin A. ocellaris (bonded pair, ready to spawn) - in a 30g IM NUVO
Semi-picasso (f) A. percula x Black Ice A. ocellaris (trying to bond) - will be added to my breeder system
(need a percula female) x Semi-picasso (m) A. percula - will be added to my breeder system

Breeder tank I'm working on:
had a piece of black acrylic cut to separate the breeder section on the left into 2 individual sections which make up around 10g of water each and then I decided to keep the right side which is 20g to use as a growout section for clowns past the 1-2month mark.







here is my ghetto rig...big buckets for rotifers and small for clownfish larvae. Plus the rotifer sieve and rotifer floss. If things work out I'll upgrade later. To simplify things I will not culture my own phytoplankton. I ordered RotiGrow Plus and live rotifers from Reed Mariculture and it has been working very well.




_________________
1 year UPDATE 10/2013:



1) Onyx (wild caught) x Premium Onyx Picasso SPAWNING = Onyx Picassos
2) Phantom black snowflake (Sea and Reef) x Buckshot black snowflake (Proaquatix) (have not spawned) = Black Snowflakes
3) Onyx (wild caught) x Premium Snowflake with serious buckshot (SA) SPAWNING = Snow Onyx hybrids
4) White Stripe Maroon x Goldflake maroon SPAWNING = Goldflake maroons (the female will eventually be used for another project we have in mind and pair #7 will be our goldflake producer)
5) Snow Onyx x Premium Picasso (known spawner female) = hybrids (i think these will make black knights)
6) Black Ice x Black Ice (spawners not in cycle) = Black Ice
7) Gold Stripe Maroon x Goldflake Maroon (known spawners) = Goldflakes maroons

[+brian.srock]

Make sure you dim the lights and play some barry. Good luck!

[Aaarrrggg]

Those are some good looking clowns! Can't wait to see those hybrid babies!

[cwilliams]

Was very interested in starting a clown breeding system as well. Thanks for providing a thread on your experience.

[ClarkiiCircus]

Why are you breeding hybrids? (Other than trying to make money...)

[Mr Cob]

Those are some good looking clowns! Can't wait to see those hybrid babies!

Thx! I can't wait!

Was very interested in starting a clown breeding system as well. Thanks for providing a thread on your experience.

Anytime, I pretty much document everything I do..normally on MAAST though...but with comments like the one below from ClarkiiCircue I'm more inclined to stick on MAAST.

Why are you breeding hybrids? (Other than trying to make money...)

For the same reason I think different races can breed.

Let me make it clear in case you were unsure of the intent of this thread. This thread is for the purpose of sharing my experience with breeding clownfish, if you have no interest in that then please find another thread to post on. I do not care to discuss money, politics or hybrid breeding with you. I do however want to share the process of how i'm breeding clownfish, culturing rotifers and rearing larvae.

[(Bio)³]

If your successful with breeding do you plan to select certain ones to become future breeders to make your own line?

[ClarkiiCircus]

Different races and different species are a touch different...last time I checked nobody believed breeding a farm horse to a zebra would be an ok thing to get "cool" looking morphs with unreliable genetic basis, that you can sell for a quick buck. While a horse and a zebra are of the same genus, they are NOT the same species. Just as Amphiprion oscellaris, and Amphiprion percula are not. Breeding different species is not the same as breeding different races, just because they look differently.

Breeding hybrids is equally as irresponsible and detrimental to the hobby and to legitimate breeding, as slicing a living, functioning animal (for example, take an anemone) in two and calling it "fragging" is.

The function of legitimate ornamental breeding is, and should be, focused on maintaining and conserving a species.

[Mr Cob]

As I already stated, I do not care to get into this with you. Start a new thread if you like and discuss your opinions there.

[wesreyn]

Different races and different species are a touch different...last time I checked nobody believed breeding a farm horse to a zebra would be an ok thing to get "cool" looking morphs with unreliable genetic basis, that you can sell for a quick buck. While a horse and a zebra are of the same genus, they are NOT the same species. Just as Amphiprion oscellaris, and Amphiprion percula are not. Breeding different species is not the same as breeding different races, just because they look differently.

Breeding hybrids is equally as irresponsible and detrimental to the hobby and to legitimate breeding, as slicing a living, functioning animal (for example, take an anemone) in two and calling it "fragging" is.

The function of legitimate ornamental breeding is, and should be, focused on maintaining and conserving a species.

Get freaking real. They are pairing and mating on their own. If they were somehow artificially inseminating them, I could see it as irresponsible. If they pair and mate, I would say it is pretty natural. It is hypocritical for you to even say anything about breeding, period. Its not like you are breeding to save a species. If you were, you would be giving yours away.

[Mr Cob]

If your successful with breeding do you plan to select certain ones to become future breeders to make your own line?

I haven't thought that far out yet, just trying to have fun with it all right now. I'm sure if I really get into it I will do some sort of selective breeding. I want to stay away from breeding siblings though.

[ClarkiiCircus]

-

[ClarkiiCircus]

Different races and different species are a touch different...last time I checked nobody believed breeding a farm horse to a zebra would be an ok thing to get "cool" looking morphs with unreliable genetic basis, that you can sell for a quick buck. While a horse and a zebra are of the same genus, they are NOT the same species. Just as Amphiprion oscellaris, and Amphiprion percula are not. Breeding different species is not the same as breeding different races, just because they look differently.

Breeding hybrids is equally as irresponsible and detrimental to the hobby and to legitimate breeding, as slicing a living, functioning animal (for example, take an anemone) in two and calling it "fragging" is.

The function of legitimate ornamental breeding is, and should be, focused on maintaining and conserving a species.

Get freaking real. They are pairing and mating on their own. If they were somehow artificially inseminating them, I could see it as irresponsible. If they pair and mate, I would say it is pretty natural. It is hypocritical for you to even say anything about breeding, period. Its not like you are breeding to save a species. If you were, you would be giving yours away.

LOL. So many things incorrect here... Im not going to waste my time addressing this post.

[Mr Cob]

... Im not going to waste my time addressing this post.

thx

[(Bio)³]

If your successful with breeding do you plan to select certain ones to become future breeders to make your own line?

I haven't thought that far out yet, just trying to have fun with it all right now. I'm sure if I really get into it I will do some sort of selective breeding. I want to stay away from breeding siblings though.

Fair enough, if you make it down that route what will happen to the unlucky fish during the selection time? Will you be giving away the unwanted clowns or do you plan to just cull out the unwanted ones like most ornamental breeders?

[Mr Cob]

I will give them away with the agreement that they can never be sold or bred. I cannot knowingly kill any fish... regardless of the reasoning.

[+Mlaw]

Mr Cob,

Don't let the heat you are getting on this keep you from updating us on your progress. Lot's of people have opinions on this topic ( I do) but just as many of us are interested in your results.

If you decide you need to rehome some little clowns let me know!

[Mr Cob]

Thanks for posting, appreciate the support.

At the moment I'm waiting on a custom stand that I ordered through a LFS on store credit. Nothing fancy but I did want to make sure it was 40" tall to keep the fish out of reach of our little ones we have a few, lol

[wesreyn]

Mr Cob,

Don't let the heat you are getting on this keep you from updating us on your progress. Lot's of people have opinions on this topic ( I do) but just as many of us are interested in your results.

If you decide you need to rehome some little clowns let me know!

Me too. I love my platinum and naked. I was hoping they would pair up but they have been together for about 6 months and still sleep in separate places. I would love to get into breeding someday when I have more time.

[victoly]

[Mr Cob]

Mr Cob,

Don't let the heat you are getting on this keep you from updating us on your progress. Lot's of people have opinions on this topic ( I do) but just as many of us are interested in your results.

If you decide you need to rehome some little clowns let me know!

Me too. I love my platinum and naked. I was hoping they would pair up but they have been together for about 6 months and still sleep in separate places. I would love to get into breeding someday when I have more time.

I found that using holding containers in the same tank that they are currently in helps to make that bond. My platinum used to sleep in the corner while the darwin would sleep in the RBTA. The platinum is the female. Putting them in a holding container for a day or two every other week can help to encourage a better bond.

Check it out... I took two net breeders and sealed them together and removed the flooring of the top one to make one container:

Here's another container idea... took a plastic crate and ziptied mesh around it:

just some cheap ideas to get a quick holding container together

[wesreyn]

BTW, I had a black ice pair about 3 years ago when they first came out. I had them about a year before I had a accident with my hand in a table saw and spent 8 days in the hospital. I came home to a crashed tank and dead fish. My mom and aunt was supposed to be taking care of the tank. I really loved those guys and they were the prettiest clowns I've ever had.

[Mr Cob]

Yeah, the black ice clowns are my favorite. The male I have is very pretty. I'm curious what will come out of the black ice and semi-picasso pair. I also have the snowflake and darwin pair which is the known pair to yield black ice. I'm most excited about that pair and the snowflake female is huge so I should get a nice nest from her when she gets to it. Sorry about your accident and pair, that's sad.

[Mr Cob]

I finally took some time to get a few pics of the rotifer culture. I kept the culture that I got from Reed Mariculture in the fridge (laying flat on a towel, towel is porous allowing the bag to breath) for about a week and a half. The majority of the culture died off which was evident in the smelly water. BUT..enough lived to keep the culture going.

The first day I only had about 1 or 2 rotifers per ml, and a week later I'm up to about 10/ml. I believe I need to be at a density of around 15 rotifers per ml in order to feed clownfish larvae.

Other recommended numbers that I found in case you are curious:

SG: 1.007-1.014 (I'm at 1.020, I have no idea if this will be a problem)

Temp: 68-88 (I'm at 74, or same as house temp, not running a heater)

PH: 8 is best (7.2low-9high - no idea where I'm at)

Feeding: I'm feeding 4ml of RotiGrow per day for a 5g bucket (I started at 2ml and raised it up to 4ml, I believe I will stay at 4ml)

Some pics..

I cut a hole in the top of the bucket to hang some floss. Just used some fishing line, an acrylic tube and a weight at the end to keep the floss hanging in the water.

[Mr Cob]

Found a little more about why it is recommended to keep Rotifers at a lower SG.. they reproduce faster, but there should not be more than a 0.007 swing from culture tank to larvae tank otherwise they go into shock and sink to the bottom. So.. I think my specific gravity of 1.020 will be fine as long as I'm maintaining the density that I need.

Link for more information:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/9/breeder