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ACampbell

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Just wanted to write an update about some of my recent set backs.

Firstly, my phyto culture was doing great! It turned a very dark green and was doing good until after the first split. A week after the split it crashed. This seems to be a theme for anyone who has started a culture from DT's. I need to go back to square one and order some real starter disc. Im going to pick up some real fertilizer too. Right now I have been feeding the rotifers from a new DT bottle, which is crazy expensive. The rotifers consume much more green water than what you would expect. They are pigs. They would happily consume two liters a day if you would give it to them. Everyday they multiply by 7, so I have been harvesting them and feeding them to the main tank.

Secondly, The clown eggs have been disappearing on day 5 or 6. This is extremely frustrating. The regular amount of time before they hatch is 8 days. I am totally stumped. Some have suggested that the parents will eat the clutch if they have protein deficiency. This could be the case, but I have been feeding a cube of mini mysis everyday for the past several weeks. Anyone have any ideas on this?

Lastly. I have a book recommendation for anyone thinking about trying to raise clownfish. Clownfish by Joyce D. Wilkerson. It is great! Has ton a useful information about rearing as well as info on clowns in the wild.

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That would probably be the smarter/cheaper solution than what I'm doing with my RO setup. I have a solenoid connected to my RO feed line which opens when the float valves detect the water is low in my RO storage container. Of course,, my system isn't very fail-safe, uses electricity near water, and cost me $20 for the solenoid and $40 for the float valves, relay, etc. You're so much smarter than me!

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Andrew,

Are you separating the eggs from the parents? I don't know much about clown fish rearing, but we did breed and raise guppies a while back for fun. You might find what we did useful.

We had the female guppies in a hexagon tank and divided the top and bottom using a plastic netting. When the guppies where born they would sink to the bottom. The females, which typically eat their young, could not get to the babies through the netting. I believe the netting was made from a cross-stitching sheet (my girlfriend has them and I think she got them from Micheal's). We cut the sheet with sizzors; and we attached the sheet with suction cups to the sides of the tank. We also put some fake plants in to act as hiding places for the babies.

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might be a good idea to remove the eggs to the rearing tank. You will need to put a slow current of air bubbles close to them. try and get the parameters in both tanks as close as possible before making the transfer. Maybe drip acclimate as well.

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If you go the two tank route you might do it with a water change. Make the acclimation easier by taking water from original tank like a water change. Use the water from the original tank to make up 50% of the water in the new tank/container. Then go one step further by acclimating the new guys with a drip acclimation.

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This is way different from mollies. The two tank method is the only way. It is not possible to rear them in the main tank. I have taken 100 percent of the water I need for the rearing tank when I harvest the eggs. Last time I harvested very early because I knew the clutch would be destroyed by the parents. I managed to hatch several out by putting the frag plug that the eggs were laid on, above a bubble stone in the rearing tank to keep them well oxygenated and free from bacteria. I have hatched out my first clownfish with a egg development time of 9 days (milestone!). Now if I can just figure out why to parents are destroying eggs, I can move on to the next set of challenges.

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  • 4 months later...

Well my bubble coral was getting huge! I'm talking the size of a basketball, and in a small 34 gallon aquarium, that is just not cool. I have thought about fragging this coral for some time, but never knew exactly how I might approach it. With all the fleshy part it seems like it would be a bit more work than say breaking a sps coral. I thought that running it through a table saw was probably best, but I don't own one.

Last Friday the bubble corals neighbor, a RBTA, up and walked away, which was the last straw for me. See here and then here.

I decided I would attempt to saw this guy in half with my mini hack saw. It worked out perfectly! Check out these photos:

Bubble coral before the fragging:

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Tools used:

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The cutting process took me about 15 minutes:

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And viola! Two bubble corals:

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