How I successfully raised baby clownfish

[Kristopher Conlin]

?... I have another hatch laid on a pot, I'm going to transfer the pot to a tank I have prepared for the hatchlings... I feel 90% confident they will hatch tonight. If they do not, should I put them back in with the parents the next morning or should I leave them in the hatch tank w/ the airstone?

ps... follow up I have one baby clown still swimming around from the harvest I used the pipe contraption to extract them... so... success... I don't know. will keep you posted if I can keep it alive

As long as the air stone is giving the eggs good movement I don't see a reason to put them back in the parents tank.

That's cool you still have a baby left from the first batch! I hope you can raise it to be an adult! What are you doing for food when the fry hatch? Did you go with a rotifer culture? Definitely keep me updated on your progress!

 

[danenelsen]

Great post and read! Thanks for sharing! How long were your clowns together before they laid eggs?

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

Great post and read! Thanks for sharing! How long were your clowns together before they laid eggs?

They were already paired when I got them. And they were together in the aquarium for 4 years before they started laying eggs.

 

[jmichaelh7]

Leave them

Did u find issues with predators asterina and bristle worms trying feed on larvae

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

Leave them

Did u find issues with predators asterina and bristle worms trying feed on larvae

I didn't personally. Luckily I don't have asterinas or bristle worms in that aquarium.

 

[Spicy Reef]

As long as the air stone is giving the eggs good movement I don't see a reason to put them back in the parents tank.

That's cool you still have a baby left from the first batch! I hope you can raise it to be an adult! What are you doing for food when the fry hatch? Did you go with a rotifer culture? Definitely keep me updated on your progress!

Yep, I have 3 buckets of rots now... I also have the TDO breeder pack from Reef Nutrition. Will do
Thanks for your help!!!

 

[Reefing Qs]

Love the info here, thank you for putting it together and everyone for their own experiences!

I have one question: What do you do with the clownfish babies once they're reared? Sell them to LFS or trade for credit? Give them away to good homes?

My clowns are spawning and I'm torn between trying to raise them or not, but I still have no idea what I'd do with them if I raised them!

 

[jmichaelh7]

Love the info here, thank you for putting it together and everyone for their own experiences!

I have one question: What do you do with the clownfish babies once they're reared? Sell them to LFS or trade for credit? Give them away to good homes?

My clowns are spawning and I'm torn between trying to raise them or not, but I still have no idea what I'd do with them if I raised them!

Give them a fighting chance and try to raise them! Lol that’s what I am doing.

if your lucky and you get 100s of baby clowns past day 15 , please post. That’s incredible

 

[Reefing Qs]

Give them a fighting chance and try to raise them! Lol that’s what I am doing.

if your lucky and you get 100s of baby clowns past day 15 , please post. That’s incredible

I mean if anyone successfully raises the fry after hatching, what do they end up doing with the potential 10s or 100s of baby clownfish?

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

I mean if anyone successfully raises the fry after hatching, what do they end up doing with the potential 10s or 100s of baby clownfish?

You could contact some local fish stores and see if any want to buy them. Or you could try to sell them yourself here on the Reef2Reef marketplace or a local forum.

 

[Spicy Reef]

Update...
Continuing my string of bad luck… the single fry never made it past meta. the next batch laid in a pot I pulled too early only 3 hatched I added rots and micro algae, the green killed the eggs they all turned white w/in hours. The next batch in a pot a nem moved in on day 9 I was going to pull it that night, the nem killed all the eggs....

my question is what are you all using for green tinting? Thanks

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

Update...
Continuing my string of bad luck… the single fry never made it past meta. the next batch laid in a pot I pulled too early only 3 hatched I added rots and micro algae, the green killed the eggs they all turned white w/in hours. The next batch in a pot a nem moved in on day 9 I was going to pull it that night, the nem killed all the eggs....

my question is what are you all using for green tinting? Thanks

I was using the rotigreen omega that came with the reef nutrition breeder pack. I would occasionally add it to my rotifers culture as well and it seemed help them multiply rapidly.

 

[SGV - Bluestar]

How long you had your clown before they started to breed?

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

How long you had your clown before they started to breed?

About 4 years. Females are ready to breed at 2 years and males can breed as early as 6 months however it is also depends on how safe the clowns feel and food availability as well.

 

[Eldritch_blast]

What a great thread, thanks for doin it!

My clowns have been laying new clutches every 2-3 weeks for several months and your post inspired me to give it a go.

Just received the breeder pack today, expecting a hatch on Valentine’s Day!

I noticed there was no mention in your write up for the included HOB filter and pumps, but it looks like maybe I see one of the pumps in your pic?

I was planning on just the airstone and heater in the fry tank, then going with the sponge filter and water changes with prime dosing.

Eventually I’ll be moving them into my QT tank while I figure out what to do with em.

Did your HOB filter in the breeder kit and two pumps go unused or did I overlook something?

Thanks again, here goes nothin!

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

What a great thread, thanks for doin it!

My clowns have been laying new clutches every 2-3 weeks for several months and your post inspired me to give it a go.

Just received the breeder pack today, expecting a hatch on Valentine’s Day!

I noticed there was no mention in your write up for the included HOB filter and pumps, but it looks like maybe I see one of the pumps in your pic?

I was planning on just the airstone and heater in the fry tank, then going with the sponge filter and water changes with prime dosing.

Eventually I’ll be moving them into my QT tank while I figure out what to do with em.

Did your HOB filter in the breeder kit and two pumps go unused or did I overlook something?

Thanks again, here goes nothin!

I used the hob filter on a food safe 5 gallon bucket full of rotifers as described in the instructions you will get with the kit. The second pump that came with the hob filter seemed to be a spare and I luckily never needed to use it.

The kit was awesome and made culturing the rotifers a breeze!

Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[Eldritch_blast]

I used the hob filter on a food safe 5 gallon bucket full of rotifers as described in the instructions you will get with the kit. The second pump that came with the hob filter seemed to be a spare and I luckily never needed to use it.

The kit was awesome and made culturing the rotifers a breeze!

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Ah sweet, yep there it all is. Thanks a bunch! Appreciate the help!

How’s your breeding adventure going? Do you have 17 different harem tanks set up now? That’s what the misses is afraid of lol. I’ve promised to keep this operation confined to the garage I’ve already claimed all the space for.

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

Ah sweet, yep there it all is. Thanks a bunch! Appreciate the help!

How’s your breeding adventure going? Do you have 17 different harem tanks set up now? That’s what the misses is afraid of lol. I’ve promised to keep this operation confined to the garage I’ve already claimed all the space for.

My breeding adventure has a second chapter that's coming soon! I won't spoil it yet but I will have a thread about it before too long.

I was actually pretty fortunate to find an lfs that was willing to take baby clowns for credit. But I still have the clutch shown in this thread!

 

[Bakedpwn]

excited to see. i just had a super nice snow storm pair lay their first batch.

 

[ukgeoff]

My pair of tank-bred clownfish are just over two years old, so hopefully not too long before they start laying eggs.

Thanks for posting such a great guide—it's muchly appreciated!