Storm Clown fish eating eggs

[sajjad89]

Hi all
I took a pair of breeding storm clowns from My lfs about 1.5 years ago. They were laying regularly at the lfs. Moved them to their own 75l tank and they stopped laying. I have seen them lay eggs a couple Of weeks ago but the female ate them by midday the next day. This is the second time they have done this. Anyone have any idea why they are doing this and what I can do to help?
They get fed pellets 2 times a day and frozen in the evening. Very fat and healthy by the looks of them

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

Yup, they'll definitely eat their own eggs. There's not much you can do in the tank. You need to remove them from the tank. I have heard people have had success by adding a small terracotta pot to the tank and getting the clowns to host it. Then once there is eggs they simply remove it. Also, clowns only lay eggs when they are mature and happy, so when you moved them to your tank it makes perfect sense why they stopped laying eggs. Are you trying to breed the clowns? It is a  very difficult process, and most people who do it are unsuccessful. For peope who are successful, it definitely wasnt their first time trying.

 

[sajjad89]

Yup, they'll definitely eat their own eggs. There's not much you can do in the tank. You need to remove them from the tank. I have heard people have had success by adding a small terracotta pot to the tank and getting the clowns to host it. Then once there is eggs they simply remove it. Also, clowns only lay eggs when they are mature and happy, so when you moved them to your tank it makes perfect sense why they stopped laying eggs. Are you trying to breed the clowns? It is a  very difficult process, and most people who do it are unsuccessful. For peope who are successful, it definitely wasnt their first time trying.

YH I am trying to breed them. They have a terracotta pot which they host. I have bred and raised clarki clowns so familiar with the process. Just trying to figure out what's making them eat the eggs straight away.

 

[WalkerLovesTheOcean]

YH I am trying to breed them. They have a terracotta pot which they host. I have bred and raised clarki clowns so familiar with the process. Just trying to figure out what's making them eat the eggs straight away.

I completely forgot to add this in my first post, but they'll eat unhealthy/unfertile eggs. Do you know if the LFS had any luck with hatching them? Maybe none of the eggs are getting fertilized and or all of them are unhealthy. They will also eat them under stress. Do you have any aggressive tank mates that specifically the clown fish might find as a threat more so then other fish?

 

[Max Ohm]

There could be several factors at play here. I've had failed clutches from water that was too dirty, water that had too high of salinity, and feeding the wrong foods.

Keep in mind that if you feed the clownfish too many "shelled" live foods such as shrimp, it can make the egg shells too tough for the fry to get out. Clownfish will realize that the eggs are not viable and eat them.

And sometimes they just get out of practice! To ensure healthy clutches I feed pellets three times a day and a meat feeding once a day that I feed until the female stops eating. It sounds like you're feeding them pretty well but you really have to pound calories into the female when they are breeding.

 

[Max Ohm]

I forgot to add one small thing that may not be immediately evident with clownfish: they are the most comfortable in 10 to 20 gallon tanks. Some of mine I even keep in 5 gallons.

For whatever reason they always do better in smaller tanks, they're just more comfortable, they realize that there aren't any other predators around. Out in the ocean they don't really go anywhere either once they find their spot.

 

[Max Ohm]