Help with Clown fish eggs hatching

[pgsasi]

Hi guys
It was a bug surprise for me to see my false percula clown lay eggs today.. It was great watching the pair lay the eggs and protect them from other fishes.. a few questions...I read lots of articles but still don't feel comfortable and so these questions.

Check out the attached pictures.. So I understand it will take between 7-8 days for the eggs to hatch.

q1. will they swim or will the float to the surface after hatching ? My aquarium is an overflow type and so if they float, the most likely thing is they will drain to the sump. I dont think they can survive there...

q2. I have started hatching brine shrimp eggs today. will feeding brine shrimp alone do or shld I get something else ? I checked with the local LFS and they said brine shrimp alone will be enough.

q3. I bought a small tank to raise the small ones. But I am not sure how to get the clowns to this new tank after they hatch.

q4. this is most likely the first time my clowns have laid eggs. how often are they expected to lay eggs from now on ?

If someone can link me to a video of how they look when they hatch and how to get them into the new tank, that will be great..

again, this is the first time I am doing this and I know the success rate is very low...but your replies will help me a lot.. Thanks

Regards / Sashi

[Steve McKay]

Nice, very nice. You should probably post this in the "fish-only" forum, Lee can help you there.

[ChemGuy]

First I don't know anything about raising Clown Fry however it's one of my long ranged goals.
This book CLOWNFISHES by Joyce D Wilkerson has everything you need in it. I have not had the time to read it all yet but several chapters deal with fry. Hope this helps.

[Ninong]

So I understand it will take between 7-8 days for the eggs to hatch.

I believe about 8 days is correct. They usually hatch about one hour after dark.

q1. will they swim or will the float to the surface after hatching ? My aquarium is an overflow type and so if they float, the most likely thing is they will drain to the sump. I dont think they can survive there...

They cannot survive in your tank. They must be moved to a special rearing tank. You should get a copy of Joyce Wilkerson's Clownfishes. She covers all of this in detail. The rearing tank is usually no more than 5-10 gallons. It usually has a sponge filter and the sides are either painted black or covered with black paper or plastic. All of this is covered in Wilkerson's book.

q2. I have started hatching brine shrimp eggs today. will feeding brine shrimp alone do or shld I get something else ? I checked with the local LFS and they said brine shrimp alone will be enough.

You can't possibly feed brine shrimp nauplii to freshly hatched clownfish larvae. They can't possibly eat anything that large. Your LFS is obviously clueless. You will need to propagate greenwater (phytoplankton) as a medium to raise your rotifers. You will need a daily supply of rotifers to feed your clownfish larvae, usually three times a day. All of this is covered in that book but I sold the book four years ago, so I can't provide you with the details.

q3. I bought a small tank to raise the small ones. But I am not sure how to get the clowns to this new tank after they hatch.

You can either remove the eggs still attached to their substrate (when possible) or you can remove the newly-hatched larvae using a large turkey baster or something similar that you would use to suck them into the tube without injuring them.

q4. this is most likely the first time my clowns have laid eggs. how often are they expected to lay eggs from now on ?

Every other week, on average, but they could do it every 10 days.

This batch of eggs will be food for the other inhabitants in your aquarium. Do you have a sponge filter properly aged to use on your rearing tank? Do you have a phytoplankton growing system in place yet to raise the rotifers?

Check out Wilkerson's book. You will need that or something just like that BEFORE you can even think about rearing baby clownfish. As least your species is one of the easiest to breed in captivity.

Good luck!