Pile o` Clownfish

Well Craig, I'd say the catcher worked.


http://s296.photobucket.com/user/vikubz/media/0814130440-01.mp4.html

 

Gonna try it. Got two buckets of rotifers going so we'll see.

 

It was one of these that I borrowed from Craig at AC&C.


http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm183/vikubz/trap_zps693eb569.jpg

 

Lost some overnight, but still a bunch going. I was worried they didn't have enough rotifers to last the night, but when I took a sample of their water there was a bunch of rotifers in it swimming around. Dosed a dab of phyto to green the water and I see the fry are definitely feeding, darting around here and there. One day old.

 

Five days and counting. I don't know how many there were to start, but I count around 70 still kickin'. They are beginning to show a touch of color. The parents have spawned again already, but I think I'll see how these go before I try catching any more.

 

They are clarkii clowns. The catcher has a built in air line that draws water up into the trap and from there the current moves them past the divider and into the main chamber. I used a little clip on light to attract them.

 

Eight days and counting. I decided to order some of the concentrated phyto from Reed mariculture. With two cultures of rotifers going they're going through it pretty quickly. That's just as well as I can convert my phyto station to a brine shrimp station.

 

They are swimming out in the water column a lot more so it's harder to count. I would guess 60 or so. Some look kinda rough and some definitely are more robust than the others. Got the Reed's Instant Algae and yikes! Way concentrated. I transferred it to small plastic containers that I am freezing. The stuff that clung to the sides of the bag plus a little I dripped when filling containers was enough to make 2 soda bottles of highly concentrated phyto. Curious to see how meta. goes.

 

The bad news, I think I've caused a bunch of losses with doing water changes improperly. Adding too much at once and shocking the larvae.
The good news, I've still got a couple dozen and several have gone through metamorphosis and look just like mom and dad.

 

Fewer losses since changing my w/c method to a less stressful one. A couple dozen still going. Look like little clowns now. FYI the Rotifer Diet that I got from Reed's has really boosted my rotifer population. Craig gave me some dry food to use and they seem to be figuring it out pretty quickly. In fact, I think they are already associating me with feeding time. So far so good.

 

18 days and there are 21 fry. They seem to like the dry food and still like rotifers, not sure they really like baby brine that much. Moved them to a 10 gallon that I've divided in two so they don't have as far to go for food. Debating if I'll try to raise the next batch. We'll see /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default//emoticons/smile.gif