Clown Behaviour

[BOSS frags]

Any idea why my clowns would suddenly want to pick at the live rock non stop?

 

[BOSS frags]

 

[Copperkills]

Finding an area to lay eggs perhaps

 

[thehvacman]

This is exactly what clowns do before laying a batch of eggs. I find that they will clean a patch during the day, and that evening they will lay the eggs. If this is the fishes first time spawning they won’t really know what they are doing, but after laying a few batches they will get better at keeping the eggs alive. I find that it’s a great natural food source for the reef. And it’s a pretty cool thing to watch.

 

[BOSS frags]

This is exactly what clowns do before laying a batch of eggs. I find that they will clean a patch during the day, and that evening they will lay the eggs. If this is the fishes first time spawning they won’t really know what they are doing, but after laying a few batches they will get better at keeping the eggs alive. I find that it’s a great natural food source for the reef. And it’s a pretty cool thing to watch.

Ok that was my first thought that it was some kind of breeding behaviour... I bought a complete setup a couple years ago and sold everything except a mixed 4some of clowns.... they have always been housed in my 60g frag tank with nems and have hosted but have never seen this type of behaviour.

A month ago I decided to give them their own tank... a 55g tank for only clowns and anemones. The 2 clowns that are acting like this have no interest in the nems in the tank but prefer the cave

 

[BOSS frags]

Can the eggs/fry survive in a clown only tank?

 

[BOSS frags]

well I guess this answers my original question!

 

[Copperkills]

Can the eggs/fry survive in a clown only tank?

Yeah gotta feed em though some live baby brine...

 

[BOSS frags]

well I guess this answers my original question!View attachment 18841

 

[Kman]

My female clown has been breeding for decades with a few different males and I have never had one survive in my tank or sump. They just require to much micro foods to get past the larval stage. Mind you I don't set up a dedicated rearing tank and raise green water to feed the food, rotifer as first food (day old brine shrimp are to big for most larva) and as the fry grow day old baby brine shrimp. The size of foods really depends on the species of fish. Some can take the larger day old baby brine shrimp but most need almost plankton size rotifer till they grow out a little. You need cultures of green water at different stages and can be done in 2 L pop bottles. 10 to 12 of the bottles at least so you have enough for new cultures, extra in case of culture crash and a variety of cell sizes to feed the different stages of rotifer \brine shrimp. You would also need different stages\size of the rotifer \brine shrimp as the fry don't all grow at the same speeds. You also need to daily water change and constantly suck up the waste on the bottom to keep the nutrients next to nothing. (It is difficult to suck up particles of waste and not the food or fry) As some species don't even tolerate a little nutrient level or they will die or get growth defects like curled\ small gill covers or deformed fins. You will get a crash of the tank and all will be gone.

The amount of time spend on water quality and raising food items is very time consuming and is better done spread over a few people. As you need near perfect water quality. The food density in the fry tanks needs to be perfect to. You have to constantly keep the food items at a certain density to fry ratio and you need to constantly count them throughout the day. You need to scoop a shot glass of them and count. To much food stresses the fry and they don't feed and to little they cant get enough nutrition and they die. You also need to think about mutable fry tanks for raising them for the different stages of growth. Other costs are salt mix, foods and electricity and time. If you are serious google culture system for the rotifer, brine shrimp and fry. Some good online plans are around. It can be done in dedicated system but is crazy time consuming. I myself don't bother trying anymore to raise them. I did a stint years ago and found it wasn't worth my time as I would have to raise huge amounts of fish to sell just to recoup the costs it take to raise them. So I just let nature take its course and when they hatch they feed my fish and coral.