Breeding Journal, Species: A. ocellaris (Darwin Black variant)

General
Species:A. ocellaris (Darwin Black Variant) 
Social Structure: Mated pair 
Size of Individuals: Female: 3", Male 2.25" (male has a misbar on his center stripe, right side) Lost male in early 2012. New CB male, small was added late spring of 2012.     
Age of Individuals: 2yrs+? (Edit: Female was born in early 2004. See below)
Date added to Tank: 4-03-09

Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank: Standard 10G 
Substrate Details: Fine layer of black sand. 
Filtration Details: Plumbed into a central system, approx 95G.
Water Changes: 30% bi-weekly
Water Temperature: 80-82F 
Lighting: Shop light 
Lighting Cycle: 14hrs light, 10hrs dark
Other Tank Inhabitants: Astrea snail and hermit crab 

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types: Mix of frozen foods, squid, Spectrum pellets, enriched with RatioHUFA
Feeding Schedule: Every 4hrs 

Spawning Details
Date of First Spawn: 4-26-09 
Dates of Consecutive Spawns: 15 days 
Location: Inside bottom of clay pot.
Quantity: 75-100
Color: Eggs are bright yellow turning dark then silver near hatch.
 
Hatch Details
Date: Day 8
The pot with the eggs is moved to the larval reatring tank on day 7 or 8.  The eggs hatch about an hour after dark.
Larval Tank Details
Temperature: 82F 
Size of Larval Tank: Standard 10G 
Substrate Details: None
Other Tank Decor: Small piece of LR.
Filtration Details: None until day 14 then sponge filter 
Lighting: CF bulb with reflector. 
Lighting Cycle: 14hrs light, 10hrs dark 
Water Changes: Siphon detritus every other day after day 7 and replce siphoned water.

Larval Feeding Details
Food Types: Day 1: Rotifers enriched with RatioHUFA, Around Day 5:Otohime A, Around Day 8: finely crushed flake foods and cyclopeeze when large enough
Feeding Schedule: Every 4 hours

Metamorphosis/Settlement
Date of Metamorphosis: 9 days 
Date of Settlement: 14 days

Grow-Out Tank Details
Temperature: 80-82F
Size of Grow-Out Tank: Standard 20G
Substrate Details: Fine layer of black sand 
Other Tank Decor: Small piece of LR
Filtration Details: Plumbed into central system, approx 130G. 
Lighting: Shop light
Lighting Cycle: 14hrs light, 10hrs dark 
Water Changes: 20% bi-weekly
Size at Transfer: 1/4"
Age at Transfer:  21-24 days 

Grow-Out Feeding Details
Food Types: Flake foods, small Spectrum pellets, frozen cyclopeeze
Feeding Schedule: Every 4 hours.

Additional Information
Miscellaneous Information:  I had a large percentage of mis-bars in the first batch, since then I'm only getting a few, if any, misbars.  The Darwins are a bit slower to develop their stipes than regular A. ocellaris but much faster than A. percula.  At four months they are still orange but significantly darker that regular ocellaris.  They are darker orange from the start so it's easy to pick them out.  I'm expecting them to be nearly black by 6-8 months. 

 

I just got in touch with the first owner of the female. She was acquired on June 24, 2004 from Deep Blue Reefs. At that point she was approximately 5 months old and came from ORA and was among one of the first ones they sold.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Broodstock:
 

 
A mixed group of juveniles.  The Darwins are darker:
 

 

 
The A. percula, about the same age, only have the head stripe at this point.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Always so jealous of your system and fish, Fishtal

The pair spawned last night about 9pm.  The eggs are very yellow at first, a bit darker today but not quite as orange as they appear in the pics.
 
The eggs are about 20 hours post spawn:
 

 

 
 

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Here are some pics of some of the juveniles from the November spawn, all ready to go...







I've switched out the pots for tiles.  Took this pair a while to get used to it but they finally spawned last night...



 

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

A request for info.  In your 'Larval Feeding Details' section, could you put what days you do the different foods on?  So I can do the same thing :-)

Scott,


I updated that section for you. I change the foods over a couple of days mostly depending on size and reaction I get from the larvae. Not so much on a specific day. It's, for me, more of watching and making sure they are eating the new foods. 


I skip the NHBS step now for most of my clowns unless I happen to have some on hand.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

I just updated the journal with new age info about the female. It seems she's older than I thought. See above.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

I've been using the Top Dressed Otohime on the latest batch and am seeing a huge increase in pigmentation. This batch went into the grow out system on March 15 and I started with the TDO on March 28th. They are now almost completely black and white with very little orange left.
 

 

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

looking great there!

RLTW

180 Gallon Mixed Reef

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" Isaiah 6:8

Bummer day today. I woke up to find the male dead. There are eggs on the tile and I'd like to get a new male quickly but I'm worried about skipping QT.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Bummer to hear. Hopefully someone on here will have a spare male that you could take a calculated risk with. Any ideas on the cause?

Not sure what happened. They spawned recently and I didn't notice anything last night. Might not have paid close enough attention.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Pretty much any juvenile will do in a pinch.   Sorry to hear of the loss.

Ohh man
 
Sorry to hear this. I should be able to help you out if you want one of my fish.

-Adam

Thanks, Adam. I found some of my offspring but I'd rather start with new genes and I trust would feel more comfortable adding one of your fish without much QT.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

I got a juvenile from Adam today. Very nice looking fish. He's quite a bit smaller but things are going well so far. There is a bit of "charging" but it's very gentle, more like she's just checking him out.
 
I have noticed that the female has been tending the eggs and they still look healthy. Hopefully she can teach the male the ropes and continues to spawn.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Way to go, Tal. I predict great success!

They seem to be getting along well: 

You can see the female tending to the eggs too.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Wow... they seem to be getting along great.  Thats nuts for only being in there for a couple hours.
 
Its funny to see a thin 1.5" long juvi next to a 4" adult female.

-Adam

Didn't last for long. A few hours later I found him in the filter sock. I placed him back in the tank and she was chasing him around and I saw exactly how he went down the stand pipe. He's been in a breeder net since last night until I think of something better.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

He just needs to submit to her, which he will sooner or later.
 
Breeder net is probably the best bet in the same tank until he gets the hang of things.. aka "Who's the boss!"

-Adam

I took the male out of the breeder net the other day and there were still some issues so I made an egg crate barrier. I was assuming that the female was being a bit cranky because of the eggs.
 
The female tended to the eggs and I removed the tile on Saturday night. I'm happy to report they are getting along fine now although the eggs haven't hatched yet. 

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Good to hear!

-Adam

I had an extra tile of A. percula eggs so I put it in with the Darwins to see if the female would start training the male and to, hopefully, get them spawning. This is what I saw after a few hours:
 

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

That is so cute Tal, that little guy looks like he's pretty interested in those eggs.  Did they care for them right to hatching?

Eggs were there until this morning and appeared to have all hatched last night. I didn't try to hatch them since I have a lot of percs right now.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Yeah, I guess the 18th wasn't that long ago was it?  Haha, I was thinking that was 2 weeks ago - getting ahead of myself!  That's great they tended the eggs well and are getting along, maybe they will spawn soon. 

The new pair spawned for the first time today and the male appears to be doing his job.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Hehe nice music!  That male is so cute!

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

Wow, that technique seems to really work!

Looks like Mr. Darwin has been eating the eggs. The ones that are left are still bright orange but not nearly as many. I'm proud of his first attempt though.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

For a first attempt that nest was large and all looked fertilized. Great job and I can't wait to see how he does after a few trials

We've had a 2 week heatwave and I had to keep the lights off except for feeding. Temps also got pretty high so I expect the combination of the two is going to throw everyone off schedule for a while.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

I found that using LEDs to light the tanks has helped my temps

I just bought a led light that plugs right into a standard t8 fixture minus the ballast. Color is great and wattage is half that of a t12 the same length

Sad news today. I woke up to find the male dead. They spawned two days ago and he was fine last night. No idea what happened. I've moved the eggs over to the Picasso tank in hopes that they will care for them.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

If you can put another male in with the female right away, she won't miss a beat, and keep right on spawning. Leave the eggs there, too. How big is your female?  I have some blacks on hand...

check out Kathy's Clowns, llc website:
http://kathysclowns.com
Captive bred clownfish and more
(Wholesale to the trade.)

The only males/juveniles I have on hand are her offspring and I'd rather not go that route. I'll get a new male from Adam soon.
 
I moved the eggs to the Picasso tank for two reasons... First, since the eggs were laid on Tues I figured I better move them quick or lose them. Second, the Picassos haven't spawned regularly since last summer and I thought this might get them in gear again.
 
The female is pretty big and will be ~10yrs old next year. 
 

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."