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Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Friday, December 3, 2010 8:14 AM
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Breeding Journal DataSheet
This first post should be updated regularly to include new information as events take place or changes are made to your system General Species: Amphiprion ocellaris Social Structure: Pair. Size of Individuals: Female - 3.5 inches. Male - 1.5 inches. Age of Individuals: I bought the pair on 10/23/2010. Date added to Tank: 11/20/2010 Broodstock Tank Details Size of Tank: One side of a 20L divided in half plus sump. Swim Volume ~ 10G. Total Volume ~ 25G. Substrate Details: Bare bottom Filtration Details: Sump. Protein Skimmer. Bio-balls. Live Rock. Water Changes: Once or twice a month. Water Temperature: 80.5F Lighting: 2 - 9W Power Compacts. 1 10K, 1 Actinic. Lighting Cycle: Lights on 8AM. Lights off 8PM. Other Tank Inhabitants: None. Broodstock Feeding Details Food Types: Pellets, Flakes, Variety of frozen. Feeding Schedule: Twice Daily. Pellets in the AM. Frozen plus flakes in the evening. Spawning Details Date of First Spawn: 12/1/2010 Spawn Time of Day: After 4PM and before 5:30PM Dates of Consecutive Spawns: 12/11/2010, 12/22/2010, 1/01/2011, 1/11/2011 , 1/21/2011 Courtship Details: Did not witness. Egg Size: 1mm x 2mm Egg Color: Orange Egg Count: ~50 Hatch Details Hatch Date: 12/09/2010 Hatch Time of Day: After 12AM and before 5AM # Days after Spawn: 8 Larvae Description: Four small mobile pairs of eyes about 4mm long. Larval Tank Details Temperature: 80F Size of Larval Tank: 10G - Initially filled with 5G from parent's tank. Substrate Details: Bare Other Tank Decor: None Filtration Details: 2 air hoses without stones. Lighting: 1 - 15" T8 Lighting Cycle: ~ 16/On - 8/Off. No timer. Water Changes: Yes. Larval Feeding Details Food Types: Rotifers, Varied dry food, bbs. Feeding Schedule: 3+ times per day as food is available and I'm able. Metamorphosis/Settlement Date of Settlement Start: 12/27/2010 Days after Hatch: 8 Date of Settlement End: 12/30/2010 Description of Fry: Miniature clownfish with only one or two very visible bars. One major difference I noticed was that late stage larvae have eyes that are black with a green outer ring but the eyes become solid black after meta.
Grow-Out Tank Details Temperature: 78F Size of Grow-Out Tank: 10G Substrate Details: None Other Tank Decor: Green Hair Algae  Filtration Details: Live Rock and a small AquaClear filter Lighting: 2 t8 18" Florescent bulbs. Lighting Cycle: 12 on / 12 off Water Changes: 20% every other month. Size at Transfer: Converted larvae tank into grow out. First fish was transferred to a reef at exactly 60dps. Age at Transfer: 60dps. Grow-Out Feeding Details Food Types: Flake, pellet, frozen. Feeding Schedule: 2 - 5 times per day. Additional Information Miscellaneous Information: I converted the larvae tank into growout. The entire nest remained together until ~60dps and then I moved all but the smallest dozen into a standard 20G. Each tank (10G and 20G) uses LR, AquaClear filters and the bare minimum of lighting. You will be required to provide photographic evidence in this thread of each event submitted for the MBI Program.
If your thread does not contain these photos the MBI Committee will not be able to approve your reports.
<message edited by ignatz on Wednesday, April 13, 2011 3:31 PM>
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Friday, December 3, 2010 8:17 AM
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 I hope you can see the eggs in the lower left corner and a blurry pic of the doting father in the upper right corner.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Friday, December 10, 2010 8:43 AM
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 Larvae are hard to photograph here's my best effort. I watched the nest anxiously until midnight (4 hours after lights out) and did not see any eggs hatch so I went to bed. I woke up this morning and only found 4 survivors. But, I found 4 survivors!  I suspect the "moon light" I used was too bright so I'll look for something less intense for next time. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for these little guys but am aware of their steep odds.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Friday, December 10, 2010 10:54 AM
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Four is good, I only got two on my first try! FWIW, I put my eggs in complete darkness to hatch, that seems to work well. 
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Friday, December 10, 2010 2:20 PM
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Fishtal - Thanks very much for the encouragement. I'm thrilled that 4 survived most of the night in the tank with their parents. I suspected that the eggs hatched after my reef's moonlight went off and the room was in total darkness and your experience seems to confirm that. I'll try total darkness the next time. Do you use a flashlight or a nightlight to check on the eggs?
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Friday, December 10, 2010 2:28 PM
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I try not to shine a flashlight directly on the eggs, it can stunt them. I hatch remotely in a 10G tank. If I want to check on those I will shine a flashlight into the tank but away from the eggs. The hatched larvae will be attracted to the light.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Saturday, December 11, 2010 6:36 PM
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Quick update - While I was attending a reef club meeting my pair spawned again. I walked in at 6:15 and was lucky enough to see most of the event. If the last nest had 50 eggs, this one must be 250 - 500 (maybe 500+). They male is still making passes as I type.
Interesting observation - The spawning pair share their divided tank with a pair of "Darwin Black" Ocellaris. While this pair were spawning, the B&W pair were displaying 'extreme' nesting behavior as if they were trying their best to lay eggs and/or fertilize them. I wonder if this is typical of clown pairs housed closely together?
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Saturday, December 11, 2010 6:43 PM
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That's possible. I notice that one pair in my system spawns the others will often follow. My pairs are all in separate tanks but they are plumbed together. Maybe some type of hormone release is going on?
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Saturday, December 11, 2010 7:33 PM
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I don't remember reading about a hormone key but I'm no expert and likely need to read more. Here is a picture of the new nest and father:  I suspect that nearly 1/3 of the nest is unfertilized? In the picture, these eggs have a milky orange color.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Saturday, December 11, 2010 10:20 PM
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I got the catch my Clarkii in the act once is an it was really pretty interesting to watch.. I even got the kids up and let them see what was going on,
Chad Penney - MBI Council Agis quod Adis
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Sunday, December 12, 2010 7:02 AM
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I feel very lucky to have witnessed a spawning up close. I've seen a few videos online but actually seeing it in person was pretty great. My son is too young yet but I did excitedly show my wife who was as amazed as I was.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Sunday, December 12, 2010 7:04 AM
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First Nest Results: Night 1 - 1 died. Day 1 - 1 died. Night 2 - 2 died. 
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Monday, December 20, 2010 1:20 PM
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Second nest hatched Dec. 19 at 9:00PM. This time, I temporarily wrapped the tank with cardboard to block out all the ambient light and implemented a small larvae snagger. The snagger plus manual removal resulted in what I'd estimate to be 100 free swimming individuals this morning. The number would have been higher but the snagger itself had a small flaw that resulted in at least 50 loses.
Larval rearing tank details: 10G 1/2 filled with water from the parent's tank. The outside of the tank is wrapped in black plastic trash bags. The water is heated to 80F. Two air hoses with no stones are providing aeration and motion. I added 1.25L of Nanno. to tint the water green.
I found 2/3 of my rotifers crashed last night. I added the entire contents of my remaining cultural to the larval rearing tank. I bought 1G of rotifers and 1G of Nanno from MTI today. The rotifers came in 1G of T-Iso. Additionally, I have 6L of Nanno and T-Iso that should be ready on Thursday. Will this be enough or will I need more?
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Monday, December 20, 2010 6:02 PM
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When you get a chance, can you add the info above to your journal at the top?
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Friday, December 24, 2010 6:03 AM
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Nest #2 Update - Seems to be doing well but I have not observed meta yet. I estimate there to be 125 - 150 individuals remaining. I've been siphoning the bottom of the tank using a piece of rigid 3/16" tubing. Here are the mortality counts I made: Dec 20 - 5 Dec 21 - No siphon. Dec 22 - 7 Dec 23 - 3 Dec 24 - 0 The parents laid Nest #3 on Dec. 22 which makes 3 this month. The pair seem to be learning to work as a team. All the eggs were laid very close together with none of the milky instances from the last nest.
<message edited by ignatz on Sunday, December 26, 2010 1:10 PM>
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Sunday, December 26, 2010 1:10 PM
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Nest 2 Update.
Dec 25 - 1
Dec 26 - 7
The larvae are about 1/4" long today. I can see the tail curling that Wilkerson described. I can also make out tail and pectoral fins but no rays yet or stripes yet. I removed the black plastic bags from the tank.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Monday, December 27, 2010 8:37 AM
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Nest 2 Update -
Dec 27 - 26
I suspect that settlement has begun. When using a 10X jeweler's loupe I can make out fins and rays clearly. I still don't see the first stripe though; Instead I see horizontal alternating black and gray stripes. I note that several seem to have gas bubbles and/or are swimming erratically. I expect high mortality rates to continue.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Tuesday, December 28, 2010 9:37 AM
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Nest 2 Update -
Dec 28 - 9
I can see the beginnings of the first white stripes on a few individuals. I observed several of what I've come to think of as swimming dead or individuals unable to right themselves and/or prevent from simply floating at the surface. I expect these will succumb to the trauma soon.
Additionally, I see many individuals laying on the bottom in groups. They run from the suction when I clean the bottom of the tank. Some are showing barring but most are hidden from close inspection. I suspect these factors (ie, late metamorphosis, high pre-metamorphosis mortality, lazy swimmers) are a sign of bad nutrition and/or poor larvae care.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Thursday, December 30, 2010 6:39 PM
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Nest 2 Update - Dec 29 - 15 Dec 30 - 24 Many are displaying first stripes that are clearly discernible without magnification. The second stripes and scales are present but require 10X assistance. No orange color is displayed. The horizontal black lines persist. Here is a shot from Dec. 29. You can see the first two stripes and horizontal black stripes. The picture shows a large distended stomach which was common then but is all but gone 24 hours after the shot was made. 
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]
Friday, December 31, 2010 11:24 AM
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Ignatz, Congrats on getting some of your clowns this far I have a few questions for you that may enable us to help you have higher success rates on future clutches. What are the foods that your are feeding to the larva?(at which days did you start/change/add the foods) May I also suggest to leave the black wrapping on the tank a little longer next time. I think you may have exposed the larva to the external light of the room a little early. I do not remove the blackout plastic until after meta on my clowns. Also what light cycle are you running? Have you considered or are you able to move the clutch of eggs before the hatch so you won't have to use a snagger? Dave
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