Breeding Journal, Species: [Amphiprion ocellaris]

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.

 

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.

 
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.

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.

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

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?

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.

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

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?

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?

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

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.

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

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.

First Nest Results:
 
Night 1 - 1 died.
Day 1   - 1 died.
Night 2 - 2 died.
 

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?

When you get a chance, can you add the info above to your journal at the top?

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

 
 

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

Hi Dave,
 
  Thanks for reading my journal and thanks for your questions.  I'll start by saying that my goal with this nest was Day 3 and didn't really do enough concrete planning for beyond.  If I had it to do over again, I would have nailed down the first three foods before ever attempting to raise a nest.  I thought I had done that but I was wrong so my entire approach has been loosely based around my understanding of Hoff + Wilkerson and has evolved rapidly over the last two weeks.
  Rotifers.  I overfed rotifers early on.  I bought 1G of T-Iso with a rotifer density of 10/mL.  Once a day I strained 1L of this culture through a 53 uM plankton collector and finally backwashed this using water from the parent's tank.  I did for 5 days and realized that I had way too many rotifers in culture with my larva so I cut back on rotifers to 500mL per day and again to 250mL.  During the two weeks the rotifer culture has switched from T-Iso to Nanno which is where it's at today. Attempting to batch harvest such a small colony of rotifers wasn't smart at least at the rate I used.  I'm nearly out of rotifers and not all of this nest is ready.  I learned the hard way that culturing live algae for rotifers is hard and expensive when things go wrong.  I'm switching to the Reed RotiGrow and RotiGreen system for the next try.
  Dry Food. I introduced dry food on Day 3 for the first feeding of the day. I also began vacuuming 2L of larval water before the next feeding to remove any left over flake immediately. I've been mixing Ocean Nutrition Formula 2 and Reef Formula flakes in a mortar and pestle.  I've been grinding a very fine consistency.  Somewhere around Day 9 I added  second dry feeding each day.  I recently bought an Otohime starter kit and think my grindings are around a B1.  I started using B1 today and will probably stick with Otohime until my starter kit is finished.
  Brine Shrimp.  I introduced brine shrimp on day 5.  I've been decapsulating the brine with chlorine and storing 3 days supply in the fridge.  I have two of the black plastic bases and 2L hatcheries going constantly.  I've been hatching the brine shrimp in a solution made by mixing 25g non-Iodized table salt with a pinch of baking powder and a few drops of dechlor (thio).  I've tried to add 1/4 teaspoon of bbs each split over two feedings each day.  The second feeding has 0.25 mL Selcon added after the first half is harvested.  I have a feeling that I've added too many brine shrimp as I can see large free swimming versions in the larval tank.  Surprisingly this has been the biggest challenge and I'm not sure how to improve on this step for the next attempt.  I'm considering buying decap'd brine shrimp to start with but still need to work out the hatch timings.  I think I need to light the hatcheries 24/7 with small hot lamps too.
  Today.  Today I'm adding about 250mL of rotifers which isn't much really.   I switched to Otohime B1 feedings and will try using it again.  I've used it 3 times so far today.  I plan on ramping dry food up as I believe it's my best chance at success.  I'm still feeding brine shrimp as described but am hoping to discontinue soon.  I'm thinking of offering Rod's Coral Food or Cyclopeeze instead.  Any input is most welcome.
  The larval tank lit for 16 hours each day.  It's located in the same room with my other phyto cultures and gets quite a bit of light from the side.  I'll leave the black plastic on until after meta next time.  The parents have been laying on the inside surface of a shell which I don't know how to aerate.  I didn't want to disturb them but since I let a very large nest go last night I'll risk it.  With the shell gone, she will have to use a clay pot, a tile, or the tank itself.   If you stuck with this long winded response, thanks again and Happy New Year!

Nest 2 Update -
 
Dec. 31 - 9.
 
The first and second stripes are now visible with no magnification.  The orange coloration has begun which I think is part of the juvenile coloration!  Most but not all of the remaining individuals seem healthy.

Nest 2 Update -
 
Jan. 1 - 10
 
Most of the survivors are displaying a nice orange color with a bold first stripe and a tiny second stripe.  There are a few individuals that appear to be late stage larvae: no visible stripes, no orange, the eye looks very different from the early juveniles and they swim vertically with no waddle.  Does this mean that settlement is still happening?

Nest 2 Update -
 
Jan. 2 - 4
 
I did not add any additional brine shrimp on Jan 2 and instead switched to cyclopeze and otohime.  I added a piece of live rock approx. 3" in diameter.

Hi there- first off- thank you for posting - not long winded at all, lol- found it to be good reading, and helpful for me.
 
Your last post, though... soory... what was it you fed? A oiece of 'live'  about 3" in diameter? Just curious...
 
Thanks again for posting
 
Can't wait to see updated pics
 

Michelle  
 

oops ... meant *sorry, and piece... (took abit of nyquil for a cold, lol sorry for the misspell)
ok- time to get off, I will be back tomorrow- goodnight and again thanks for sharing your progress

Michelle  
 

I'm assuming that he added a piece of live rock...?

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

Oh, ok.... was wondering that... so this is a good stage to add that to the tank? Will make a note of that. Thanks Tal

Michelle  
 

Hi fishtal! You are correct sir, thank you!
 
Hi Chelle's Ocean!  Thanks for reading my journal and for finding my typo.   It's nice to see more Florida based breeders at the MBI, can't wait to read your journal.  I decided to add the live rock early (Day 13) because I was doing 4+ bottom cleanups a day plus adding 10 drops of Prime and my constant Ammonia monitor was slightly olive colored.  I would have used a sponge but I didn't have an aged one ready so I took some live rock from the parent's tank.  I don't know if it helped or not but my Ammonia monitor isn't solid olive any longer. I'm thinking of adding a clump of chaeto to help out.  I much prefer to see the baby clowns swimming on or near live rock than a bare wall or heater.  The live rock does make suctioning the leftovers from the bottom more challenging.  I will try to get some new pics of the babies soon but until then here's a pic of mom shortly after she made Nest 2.
 

 
Nest 2 Update -
 
Jan 3 - 1
Jan 4 - 2
 
The fish cluster in a few small groups on the bottom and one larger group near the surface.  They are all readily accepting the Otohime dry feeds (B1 and B2 soon to be B2 and C1) and the cyclopeeze.  I've added irregular brine shrimp feedings that include cyclopeeze and will continue until I observe many eating the cyclopeeze and then no more brine shrimp!  The fish are filling out but don't seem to be much larger than 3/8".

Very nice   Good looking mamma
 
I am using the Prime as well.... (do you prefer that to AmQuel?) I believe that was another suggestion in the past? Is one better than the other?
 
What of macro algae? I read your comment of the cheato.... but I have also started up a macro tank, and was thinking of adding the babies to a similar set-up (when old enough of course), with a couple pieces of live rock and several types of macro plants. (thinking it would help in the ammonia reduction... am I off in my thinking?) Would they be too young for the plants?
 
Also do you notice a color change in your female? Darker vs lighter when getting ready to lay?
My female is swollen this evening, and I notice her color is a shade lighter than normal to me.... I wonder if this has anything to do with the time of laying the eggs... or just a coincidence?

Michelle  
 

Chelle's Ocean -  I chose Prime for no other reason than Wilkerson mentions it specifically in her book.  iirc, fishtal uses or used AmQuel but I have no personal experience with it.  I actually had the same question wrt to the differences between Prime, AmQuel, ChlorAm-X, and Sodium Thiosulfate so I did some Googling and this is what I found:
 
Sodium Thiosulfate will bind with the chlorine and chloramine molecules in water but will leave the ammonia molecules untouched.  Use it to dechlor but not detox.
 
Sodium Hydroxymethanesulfonate will bind with chlorine, chloramine, and ammonia molecules (and others) in water.   This is the main ingredient in Prime, AmQuel (not AmQuel+), _and_ ChlorAm-X.  Each brand seems to contain slightly different additional salts but they should all function similarly for detox.
 
I am not sure about growing out in a macro tank.  I haven't added any chaeto to my tank yet.  Since adding the live rock, I learned that I must physically turn each piece over every time I clean the bottom of the tank.  I suspect that _anything_ put into the tank will have this challenge so I think that next time I will use a sump with either a drilled 10G or more likely a BRT.  I think that adding the macro to the sump might be the best option.
 
I don't remember a color change but I'll keep an eye out this time.  I expect her to lay again in 2-3 days.  The body shape is unmistakable at this point; it looks like she swallowed a square shaped balloon.  Additionally, she tends to extend her ovipositor for a 24+ hours before laying.
 
Nest 2 Update -
 
Jan 5 - 6
Jan 6 - 1
Jan 7 - 3
Jan 8 - 0
Jan 9 - 2
 
  Since the last update, I've eliminated brine shrimp from their diet leaving only Otohime B2 coupled occasionally with Cyclopeeze.  I've increased feedings and tank bottom cleanings to 4-6 times per day.  Fin coloration has begun everywhere except the tail which remains clear.  Cuteness factor is way up.   I'm a bit concerned about the continued overnight deaths.  The dead no longer appear to be the small, weak, or un/mis-developed.  Both bodies from Jan 9 were larger full bodies individuals showing both bars.  I wonder what could be the cause.

Nest 2 Update -
 
Jan 10 - 0
Jan 11 - 1
 
  The youngsters are much more active now. Instead of spending much of their time bunched in a clown ball they are actively exploring the whole tank. The larger fish are actively defending territory. I added more live rock to make more hiding spaces. I replaced Otohime B2 with C1.

The parents spawned again last night (1/11/11) for several hours.  Mom was noticed with eggs hanging from her after light's out.  This morning I see a tightly packed grouping of eggs covering approximately 4 square inches.   All the eggs are fertilized.  I couldn't bring myself to remove their shell since Dad does such a good job.

The parents spawned again last night (1/21/2011); These fish are like machines... every 10 days.   Hope I didn't jinx it by saying so out loud.  One notable difference is that the parents chose to move their nesting site (shell).  My guess was that they chose a location with more flow but my wife guessed they chose a location that offered more cover.  Maybe a combination of both.   From what I can see, this nest is very large.  Hopefully I will be able to collect these larvae in 8 days time.
 
Nest 2 Update -
 
  I haven't posted any updates until now for a good reason... there have been no more deaths! I estimate that there are between 40-50 remaining... or about 30-40% of the larvae that hatched. I am thrilled with this result that is right in line Hoff's historical average for December nests (21.7%).  It seems like I had less die off pre-meta, a delayed meta with higher than average die-off.  I think that my problems with the BBS caused the high post-meta death toll.
  Most of the fishes look like miniature versions of their parents by now.  They have 3 bold stripes with only the tail fin's coloration remaining to develop.  The largest fishes are 3/4"+ and the smallest fishes are around 1/4" in length.  The small guys are scrappy and often to be found at the top of the water column first in line for food.  The small guys also show full coloration with 3 stripes... they are just tiny like their father.  What classifies as a pygmy clown? 
  I've only been offering Otohime C1 and cyclopeeze for the last week.  Everything offered is eaten and quickly.  I'm feeding at least 4 times per day and vacuum the tank bottom only one or twice daily as needed.  The live rock is working it's magic. 
  I've converted the 10G tank to  grow tank by filling it with water (was running at about 8G) and adding a HOB filter that has an active biologial filter.  I positioned one of the air tubes so that it's bubbles flow over the HOB filter intake... hopefully this will help deter any adventurous babies from finding their way into the filter.

Great update Congrats on no more losses
 
I will be adding the live rock as well... in probably the same time frame you tried...as I am finding the olive /very light green coloration on my alert badge as well.
 
Question to all: what about the chaeto as mentioned? How long do you need to wait to place this in the tank? Would it be better to add to a larval tank, for them to find cover in, and help fight the ammonia at the same time?
 
Following for tips and good reading- Have a great weekend!

Michelle  
 

Michelle - I posted the following on another site but I think it should be here also:
 
"
I make my new water with RO/DI and never change salt mix brands. I test my RO/DI with 2 TDS meters before it's used for topoff or NSW. I adjust salinty every morning to 32ppt @ ~80F in all tanks and NSW. Before meta, I used water from the parent's tank that had been aged there for at least 24 hours. After meta, I've been doing water exchanges with another small tank that's running a seasoned HOB power filter with no other bio-load. After each feeding (4-6 times per day) I vacuum the bottom of the tank which will remove about 2L of water. I strain the detritus from this water before exchanging it with a like volume from the tank with the HOB filter. I test ammonia with a constant monitor and aim for <0.02ppm. I use Prime to detox the larva tank before adding any salt water.
"
 
I'm pretty sure that the 'virtual sump' setup I described above along with the live rock I added to the tank and the constantly cleaned tank bottom completely managed the water quality.  I relied almost totally on water exchanges instead of water changes after meta.  I got lucky and this worked for me but if it hadn't I would've tried chaeto in the empty tank so that I wouldn't foul the macro with uneaten food.
  Thanks again for reading along and asking questions that improve this journal!  I hope you have a nice weekend too!

Awwwww. .. . .. Love it Thanks for sharing !
So cool to see the babies in motion.....that is what I keep striving for
Great job!

Michelle  
 

How are the babies doing? Any updates to share ?

Michelle  
 

Three fish found their way into the HOB filter;  The first two survived but the third did not.   Otherwise, the babies are quickly becoming pre-teens.  They still spend their nights bundled together in a tight ball but day time sees them all go their separate ways.  The spend a good amount of time trying to establish their own territory.  Each time I approach the tank, they assume their feeding stations.  I try to feed Otohime C2 at least 3 times per day and something frozen once per day.  Tank bottom cleanings are down to once every 3-4 days.  I'm working on setting up new grow-out space so I can try to raise another nest... for some reason, I feel like I just got lucky with this one.