Breeding Journal, Species: Amphiprion Ocellaris

General
Species:  Amphiprion Ocellaris
Social Structure:  Mated pair purchased as juveniles
Size of Individuals:  Female approx 7cm - Male approx 5.5cm
Age of Individuals:  Unknown - probably around 3 years
Date added to Tank:  March 2011

Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank:  450l Mixed Reef
Substrate Details:  Marble chips
Filtration Details:  Liverock + Sump with skimmer, GFO and chaeto
Water Changes:  10% Fortnightly
Water Temperature:  26 degrees Celsius
Lighting:  DIY LED
Lighting Cycle:  9 Hours with 1 hour sunrise/sunset ramp
Other Tank Inhabitants:  Yellow Tang, Flame Hawk, Royal Gramma, Red Spot Blenny

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types:  Frozen Lobster Eggs, Red Plankton and Mysis Shrimp + Flake + Pellets
Feeding Schedule:  Generally 2 time per day + 4-5 times on weekends

Spawning Details
Date of First Spawn:  21/5/13
Spawn Time of Day:  Late afternoon
Dates of Consecutive Spawns:  13/6/13, 4/7/13, 25/7/13, 11/8/13 (this was the spawn that I raised), 29/8/13, 14/9/13, 29/9, 8/10/13
Courtship Details:  Cleaning of tile starts the day before spawn. Cleaning increases during the day of spawn.
Egg Size:  1-2mm
Egg Color:  Orange
Egg Count:  554

Hatch Details
Hatch Date:  21/8/13
Hatch Time of Day:  Around 10.30pm
# Days after Spawn:  10
Larvae Description:    approx 4-5 mm
Consecutive Hatch Dates:  The larvae generally hatch 9-10 days after spawn   


Larval Tank Details
Temperature:  28 degrees Celsius
Size of Larval Tank:  55l
Substrate Details:  Bare bottom
Other Tank Decor:  Heater, airstone
Filtration Details:  None
Lighting:  Overhead standard light
Lighting Cycle:  24/7 for first 3 days then 8am to 9pm
Water Changes:  Daily after first 5 days

Larval Feeding Details
Food Types:  L-Type rotifers enriched with Nannochloropsis - Newly hatched Brine Shrimp - 100-200 micron Aqua Pearls - 200-400 micron Aqua Pearls
Feeding Schedule:  Rotifers cultured in the larval tank with Nanno added daily. Other foods 2-3 times/day.

Metamorphosis/Settlement
Date of Settlement Start:  28/8/13
Days after Hatch:  7
Date of Settlement End:  approx 2/9/13
Description of Fry:  First head strip evident - some had the second strip by the time others had their first

Grow-Out Tank Details
Temperature:  28 degrees Celsius
Size of Grow-Out Tank:  55l (Due to the relatively low numbers, the fry were left in the larval tank for grow-out.)
Substrate Details:  Bare bottom
Other Tank Decor:  Fake urchin, heater and airstone
Filtration Details:  Air driven Sponge Filter
Lighting:  Overhead standard light
Lighting Cycle:  8am to 9pm
Water Changes:  Approx 3 litres every second day - the bottom was siphoned as part of the water change.
Size at Transfer:  Not applicable
Age at Transfer:  Not applicable

Grow-Out Feeding Details
Food Types:  200-400 micron Aqua Pearls, crushed flake and pellets
Feeding Schedule:  2 times/day - 7.30am and 5.00pm

Additional Information
I noticed a few juveniles were significantly smaller than the rest of the spawn - this was especially noticeable from around 20 DPH onwards. Not sure if this was due to some nutritional issues following hatch or for some other reason. 
(No Pictures or Videos in the Section Please)
Miscellaneous Information: 



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First off I must apologise for the delay in completing this thread. I had planned to do it 'on the go' so to speak but, as with most plans, they don't always work out as expected. So, everything will happen fairly quickly
 
My broodstock

 
And a video of my pair laying their first nest
 

 
After the second nest I managed to get them to lay on a tile for ease in moving the nest to the larval tank. This is the nest that I subsequently raised - date of spawn 11 August 2013.
 

 
You will soon realise that I love taking photo's of my fish

This nest was laid a bit quicker than I expected - I put this down to the warmer weather we experienced around that time. This made me a bit unsure as to when the hatch would take place.
 
1 DPS

 
3 DPS

 
7 DPS

 
And a video showing the developing heart

On 20 August 2013 the eggs had that very shiny appearance and the female was staying a lot closer to the nest than normal. Whilst it was a day earlier than expected I decided to move the tile to the larval tank.

This is a photo just prior to the move

 
Unfortunately, they did not hatch that night - the next morning they looked good and the movement created by the airstone seemed to be moving the eggs a fair bit. However, when I returned from work that evening it was evident that a large number of the eggs had succumbed to a white fungus. Also, one of my buckets of rotifers had crashed - lucky I had another one
 
As expected, the hatch occurred on the night of 21 August - I estimate around 60 larvae which wasn't too bad given the fungus problems.
 
1 DPH

 

Things are continuing nicely with no apparent deaths for 2 days
 
4DPH

 

 
Commenced some small water changes at 5DPH - around 1 litre siphoned and 2 litres dripped back in. I started with the tank only about half full and plan to gradually fill it up over the next couple of weeks. The reduced volume at the start makes it easier to maintain high rotifer densities.
 
At 6DPH I started to add a few NHBBS - it was also at this stage that I started to see some wiggling tails
 

 
Met can't be too far away

29 August 2013, 7 days post hatch, and I came home to this

 

 
And by 31 August the start of the second band was clearly evident on quite a few

 
 
 

Now at 17 DPH starting to get some colour in the fins, including the first sign of black in the ventral fins.

 

Now at 24 DPH and my babies are growing up.

There have been no further losses, although there are still two very tiny fish. They had there last feed of NHBBS yesterday and so are now fully weaned until artificial foods - makes life a bit easier. I have also introduced a sponge filter which should keep the ammonia under control, although this hasn't been a major issue for me given the number of larvae I started with. There is some aggression starting to develop - I am not sure at what age they can change into a female but there is a couple who are definitely going to end up as girls.

 
Third stripe (tail) appearing on most now, with the black edging starting to develop around the bands

36 DPH - more colour, both black and orange, developing in the fins

 
 

The clowns are now around 4.5 months old and are eating everything I throw at them - time to see if I can find some buyers
 

 
I subsequently sold the majority, but did keep 3 juviniles which I placed in my main display tank with the parents. One disappeared shortly thereafter, one kept pretty much to itself and one seemed to be accepted into the parents group.
 
In May 2014, the day a subsequent spawn was due to hatch, I couldn't find the female anywhere. After looking for ages, I finally found her behind the tank, dead. I don't really understand why she would jump after such a long time in the tank - maybe she was 'pushed'. It would appear that my male will now become the dominant female and the juvenile will become the new male - I am very interested to see how long this takes.

Interesting to the one one with the "helmet" in your video...

 
Good pick up This was one of my few deformed juveniles - I felt a bit sorry for it and decided to keep it in my display tank- this is it today...