Breeding Journal, Species: Amphiprion ocellaris var. Darwin Black

General
Species:  Amphiprion ocellaris var. Darwin Black
Social Structure:  Male/Female pair
Size of Individuals: Female about 3", Male about 2"
Age of Individuals:  at least 5.5yrs old (the previous owner purchased them in Feb 2009)
Date added to Tank: December 2011 

Broodstock Tank Details
Size of Tank:  75 gallon mixed reef tank
Substrate Details:  Aragonite sand
Filtration Details: Aqueon ProFlex Model 4 Sump with filter socks and Reef Octopus NWB150 protein skimmer                
Water Changes:  20-30% monthly
Water Temperature:  80 deg F
Lighting:  2x Ecotech Radion XR30W Gen 2 LED fixtures
Lighting Cycle:  16 hour (sunrise at 6am, sunset at 10pm, moonlighting from midnight to 6am)
Other Tank Inhabitants:  4 Banggai Cardinals, 1 Foxface, Green Mandarin, 3 Peppermint Shrimp, various snails

Broodstock Feeding Details
Food Types:  New Life Spectrum Pellets, Frozen brine and mysis, Reef Frenzy 
Feeding Schedule:  Auto feeder feeds pellets twice a day, frozen generally 2-3 times a week

Spawning Details
Date of First Spawn:   4/21/2014 (This is the date of the first spawn since I owned them, they had previously spawned in 2011)
Spawn Time of Day:  mid-afternoon
Dates of Consecutive Spawns:  5/7/2014, 5/20/2014, 6/1/2014, 6/15/2014, 6/27/2014,  7/9/2014, 3/29/15, 4/8/15, 4/27/15
Courtship Details:  The day before the spawn the male begins cleaning the nest site. The day of the spawn, the male cleans until spawn and the female becomes territorial chasing other fish away. 
Egg Size:  about 2-3mm in length
Egg Color:  orange
Egg Count:  The first spawn was about 200, subsequent spawns seem to be about the same (have only actually counted the first)

Hatch Details
Hatch Date:  missed first hatch (estimated to have been 4/30/14)
Hatch Time of Day:  30-45 minutes after dark
# Days after Spawn:  9-10 days
Larvae Description:  Transparent, about 3mm long
Consecutive Hatch Dates: 5/17/2014, 5/29/2014, 6/11/2014, 6/24/2014, 7/6/2014, 7/20/2014, 8/2/2014, 4/?/15, 4/16/15,             


Larval Tank Details
Temperature:  80 deg F
Size of Larval Tank: 10 gallon               
Substrate Details:  Bare bottom
Other Tank Decor: none               
Filtration Details:  None, airstone for oxygenation 
Lighting:  Aqueon Mini 50/50 Compact Flourescent 10W
Lighting Cycle: 12 hours 
Water Changes:  1 gallon daily 

Larval Feeding Details
Food Types:  Rotifers, Baby Brine Shrimp, BRS Reef Chili
Feeding Schedule: Rotifers 3 times a day for first 5-7 days, then BBS twice a day for next 5-7, 1 measuring spoon (included in package) of Reef Chili when weaning off BBS               

Metamorphosis/Settlement
Date of Settlement Start:  5/25/2014 (Spawn 2), 7/6/14 (Spawn 5)
Days after Hatch:  7-8 days
Date of Settlement End:  6/1/2014 (Spawn 2), 7/13/2014 (Spawn 5)
Description of Fry:  dark orange/brown, with head and middle stripes

Grow-Out Tank Details
Temperature:  80 deg F
Size of Grow-Out Tank: 20 gal long  
Substrate Details:  barebottom
Other Tank Decor:  PVC connectors for hiding spaces
Filtration Details:  HOB filter
Lighting:  Florescent Aquarium bulb   
Lighting Cycle:  12 hr
Water Changes:  3-5 gallons weekly
Size at Transfer: ~5-6mm
Age at Transfer:  1 week post settlement

Grow-Out Feeding Details
Food Types:  Pulverized New Life Spectrum Flakes and pellets with some BRS Reef Chili mixed in
Feeding Schedule:  Twice a Day (Autofeeder)

Additional Information

(No Pictures or Videos in the Section Please)
Miscellaneous Information: 
These clowns were purchased form a friend in 2011, they had been spawning regularly for several months before purchase. They just recently began spawning again in April of 2014. I was unable to collect Spawn 1. I have had high mortality rates or larvae in the first 24 hours, with no survivors from Spawns 3 and 4. Three survivors remain form both Spawn 2 and 5. spawn 6 was not collected. 


You will be required to provide photographic or video 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. PHOTOS AND VIDEO S MUST BE PLACED IN ADDITIONAL POSTS, NEVER IN THE FIRST POST IN A JOURNAL.

Adult Pair hosting Toadstool Leather

 
Spawn 1 Eggs Day 1 (approximately 200 eggs)

 
Spawn 1 Eggs Day 7 

 
Spawn 4 being laid (Youtube video)
http://youtu.be/soLR7C9pS...MFT9RIjsGwy4YQ5bkrEPlQ
[video]http://youtu.be/soLR7C9pSRs?list=UUMFT9RIjsGwy4YQ5bkrEPlQ[/video]

 
Spawn 2 immediately after hatch (sorry for the poor quality, didn't want to stun them with flash)

 
Spawn 2 at 15 Days Old

 
Spawn 2 Day 19

 
Spawn 2 Day 31

 
Spawn 2 Day 45

 
Spawn 2 Day 58 (All three are still alive, just couldn't get them all in the same frame)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I purchased a 20 gal Long tank on Friday with the intent of dividing it into two 10 gal segments so that I can separate the different sizes of clowns.  The store bought divider lasted about 3 hours, then I started seeing the smaller clowns mixing in with the larger ones. I said screw it, and just pulled out the divider. After about 24 hours, the larger clowns accepted the smaller as part of the group. Here they are, in an accidental grouping....
 


 
I was expecting Spawn 7 to hatch last night, I put the larval snagger I purchased from Chad Vossen in the tank, came back a few hours later to find it full of Peppermint shrimp larvae, guess I'll be starting another journal. 

Did you know your shrimp were spawning?

yeah, they have been spawning for quite a while. I actually harvested them once by hand when I was waiting up for clowns to hatch. I almost never see the shrimp in my display tank, so it is hard to figure out when to be ready for a hatch. I literally just finished reading April Kirkendoll's book on raising Peppermint shrimp about 3 days ago, so the timing of this was great.

Spawn 7 Hatched on the evening of 7/20.  I used the Vossen larval snagger and ended up with about 50 larvae. My rotifer cultures are still not doing well, I've been culturing some Nanno to feed them, just haven't had enough time to culture enough to feed. So I did a bad thing... I started the larvae directly on newly hatched brine shrimp. It has been a couple days, and I do have some survivors (I count 5 right now, but there may be more).
 
I also modified my light source on my Larval Snagger so that it no longer runs off batteries. Now I am able to completely automate hatch night with my Apex using one of the feed timers.
 

7/30/14  - 60 Days Post Settlement for Spawn 2!

106 Days post Spawn [
 

Really nice pics, It seems you have some camera curious fish here.

update time...
Of the 7 offspring that made it to adulthood, I have 6 of them left. I found one dead on the bottom one day, it looked like it had been killed by the others, frayed fins.
 
The parents just recently started spawning again after a long hiatus. I tore down my main tank and upgraded, in the process i moved the clown pair to a 20gallon tank. The second spawn since they started back up is due to hatch tonight. I don't have any rotifer cultures going yet, so I'm just going to let this one pass. I decided to take advantage of the situation and look at an egg under the microscope. I quickly discovered something wrong. The egg I pulled was alive, but it also had a nematode in it. I'm wondering if this could be what caused my low hatch/survival rate before. I pulled a second egg and it appears to be clean.
 
https://youtu.be/xJcSAcGJbEo
 
I cant get the embed to work, but that will get you to a video of the egg with the nematode.

It would concern me. Are any of your youngsters pairing off?  It looks like there are some good natural sizes to work with.  Or would you prefer unrelated?

Jake
We are all in this together

None of them have paired off. I'm in the process of coming up with a place to house them separately. I bought several tanks during the Petsmart $1 per gallon sale, I just need to get the parts I need to plumb them all together and build a stand... mostly laziness on my part.
 
Last night, the parents laid down another spawn. I've been growing phyto for about two weeks, and ordered rotifers last night, I'm going to try and raise this spawn.

Good luck with them, I am behind on setting up my projects while waiting on an electrician. 
 
 I missed the Petsmart sale, and have decided to build a small stock unit after the Instant Ocean Hatchery ply tanks. I saw a couple at the office in Ohio and liked them, and money wise it will cost less for a six unit one with larger units then ten gallon ones would cost. I am getting a near cost price though on the Marine Ply.

Jake
We are all in this together