breeding maroon clowns

the maroons in my main 90 they share it w. a mandarin goby and a scotter blenny so its no prob the others are going in individual tanks, btw can i just put in two maroons and they will do the same thing as the false. percs. or will i have to go and import the maited pair?

 

its alot harder to pair maroons that way im not gonna say its impossible but there probably will be a high mortality rate until you find two that will mate

 

what do u recoment to start with i have those pairs as options but id rather do it right, do u recomend onyx percs., false percs., or blk clowns, picaso maybe idk and how long would it take them to reach breeding size

p.s my fry holding/hatching tank is a 10 gal., basic lighting, a heater, protine skimmer, and in air stone. do i need anything elses btw thank u for ur help

 

I saw a breeding pair of maroons at my LFS yesterday and the female was the size of my hand and the male like 2 inches. It was cool!! I didn't know there was such a huge difference in size. I mean, I knew the females were larger...I just didn't know they were THAT much larger!

 

I've just been lucky enough to start breeding Tomato Clowns, and the first batch are just going through metamorphosis now. It's taken my pair of Toms nearly 3 years to settle and start breeding. If you were to buy a breeding pair (whatever breed) then expect them to take a few months to settle into their new surroundings before starting to breed. It's highly likely that the female will be aggressive towards the male aswell for a good while before she'll allow him anywhere near her.

As for your fry tank. No skimmer needed, at least not yet. Don't set it up until you're actually having eggs laid, because there's just no point. You'll be disheartened with an empty tank sitting there looking at you. I'd suggest running the heater in a bucket initially and setting it to match the main tank temperature exactly. When you first notice you have some eggs, have a sponge filter (air driven one) ready, and set this away in your main tank to seed. And still keep the tank empty. No need for it yet.

If you're going to hatch the eggs in the holding tank you'll have to make sure that the fish lay on a removeable tile, so this can be removed and put into the holding tank the day before they hatch. If you're hatching them in the main tank then you'll have to catch them as they hatch and remove them to the holding tank. They hatch in the dark, about 2 hours after lights out.....

So they're hatching and now you're ready for your holding tank. Draw some water out of the main tank to fill the holding tank to the required level. Replace the main tank water with fresh mixed salt water just as you would in a water change. This way the eggs/fry are kept in the same water rather than moving them into a different environment. When you do this, you're still keeping the filter in the main tank seeding.

In the holding tank you need your heater and a couple of small airstones. Like I said, the heater should be precalibrated to the exact temperature of the main tank. The airstones are also for providing circulation aswell as aeration, so 2 small ones at either side at the back of the tank (underneath the heater which is horizontal) will give the best circulation. Have them turned down so that they provide aeration and movement but not bubbling too much. Sponge filter is still seeding in the main tank.

That will get you going with fish hatching and fry handling for the initial stage.

About this time you'll need to be producing food for them. You'll need Rotifers for them to eat. You'll need phytoplankton for the Rotifers to eat. You'll need brine shrimp for the fry to eat as they get bigger. And this stage should be in motion (or very well prepared) before you even have any hatching.

If you're still reading after all this, then well done. My ramblings are personal experience, and it's working for me. There may be better ways, or certainly there are worse ways, but that's my way.

Someone on here gave me a great piece of advice many months ago when I started keeping Clownfish. I'll pass it on to you now, and it's not a secret, but it could very well be the best piece of advice you ever get. Buy this book and read it.

Clownfishes by Joyce D Wilkerson.

My Tomato Clownfish are now 18 days after hatching, and the filter is still seeding in the main tank. Pretty soon it'll be going in the holding tank and I can stop doing daily water changes of 20%. Maybe go onto every 3 days or so. It's hard work but very fulfilling.

 

ok so heres what i did i gave my false perc. a mate and suprizingly enough they hit it off the swim eat and sleep togeather, im feeding them a well balanceddiet of krill, brine, and a protine suppliment every 2 days my params. are perfect and they have the whole 90 gal. reef for themselves. does it take them to long to grow one is only a bit larger im assuming thats the female. and is there anything else i need?

 

Do you know the routine of Clownfish sexing? They all start out as juveniles and then they start fighting for dominance. One will become dominant and become a female. The other will be subservient and will become a developed male. The female will be much bigger than the male, and she will have to accept him as a mate before they get anywhere near breeding. That could take a couple of years.

If you've picked up a couple of Clowns who're both female then they'll never breed. Females don't change sex again once they become one, but a male will change to a female if his partner dies, and then he'll take the next dominant as her mate.

So unless you know the history of the fish from juvenile days, you might be lucky to get a pair or you might end up with 2 females.

 

yea one is bigger i had my origional pair but she killed the male and then stoped growing she has atleast a 1/2 in. on him the other one i just added is a bit smaller then she is. do u think my best bet would be adding a small group of juviniles

 

its wierd tho. they brush up along each other and have sort of convoltions, shaking rapidly is theis one trying to disply dominence

 

Well, you may be lucky with what you have, but only the fish will know for sure. If you really want to be sure, then put a single juvenile in with your existing female and let them develop. But that could take a couple of years like I said. Or take a chance with the 2 you have. Your call really.

The twitching is really funny to watch innit. We have a pair of Percs who both twitch at each other, they're both the same size now, and both developed into different colours. I think one might be an Ocellaris.....: