Breeding Clownfish

[deatherage]

I have a 12gallon salt water tank. It has nothing in it becuase ive been getting it ready to put 2 clownfish in it in hopes of giving them a breeding ground. I have read a few different websites and talked to a few people and I cant seem to get a solid response out of anyone on how hard it is to breed them.

I know that the clownfish is gender neautral and then the larger one changes into a female to spawn. Does anyone know of a good way to buy a mating pair? How often will clownfish breed if they are the only 2 fish in the tank? Ive had people tell me its not hard at all and someone at a pet store tell me they are REALLY hard to get to breed.

Has anyone had a batch of clowfish be born and if so would you mind giving me some advice before I purchase my fish. Or perhaps a location to buy them.

My tank has a live sand bottom along with a live rock and a fake rock tower in it. I used distilled water and InstaOcean salt and the chem levels are all good.

 

[xNOTLOCx]

well it can vary for price, tank bred sometimes is more cheaper when you buy them or sometimes wild ones are cheaper, but the type im not sure what you want, the most common that i hear of people having are, oscelleris, true percula clown, false percula clown, and plenty more but those are the ones that ive seen always in stock at most lfs, the ones i would recommend are oscelleris and false percula, i have a true percula and they can be very stingy when u first put them into the tank they might not eat and are not as hardy as the oscelleris or false percula... it took me 5 days to coax myne into eating and it took me 4 hours to get him to... so i wouldnt recommend it if you dont have the patience or if you might worry alot about your new fish, it can be scary.... but ya they are territorial, and wont fight when they are paired so make sure u buy them paired already, unpaired ones might be a little more chellengeing to get your results, but not too much, uuum they liek to lay their eggs or fry into a nice smooth shell or somethign that it feels liek it is protected in, the male will gaurd them, i suggest a simple flat seashell u can find at the beach or store then boil it... be careful from the store bought shells, some are sprayed with glodd to enhance the loo,, other than that im not too sure on the actual mating, tiemr periods, and how to care for your new babies but good luck, u might need mroe live rock than that...

 

[crazyelece]

If you have a mated pair of clowns it is fairly easy to get them to breed and lay eggs. Also once they start they don't stop. But this is just the beginning as you have to culture food for the fry. The only thing I know of that the fry can eat is rotifiers so you have to culture these. In order to do that you also have to culture phyto to feed the rotifiers. Needless to say these are not easy feats for a begginer. One of the local stores here has bred there own clowns (ocellaris) for over 15 years now.

If you really are serious about giving it a go buy "Clownfishes" by Joyce Wilkerson. It will give you all the info you need on how to go about doing it.

 

[deatherage]

I appreciate your feedback. I read that book in the store however I didnt buy it because I found he uses a lot of "Theory" in the book I read. I wanted facts.

Few quick questions does anyone know a store that sells mated pairs? and if so what is the contact info.

Second how do they ship fish from the internet stores?

--Brian

 

[deatherage]

I found a store in phoenix that sells mated pais of clownfish for $120
I ordered a set

 

[Jeff20147]

Heres a nice pair..

http/www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/ItemD...=7779&siteid=20

 

[@ombomb]

What size is the tank?

How much live rock do you have?

Doesn't look like you have anywhere near enough in there.

 

[Mr Miagi]

It can be done, and its an awsome venture to undertake. I think you really need the capacity for growout tanks though, where proper mechanical filtration can deal with the large amounts of decompoising food the fry miss, and any dying fry you might have. Its olso easier to have a dedicated space for the food culturing, because it can be a littlke noisy and unsightly.

Id say by the book by Joyce Wilkerson. Alot of it is theory, because in science, and even the reef hobby, nothing is "fact" really, our methods, attempts, and success varies under different variables, so nothing is going to be written in stone. I beleive she has bred clowns, and the book is well refered and recomended throughout the hobby.

 

[xNOTLOCx]

well my lfs has 2 mated clown all the time ,,, different types, i mean i know they had tru perc last time, but i would call and ask when they will get in an oscelleris or w/e i dno how to spell it.. but its www.upscales.com, and uum the phone # is (1) 503-691-6253

they always have great fish, i havent seen anything sick in there except an urchin with no spines, hmmmm ;( and a mandarin goby with really bad white spots, but they wer in quarantine tanks, i havnt lost a think from them except when i cycled with fish, wich i totally regret, but ide giv them a call, they ship within 24 hours, ))))))))) i like em... they do alot mroe corals if u check out the website, but alot of fish too...

 

[jen20147]

What size is the tank?

How much live rock do you have?

Doesn't look like you have anywhere near enough in there.

Yeah Id say 12 gallons is not going to make a pair of clownfish very happy.