Reef Discussion

[Lesley]

Hi. Proud as punch but don't know what to do from here ?? Any chance these eggs will survive 5 hungry tangs once light down and bta closes ? Please help any suggestions greatly appreciated !!

 

[MagicJ]

Hi @Lesley

This is the link to my relatively recent breeding journal http://thereefuge.com/threads/the-start-of-the-long-road-to-breeding-amphiprion-ocellaris.7111/

Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[Lesley]

Hi @Lesley

This is the link to my relatively recent breeding journal http://thereefuge.com/threads/the-start-of-the-long-road-to-breeding-amphiprion-ocellaris.7111/

Feel free to ask any questions.

Wow. Just read all 12 plus pages. 1. Is there any chance whatsoever they will survive where they are now. 2. Do the microscopic foods they need live in our tanks anyway ? 3. Seem you can by Rottifers online. Do they have to be live or can you feed the packet ones twice daily ? 4. Will 30l nanno do ? How do you get them out of DT ? When do you attempt to remove them & nanno them ? 5. Do you have rock in nanno ? I see you talk about air stone. How do you use and where do you place ? Darken out tank yes or no ? Lights ? Sorry so many. !

 

[MagicJ]

1. Unfortunately, no. There won't be anything for them to eat, and, they will get eaten by the other fish/corals.
2. If you use NSW then you may be introducing some rotifers. But rotifers feed on various algaes e.g. Nannochloropsis which will not be in your tank. They breed up very quickly - from memory, they are sexually mature at 48 hours and live for about 7 days. So, the short answer is no.
3. Yes, you can buy rotifers from ReefCulture. The larval fish will generally not eat anything but live food initially - they need to see the movement to strike.
4. A 30l nano will be fine. I used 50l tank but it was only around 30% full for the first few weeks - you need to reach a balance between high food densities and good water quality.
5. You are better off moving the eggs the day of hatch rather than trying to collect the larvae. But. if that is not possible, the larvae are attracted by light so you can use a torch to attract the larvae and syphon them out. A snagger is a better option.
6. Either remove the eggs the day of hatch or the larvae as soon as they hatch. I trained mine to lay on a tile so it was easy to move that to the larval tank.
7. Initially, all you need in the larval tank is an airstone and a heater. I put the airstone under the heater - it just provides a bit of movement in the tank - putting it under the heater helps to distribute the heat better.
8. Yes, all sides of the tank need to be covered - I used foam covered in black garbage bags. The larvae need a dark background so they can see the prey better. I had overhead light for 24 hours/day until met.

Take your time - you will have many more nests over the next 6 months to work with if you want to.

You need to practice keeping the rotifer culture alive together with a nanno culture if you plan to use live algae.

When working with the larvae I was spending around 30 minutes before work and 60 minutes after work for 3 to 4 weeks - it is fairly time consuming :)

 

[Lesley]

T

1. Unfortunately, no. There won't be anything for them to eat, and, they will get eaten by the other fish/corals.
2. If you use NSW then you may be introducing some rotifers. But rotifers feed on various algaes e.g. Nannochloropsis which will not be in your tank. They breed up very quickly - from memory, they are sexually mature at 48 hours and live for about 7 days. So, the short answer is no.
3. Yes, you can buy rotifers from ReefCulture. The larval fish will generally not eat anything but live food initially - they need to see the movement to strike.
4. A 30l nano will be fine. I used 50l tank but it was only around 30% full for the first few weeks - you need to reach a balance between high food densities and good water quality.
5. You are better off moving the eggs the day of hatch rather than trying to collect the larvae. But. if that is not possible, the larvae are attracted by light so you can use a torch to attract the larvae and syphon them out. A snagger is a better option.
6. Either remove the eggs the day of hatch or the larvae as soon as they hatch. I trained mine to lay on a tile so it was easy to move that to the larval tank.
7. Initially, all you need in the larval tank is an airstone and a heater. I put the airstone under the heater - it just provides a bit of movement in the tank - putting it under the heater helps to distribute the heat better.
8. Yes, all sides of the tank need to be covered - I used foam covered in black garbage bags. The larvae need a dark background so they can see the prey better. I had overhead light for 24 hours/day until met.

Take your time - you will have many more nests over the next 6 months to work with if you want to.

You need to practice keeping the rotifer culture alive together with a nanno culture if you plan to use live algae.

When working with the larvae I was spending around 30 minutes before work and 60 minutes after work for 3 to 4 weeks - it is fairly time consuming :)

Thanks very much. I will let this batch runs it's natural course and hopefully plan well for the next lot Obviously extremely involved !!! Urghhh. !! I feel terrible letting them become fish food. How sad. !

 

[MagicJ]

It's just part of nature really - in the wild only a very small percentage would survive.