I need help from the pros: breeding clowns

[george1098]

Hi Everybody!
I started this thread in hopes that some of the more experienced aquarists could help me in my new feat. I would like to take my reef tank experience up a notch by attempting to breed my clowns. I have a pair of ocellaris that I believe may be a breeding pair, but I have yet to witness them “in the act”. One of the fish (the female I presume) is significantly larger than her smaller counterpart (the male). I believe they are approximately two years old and I keep them in a 33 gal tank with a yellow tailed damsel and a yellow tang. I do not have an anemone for them as of yet, but I would like to get one soon. What species would be best for ocellaris clowns? Does size matter? The two fish are quite inseparable, especially at night, so it really seems to me like these two little love birds may bless my tank with a batch of eggs, but as I said, have yet to do so.
Now I believe they are about two years old, but I can’t be sure. Around what age do breeding pairs start to copulate?
My tank is quite small, and busy with all the fish, shrimp and hermit crabs I have running around it right now, so I was thinking there might not be enough privacy for the two clowns to really get busy”. I was thinking of setting up a 40 gallon tank I have just sitting around as the designated breeding tank so my clowns have a nice big space to call their own, and hopefully decide to settle down and start a family.
We’ll keep this thread simple for now, I would like to get to the point where the fish start laying eggs before I start worrying about setting up a fry tank and growing rotifers.

So, any suggestions, comments or advice from people who have had success?
Thanks for taking the time to read the thread and happy reefing!

[BigLew]

First off, let me just say that this is not going to be easy or cheap. To start with, this book is a must have: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4852&N=2004+113293

Young clownfish will take time to mature and figure out who is going to be the male in the family. Once the sex change is done (female is twice the size of the male), they may start "doin it" at any time, could be months, could be years. Its always better to start with one fish that is way larger than its partner, this will speed up the sex change.

Joyce Wilkerson is the expert, and this book has step by step instructions on breeding and everything else you ever wanted to know about clownfishes. One of the first things she will say is that you need rotifers.

Then you should read up on rotifers:
http://www.rotifer.com/
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/sept2002/breeder.htm

I bought rotifers and hatching equipment from florida aqua farms:
https://3kserver7.com/~frank/secure/agora.cgi?cart_id=4814813.24823*_l0mS6&product=CULTURE_KITS

I would suggest the $90 maxi kit as it has everything you will need except for the empty 2 liter bottles.

Next you need a raise out tank. Just follow the instructions in the book.

You dont need an anemone at all, not in the least, dont listen to anyone that tells you you do. A nice clay pot or tile works just fine.

Before you do anything else, just order the book, read it and then decide if you really want to go down this path.

My two cents.

[george1098]

thanks biglew
as a matter of fact i already spotted that book on amazon.com. it has great reviews so i'm deffinatly thinking about giving it a read.to be honest i'm pretty much just playing the waiting game with my clowns untill they start to show some encouraging behavior before i make a commitment to any gear. i plan to start another tank in the next few weeks that will have more of an invert emphasis, and i was thinkng of moving my clowns in there so they have a little more privacy from the other fish. hopefully that will spice things up a bit. thanks again for the great links, i'll keep everyone posted