Fish eggs
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Fish
Forum Description: This is the place to ask questions about fish.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=18468
Printed Date: January 15 2026 at 7:05am
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Topic: Fish eggs
Posted By: chastings
Subject: Fish eggs
Date Posted: May 25 2007 at 7:13pm
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Ha! My Occelaris pair laid eggs today! What the hell do I do
now? I want to raise them, and I'll get whatever food cultures
going that I need to. I just need help getting started. I
have a feeling that's where this awesome club will come in. I have a phyto culture going right now, and have done tiggerpods in the past. Also it looks like the male is picking at the eggs, I dont think he is eating them, it looks like he is just mouthing them. Is this unusual behavior? I would greatly appreciate any help I could get. Thanks in advance. Charlie |
Replies:
Posted By: Suzy
Date Posted: May 25 2007 at 7:24pm
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They will need rotifers, a lot of them. Get your rotifer culture going ASAP. I saw some at The Aquarium recently. And, you can get Phytofeast at Fish 4 You to feed the rotifers. Get in touch with Amie and Dave Tea quick! Hopefully, the male is just fanning them? Good Luck! ------------- http://www.suzysreef.com - SuzysReef.com http://z4.invisionfree.com/UtahBreeder/index.php?showtopic=11&st=0&#last - Using Macroalgae for Aquascaping |
Posted By: TriggerHappy
Date Posted: May 25 2007 at 7:31pm
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That is too cool...mine laid a clutch 4 days ago...There is a ton of info out there on raising them. Just the basics, you'll want to get some rotifers going and then after that some brine shrimp. I'd google and read read read. The male is fanning the eggs and is perfectly normal. Good Luck! Bill ------------- 210 gallon Mixed Reef |
Posted By: chastings
Date Posted: May 25 2007 at 7:31pm
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Nope the punk is eating the eggs. The rock the eggs are layed on
is huge too. They look way too small and delicate to
remove. Any ideas? Thanks suzy, I will get in touch w/ amie and or Dave tea. |
Posted By: TriggerHappy
Date Posted: May 25 2007 at 7:35pm
The only time I've seen them eat the eggs is if it is a bad clutch...there is nothing you can do, however I'll bet you'll have another clutch laid in a couple of weeks for sure so get ready now.  ------------- 210 gallon Mixed Reef |
Posted By: TriggerHappy
Date Posted: May 25 2007 at 7:38pm
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Another piece of advice...you may want to try laying a piece of ceramic tile or the equivalent where they are laying their clutch. If you're lucky and they use it you'll be able to take the eggs out the night before they hatch.
------------- 210 gallon Mixed Reef |
Posted By: chastings
Date Posted: May 25 2007 at 7:43pm
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Thanks Bill. Hopefully he stops, but if not I'll take your advise fot the next batch. |
Posted By: TriggerHappy
Date Posted: May 25 2007 at 7:54pm
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You're very welcome. Oh...get the book "Clownfishes" by Joyce Wilkerson...a lot of info there...where do you live?
------------- 210 gallon Mixed Reef |
Posted By: Suzy
Date Posted: May 25 2007 at 7:55pm
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Can you pull out the rock? But, wait until just before they are ready to hatch. You can tell they are going to hatch when you can see their little eyeballs looking at you! Maybe the dad is just picking detritus away from them? I don't think he is eating them...anenome fish are good parents until the fry are swimming.... ------------- http://www.suzysreef.com - SuzysReef.com http://z4.invisionfree.com/UtahBreeder/index.php?showtopic=11&st=0&#last - Using Macroalgae for Aquascaping |
Posted By: chastings
Date Posted: May 25 2007 at 8:24pm
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I live downtown. I definatly could be wrong about him eating the eggs, but it sure looks like it. I'll keep an eye on him for the next couple days to see. I won't be able to get the rock their on out of the tank, it's too big, and has too much other stuff growing on it. |
Posted By: Suzy
Date Posted: May 25 2007 at 8:29pm
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You can catch them after they hatch, but it is a PIA....Let us know if you see the eyeballs?
------------- http://www.suzysreef.com - SuzysReef.com http://z4.invisionfree.com/UtahBreeder/index.php?showtopic=11&st=0&#last - Using Macroalgae for Aquascaping |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: May 25 2007 at 9:13pm
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The male is taking care of the eggs. The only reason he would eat the eggs is if something was wrong with them or with the tank. Don't take the rock out - ever. That will just disrupt their spawning and you may not get them to spawn again for months or longer. If you loose this clutch, there will be another one in 5-10 day, so just be patient. It is unusually for the 1st clutch to go smoothly for the fish. Usually the 2nd or 3rd clutch is when things start going smoothly for them. Just be patient and don't disrupt their cycle. I wouldn't even recommend the tile because that may interupt them .. it if ain't broke ...
Catching them is no big deal. You can either use a trap or scoop them out of the tank 1/2 hour after the lights go off. You have to get the room completely dark in order for it to go smoothly - but I've always been done in about an hour. Here's a video of the trap - I use this all the time..
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VTYDTu7mK8o - http://youtube.com/watch?v=VTYDTu7mK8o
Get the Clownfish book mentioned above. Also, read the last 2 Seastar articles on how to raise rotifers and brineshrimp. The next Seastar will have more info on raising clowns.
pm me if you have questions.
Amie
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Posted By: TriggerHappy
Date Posted: May 25 2007 at 9:18pm
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I'd leave them be for sure. ------------- 210 gallon Mixed Reef |
Posted By: griffith
Date Posted: May 25 2007 at 11:59pm
Amie is a pro  - she does this all the time - I would listen to her and get her help if needed.
Linn
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Posted By: TriggerHappy
Date Posted: May 26 2007 at 12:11am
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Cool stuff Amie! Can you share the plans on your trap? TIA, Bill ------------- 210 gallon Mixed Reef |
Posted By: Suzy
Date Posted: May 26 2007 at 8:06am
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Amie rocks!
------------- http://www.suzysreef.com - SuzysReef.com http://z4.invisionfree.com/UtahBreeder/index.php?showtopic=11&st=0&#last - Using Macroalgae for Aquascaping |
Posted By: chastings
Date Posted: May 26 2007 at 8:34am
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Thanks Amie. Hopefully all goes well, I'll get the book, and I've taken steps to get a rotifer culture going. I will also need to build a trap, so if you have plans for that thing I would appreciate it. The male did stop picking at them, I think you guys were right about him just picking out bad eggs and detritus. I hope all goes well with this, I really don't want to kill a bunch of babies, but it will be fun to give it a shot! It sounds like I will have multiple opportunities from here on out. Thanks again everyone. charlie |
Posted By: chastings
Date Posted: May 27 2007 at 6:02pm
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Looks like they wont make it too much longer. The male was
eating the eggs, and I think the female joined in a little too.
There are only about 35% of the original clutch and they are goin fast.
Oh well. I'll keep an eye on them, but I doubt I'll have
too many left by the time they're ready to hatch. The parents
don't seem super interested either. Hopefully they spawn again. Thanks for everyones input. Just a side note I have a Potters leopard wrasse that looks like he may have been beatin up a little, his mouth looks swollen. I'm assuming he just got a little too close, but am not sure that that's the cause. I hope he's ok, he is my favorite fish ever. |
Posted By: TriggerHappy
Date Posted: May 27 2007 at 6:12pm
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Charlie, I'm sure that you will have another clutch very soon. As Amie said, the first clutch is never the best. The mother clown is extremely protective, so I think you are right...I hope he heals up too. Good luck again!
------------- 210 gallon Mixed Reef |
Posted By: Debbles
Date Posted: May 27 2007 at 11:37pm
| tilefor free let me know!!!!! JEFF |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: May 28 2007 at 1:15am
Thanks for the compliments you guys, I'm certainly not a pro, but I'm having fun. When I can keep 400-500 of a clutch alive at a time, then maybe I'll be a pro. 
If the parents aren't interested in the eggs anymore, then the babies are probably already dead. They will stay very active at fanning them and caring for them as long as the babies are viable. If they don't sense life in them anymore, they will basically abandon them.
Just make sure you continue to feed them well. You might want to put a drop of garlic in with the food every 4-5 days to help the wrasse out a little bit. Sometimes stress can bring on ich. Hopefully the wrasse has learned to keep its distance because the female can get pretty agressive when there are eggs.
Hey, can I take you up on that? I need 2.
I don't feel like I can post plans for the trap on the internet site. Before I posted the video on youtube, I contacted the author of the book and got her permission. I had to make sure that I added all the proper credits to her book, and to her before she would sign it off. She is actually planning to make and market the trap so I knew I had to be careful not to get sued. However, I don't think it would be a problem if I made one for you.
 It's a piece of cake to make and I would just charge you the cost to make it. I think it comes to about $2 at the most. The cost is in the 2 elbows and 2 t's. I can't remember how much they are, but I think they are .25-.40 each. After that, you just need an airpump, airline hose, an adjuster for the air flow and a clip to hold the hose in place. |
frednwilma1999 wrote:Posted By: TriggerHappy
Date Posted: May 29 2007 at 12:54am
I would be forever in your debt Amie! Please make me one!Thanks! Bill ------------- 210 gallon Mixed Reef |
Posted By: Jake Pehrson
Date Posted: May 29 2007 at 11:42am
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It is somewhat common for the first batch of eggs to be less successful then later batches. The parents are just getting the hang of it. Most likely if they are slowly eating the eggs then they are probably removing bad/decaying eggs from the batch. This is necessary to insure the viability of the remaining eggs. Watch them close you may have some fry to raise. If not get everything ready for next time. Their next batch of eggs will probably be more fruitful. You also may want to consider buying some selco (or equivalent) for the parents (and the fry), especially the female. Soak their food in the selco and make sure they are getting plenty of food. The more healthy the female the more viable the eggs will be (larger yolks salks). Hope that helps.
------------- Jake Pehrson Murray http://coralplanet.com" rel="nofollow - coralplanet.com http://utahbeeranch.com" rel="nofollow - :) |
Posted By: Adam Blundell
Date Posted: May 29 2007 at 11:45am
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I agree with Jake.
Adam ------------- Come to a meeting, they�re fun! |