OMG OMG OMG My Marine Tank has a swarm of baby fish

[Maleficent2]

When I got up this morning and turn on the light in our Marine Tank much to my surprise I saw hundreds of teenie tiny baby fish!

My "Nemo" was eating them like candy

And with little less than a week before we leave for WDW I am afraid none will survive

I have to say a Marine Tank is just way cool at all the things that happen in them when you have a live sand bed and live rock.


Sad for my little fishes right now ....may try to put some in the extra filter with an air stone and hope for the best.

Anyone have a marine tank that can offer suggestions this is our first hatch

 

[Disneyfan_77]

Don't they usually sell those hatching containers that hang inside the tank.
I know i have seen this for fresh water, not sure though for salt water tanks.

 

[Aneille]

If it was your clownfish that laid eggs you should have seen little orangey specks with big eyes stuck to a rock usually a flat one in your tank before they were hatched. (Just like in Nemo) Your male clownfish the smaller one would have been fanning the eggs the last few days.

If they are baby clownfish you really can't save them now, but your clownfish will continue to have them. Clownfishes by Joyce D. Wilkerson has excellent information on breeding clownfish and clownfish in general. Its a great book.

You will really need to set-up and be prepared to rear the fish before the next batch. For most people its too much work. You will need a seperate tank and live food to feed the babies. And once your clownfish start spawning they do it frequently.

Because you have a live sandbed it could have been something else that spawned. Or if you have shrimp they also will release eggs into your system.

Either way congrats!

I've had my clownfish for 3 years now I think and they have never spawned! Last year they just started sleeping in their anemone together!

 

[nemocute]

Anneille explained it really well. When I had fish, don't know if this is the same, and they laid eggs, I out the parents in a seperate container once the eggs were ready to hatch and the male had been fanning them for a while. Once they hatched and were big enough, we moved the bigger fish in the same container

 

[Maleficent2]

It was not the clowns....I saved a few but since we leave Saturday for WDW I am afraid these little guys faith is sealed.

Was not prepared for this blessed event so right now the fry are in a watter bottle with an air stone. From what I am reading they need extremely clean water, water changes everyday and since we are leaving this will not happen. I hate to lose all of these our first spawn out in our Marine Tank but I think there is nothing I can do to save them.

We have loads of inverts in the tank but these really did look like fish not shrimp. Camel Back Shrimp, peppermint shrimp, blue leg hermits all of which could possibily be the parents.

We also have 2 scallops( one red and one white), a common hermit, 1 sand sifting star, 1 chocolate chip star, 2 anemones(neither of which our clowns like) and a black long spine urchin and numerous bivalves attached to the live rocks. I do not think the fry belong to any of these.

Fish- yellow tailed damsels, 2 percula clowns Mated, 2 yellow Chromis, 1 yellow clown goby and a Mandarin(who eats pellet food-I know weird but WooHoo!)

They were clear with black eyes and you could see the tail fin. very very small clear eggs were floating around also.

Perculas never leave the left top corner of the tank for the most part I am thinking it is the Yellow Chromis since it has a nice cave and one had been hiding this week.

Anneille explained it really well. When I had fish, don't know if this is the same, and they laid eggs, I out the parents in a seperate container once the eggs were ready to hatch and the male had been fanning them for a while. Once they hatched and were big enough, we moved the bigger fish in the same container

That would have worked had I seen or known that there were eggs in the tank but with the amount of live rock and hiding spaces our tank has we did not see any signs of a pending birth.

 

[tigressjewel]

Wow Mal, this sounds so awesome! How long has it taken you to develop this tank? You obviously have done a lot of learning about it too. I would really love to see a photo if you have any.

 

[Laurabearz]

so does this mean we can call you GRANNY now???

 

[PrincessOp]

I don't have any valuable advice to add to this thread -- just wanted to say that I envy those of you that have a saltwater tank. I have always wanted one. Since you guys seem to know a lot about it, are they very expensive and difficult to maintain?

 

[Aneille]

I don't have any valuable advice to add to this thread -- just wanted to say that I envy those of you that have a saltwater tank. I have always wanted one. Since you guys seem to know a lot about it, are they very expensive and difficult to maintain?

It all depends! No, really. A tank can be pretty inexpensive and set up so its easy to care for.

But it gets addicting and if you start wanting to add corals (depending on the type) it can get very expensive.

A basic saltwater tank with live sand/rock and clownfish would not be difficult nor would it be too expensive. Clownfish are hardy saltwater fish and unlike most saltwater fish can live very happily in a tank as small as 10 gallons.

I had a beautiful 30 gallon cube tank stocked with hard corals and fish and it crashed 2 summers ago for 2 reasons. I got a dreaded form of algea (bryopsis) and because my tank got too hot and I didn't have central ac. Hundreds of dollars went down the drain in corals. It was awful. I saved my fish though and moved them to a 10 gallon. I had one fish casuality from the move. They have been in my 10 gallon now for about a year. It is a simple tank with enough light for an anemone and some lowlight corals. But again, my tank got hot this summer and I had some bleaching in my anemone.

I have a 135 reef tank waiting in my home to be set up now since last summer! I have ac now, I have all my live rock, my DH was building me my skimmer and its almost complete (it is a euroreef clone if anyone knows or cares!) and I am excited to get my large tank up.

My SIL has a 135 too. Her's has been set up though for a little over a year and its beautiful but she just recently lost 4 huge montipora caps and has no idea why! I get my anemones from her since she has tons and they keep splitting. She also housed some of my tank inhabitants that I couldn't keep when I moved to the 10 gallon.

I love reef tanks. There are reef/saltwater fish clubs set up all over the country and most of websites with message boards and people excited and willing to help you out with whatever you need.

Also check craiglist for used equiptment and livestock. Sometimes you can get the whole tank and fish etc for a good price if you are just willing to move it and other times they part everything out.

 

[PurpleDuck]

Wow Mal, this sounds so awesome! How long has it taken you to develop this tank? You obviously have done a lot of learning about it too. I would really love to see a photo if you have any.

I too, would love to see some pics! My BIL used to have one, but when they had to move, many states away, he had to give it up to good homes.

I hope you took the opportunity for working with the new camera this morning!

 

[Aneille]

I have never kept Chromis. Do they spawn easily in captivity?

I know someone last year had some awesome pics of a baby shrimp in the water column. I am trying to find it so you can rule it out.

Due to someone asking for pics I pulled out an old pic of my 30 gallon when it was relatively young. I miss it and I didn't even know I did, until I just looked!

 

[Maleficent2]

My tank is a relative newbie as Marine tanks go it is almost 1.5 yrs old.

We have no corals right now because of bad advice early on we have two creatures that love to chow down on coral the Long Spine Black urchin and the Chocolate chip star both were reported to be reef safe but don't you beleive it.

So our tank is mostly live rocks, sand, fish and inverts(anemones, shrimp etc)

We plan on getting a 55 gallon shortly and when we do the urchin and the star can have the 29 and we will add corals.

I will take some pictures later if I have time and post( very busy getting the house and stuff ready for the trip-inlaws are returning with us so house must be spotless )


We bought our tank at a garage sale for $10 already had the stand,pumps and powerheads have gone thru 2 filters they are about $35 a piece. The lights for keeping corals and some ameones are the most expensive thing and if you are going to a larger size tank you will need better filtration (ie a protein simmer- they are expensive too)

I did notice today that Walmart has a 55 gallon setup for $158 but that would have to be tweaked once you got hooked to hold corals and some ameones.

If people are really interested in this topic when I get back from WDW I will post how this tight wad started with almost no investment. Now that we are hooked I can see this getting expensive though

Aneille

not sure about the breeding habits of chromis only been Marine Tank keeping for 1.5 years

What kind of anemones??

 

[PrincessOp]

Wow, you guys are really making me want to start my own tank. I feel a new obsession coming on! Thanks for all the info. I have always dreamed of having seahorses. Now, I know they are predators. Anyone know how they do with other fish or how difficult they are to maintain? Maybe this is a project I might want to keep for when my toddler is a little older and more manageable. lol

 

[HeDiedxILive]

Mal, can we get a picture? I'd love to see the tank!

I've never heard of live rock/sand.


Edit: Just saw what you said about the pictures. I hope you have time!

 

[big_ol_lineman]

nemo has gone to the dark side

 

[Aneille]

My SIL has bubble tip anemones. The plain brown ones, not the red or green tipped.

I don't know much about seahorses but a guy near me used to breed them.

They need a special habitat with lots of seaweeds and very gentle current, they prefer taller tanks than a longer one. I also think the prefferred stock is tank bred because they eat frozen food not just live food.

A women I know had a tank of them and it was beautiful. She also had a stunning larger reef tank in the same room.

Seahorse.org has tons of information.

 

[saltnpepper]

I have no advice for saltwater tanks but my freshwater fisheys had babies and we just left them alone and about 5 lived but is was sad that some were gone
sorry mal i do not no what to tell u

 

[Maleficent2]

UPDATE

I saved only 4-5 and they are living in a water bottle with a air stone and they may have to go to WDW with us

I now beleive the are probably babies of my yellow tailed Blue Damsels.

Mal, can we get a picture? I'd love to see the tank!

I've never heard of live rock/sand.


Edit: Just saw what you said about the pictures. I hope you have time!

Live Rock and live sand is just that LIVE it means it isn't dead....it has benefical bacteria and life living in it...some people even maintain a marine tank with no filtration at all except the live rock and sand.

When you have it you have all sorts of life that you do not put into your tank but it just appears like copepods, worms, starfish etc.


Seahorses

Now, I know they are predators

Predators???where did you hear that?? they do not even have teeth.

http://www.seahorse-nw.com/p1_Seahorse_Keeping.html

 

[HeDiedxILive]

nemo has gone to the dark side

"Fish are friends, not food!"

He better go to the meetings

 

[Maleficent2]

"Fish are friends, not food!"

He better go to the meetings

that is what I kept telling them but it did no good