Aquaria/Clownfish breeding

The anemone fish, better known as the clownfish, are popular fish in the tanks of many saltwater aquarium enthusiasts. They are generally found in the warm waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Clownfish live at the bottom of shallow seas in sheltered reefs or in shallow lagoons. They are also one of the first saltwater fish known to breed in captivity. Breeding fish instead of capturing them from the wild has many advantages; breeding is much more ecofriendly and sustainable, and the fish are healthier and less susceptible to diseases.

Paired/spawning clownfish

All clownfish are born as males, but are hermaphroditic. The most dominant one in a group becomes larger than the rest and morphs into a female. The next in the chain of hiearchy becomes the breeding male. The remaining fish will remain nongendered until the breeding male or female dies. Techniques to pair clownfish are available, but the easiest way to ensure a paired set of clownfish is to purchase them as such.

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  In paired clownfish, the male is the smaller of the two.

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  A newly laid clutch of about 250 eggs can be seen at the top of the inside of the clay pot. They are orange in color and capsule-shaped.

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  The male's primary roles are to clean and aerate the eggs and protect them from predators.

Rotifer culture

Adult clownfish in captivity will eat a variety of foods, but clownfish fry instinctivly only eat live and moving prey they can hunt. A suitable food source for clownfish fry is rotifers. Rotifers have a short lifespan of about five days, so they need to be cultured because they are usually not sold in pet stores. A start-up culture must be purchased. Many establishments culture and ship rotifers. The culture, as well as the rotifer diet, was obtained from Reed Mariculture. Keeping the rotifer culture alive can be just as, or even more, challenging than the fry. A culture must be established prior to spawning.

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Prepairing for hatch night

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Fry tank

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Grow out

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Story

Tell a detailed story of the project. Describe how split up, what the obstacles were, what testing was done, what informal decisions were made, what assumptions were made, and what the results were.

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  The display tank is a 93-gallon cube.

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  In a spawning pair, the female is the larger one.

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  Juveniles about a month old

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  At night they bunch together.

Material list

1. List materials used, quantity, size, cost.

2. Describe what needs to be purchased in the future to continue working on this project.