K
KarenB
Since many of you have been asking, I will try and cover the basics to get you started. This is what has worked for me.
What you will need:
2 1/2 to 10 gallon tanks
small heaters
air pumps (one for larvae tanks and one for cultures)
gang valves (one for larvae tanks and one for cultures)
airline tubing
Ammonia Alert Badges
thermometers
phytoplankton cultures (Nanochloropsis preferred), at least one per day of the week
rotifers and containers for at least four cultures
light strips for brine hatching and for larvae tanks
decapsulated brine shrimp and hatcheries
simple sponge filters and poly filter media
HOT filters and media
algae scraper
ammonia test kit
pH test kit
*First get your phyto cultures going. You need enough that you can harvest one culture per day to feed to your rotifers. That means seven or eight cultures going at a time at least. Another option is to use Instant Algae from Reed Mariculture:
*Order your rotifers. Set up about four or five plastic or glass flat bottomed 1 gallon jars and seed each with rotifers. Put an airline in each with one bubble per second to just keep the culture slightly stirred. Feed the rotifers the greenwater as needed. The water should be slightly green, and when it clears, add more greenwater. If the rotifers are not harvested daily for the larvae, they will multiply quickly and you will have to thin them out, which means dumping them down the drain or feeding your main tank with them.
*Day of hatch. This is usually the eighth day. If the rock the eggs are on is removable, remove it for hatching and place it into the larvae tank before the lights go out on the parent's tank. You want to wait as long as possible to transfer the eggs, since the male clownfish is best at tending the eggs. Keep the lights on until you are sure that you have enough air flow on the eggs. Then cover the tank completely, and wait 30 minutes before checking on them.
If you cannot remove the rock, have a flashlight or some other small light ready to lure the hatching larvae after the lights go out on the parent's tank, as well as a clear bowl to scoop out the larvae with and for transfer to the larvae tank. If you are trying to catch hatching larvae in the parent's tank, make sure all power heads and pumps are turned off prior to lights out. Larvae will start hatching within 30 minutes to 2 hours of lights going out.
You will have set up your little larvae tank with heater, water from the parent's tank, a thermometer and airline. If hatching the eggs in the larvae tank, make sure the tank is completely dark, and the air flow is directly on the eggs to keep them all moving. Use the air flow straight from the tube; an air stone is not necessary. The temp of the water should be the same as the parent's tank initially. If it is lower than 80 degrees at the time of hatch, that's fine, but the temp should be slowly increased to at least 80 thereafter and remain constant. This is important.
What you will need:
2 1/2 to 10 gallon tanks
small heaters
air pumps (one for larvae tanks and one for cultures)
gang valves (one for larvae tanks and one for cultures)
airline tubing
Ammonia Alert Badges
thermometers
phytoplankton cultures (Nanochloropsis preferred), at least one per day of the week
rotifers and containers for at least four cultures
light strips for brine hatching and for larvae tanks
decapsulated brine shrimp and hatcheries
simple sponge filters and poly filter media
HOT filters and media
algae scraper
ammonia test kit
pH test kit
*First get your phyto cultures going. You need enough that you can harvest one culture per day to feed to your rotifers. That means seven or eight cultures going at a time at least. Another option is to use Instant Algae from Reed Mariculture:
*Order your rotifers. Set up about four or five plastic or glass flat bottomed 1 gallon jars and seed each with rotifers. Put an airline in each with one bubble per second to just keep the culture slightly stirred. Feed the rotifers the greenwater as needed. The water should be slightly green, and when it clears, add more greenwater. If the rotifers are not harvested daily for the larvae, they will multiply quickly and you will have to thin them out, which means dumping them down the drain or feeding your main tank with them.
*Day of hatch. This is usually the eighth day. If the rock the eggs are on is removable, remove it for hatching and place it into the larvae tank before the lights go out on the parent's tank. You want to wait as long as possible to transfer the eggs, since the male clownfish is best at tending the eggs. Keep the lights on until you are sure that you have enough air flow on the eggs. Then cover the tank completely, and wait 30 minutes before checking on them.
If you cannot remove the rock, have a flashlight or some other small light ready to lure the hatching larvae after the lights go out on the parent's tank, as well as a clear bowl to scoop out the larvae with and for transfer to the larvae tank. If you are trying to catch hatching larvae in the parent's tank, make sure all power heads and pumps are turned off prior to lights out. Larvae will start hatching within 30 minutes to 2 hours of lights going out.
You will have set up your little larvae tank with heater, water from the parent's tank, a thermometer and airline. If hatching the eggs in the larvae tank, make sure the tank is completely dark, and the air flow is directly on the eggs to keep them all moving. Use the air flow straight from the tube; an air stone is not necessary. The temp of the water should be the same as the parent's tank initially. If it is lower than 80 degrees at the time of hatch, that's fine, but the temp should be slowly increased to at least 80 thereafter and remain constant. This is important.