Breeding Maroon Clowns

[computom]

I have just made a very fortunate purchase, a pair of Gold-stripe
Maroon clowns for only $50(canadian) Usually they are 40 each, and
this is definetly a pair, they can't keep their fins off each other.
Then as a further nice surprise, they swam right up to my "Condy"
amenome and started to get lightly stung, after about 2 hours, they
are diving in like crazy. The girl at the store assured me that this
would never happen and that I would have to buy a long tentacle or a
carpet for them (BIG $$$). Lucky me. Anyways, has anyone ever
SUCCESSFULLY bred these cute little buggers? I am looking for
information on their breeding habits, what to watch for (spawning
signs) and what kind of foods the larvae will eat and where to get
them. Also if I should have any special Photoperiod or other
considerations. Please know that I have EVERY intention of getting a
good book on this subject, but I am not a rich man and the $50 fish
have broken me untill after Christmas, so I want to learn what I can
now so I don't miss the chance to save a possible brood. Thank you
so much.

[george]

"computom" > wrote in message
om...
>I have just made a very fortunate purchase, a pair of Gold-stripe
> Maroon clowns for only $50(canadian) Usually they are 40 each, and
> this is definetly a pair, they can't keep their fins off each other.
> Then as a further nice surprise, they swam right up to my "Condy"
> amenome and started to get lightly stung, after about 2 hours, they
> are diving in like crazy. The girl at the store assured me that this
> would never happen and that I would have to buy a long tentacle or a
> carpet for them (BIG $$$). Lucky me. Anyways, has anyone ever
> SUCCESSFULLY bred these cute little buggers? I am looking for
> information on their breeding habits, what to watch for (spawning
> signs) and what kind of foods the larvae will eat and where to get
> them. Also if I should have any special Photoperiod or other
> considerations. Please know that I have EVERY intention of getting a
> good book on this subject, but I am not a rich man and the $50 fish
> have broken me untill after Christmas, so I want to learn what I can
> now so I don't miss the chance to save a possible brood. Thank you
> so much.

Mine are a breeding pair, but keeping a brood alive is another matter
altogether. They are the smallest fry you've ever seen. And they only eat live
rotifers when they are that small. You usually know that they are mating when
the male hides in his den (where the eggs are usually laid - on a substrate like
a rock), and refuses to come out to eat. He will stay in his den and fan the
eggs, which are tiny, golden colored with tiny black spots. At this point, it
is advisable to pull the rock out and place it in a brood tank that you've set
up for the ocassion (I built the den specifically for them - a cave in the reef
with a smooth rock inside where they can deposit their eggs). Then you need to
set up an "gentle" air stream of small bubbles to flow over the eggs to keep
them aerated and to prevent fungus from taking hold. After a few days they will
hatch, and you will see lots of very tiny fry on the bottom, and around the
rock. If you can grow rotifers, now is the time to start adding them to the
tank. I've never been successful in raising them for more than a few days
simply because I don't have the facilities to grow live rotifers. Oh, and they
didn't mate until they were about 5-6 years old, and I had them in a 55 gallon
tank. Good luck.

Here is a link to my maroon clown fish:

http://bellsouthpwp.net/r/o/rockcat/sal****er.htm