Breeding clowns

[Midknight]

Just picked up a pair of clowns the other day (Thanks Hockey Nut) and was told they could be close to starting to breed.
The bigger one lies on the ground and then blasts the sand over everything with his tail. :lol:
Couple of Q's about this...
1 - Do they need to be hosting in anything before they breed?
2 - Where do they prefer to lay their eggs? a flat surface? vertical? or just any old piece of rock?
They are in a 10G nano with a scooter & 1 camel shrimp (He might be moving if he causes a problem)
Any help would be great.

Dan

[marcingo]

From what I have read and heard clowns need something to host in. Most clowns will host in an anenome, I have heard of some hosting in torch, xenia, gsp. I dont think they will host on a rock. You may need to put something in for them of the above mentioned. If you want to be 100 percent they will host put in an anenome and they will host in that most likely. You could try your luck with the other mentioned. But I would do some reading on the topic.

Like I said this is just what I have heard and read.

[ed99]

What kind of clowns are they? Not all clowns will host, seems to be an individual thing, though some species seem more inclined than others. I have an ocellaris who has never hosted in anything, but my pink skunks and true perc will host in anything resembling an anemone.

I don't think they need to be hosting in anything to breed but I don't know that for sure. What I have read is that they prefer to lay eggs on a hard relatively flat surface (hence the clearing that you have seen). The advice i have seen is putting a small tile (say 3-4" square) near where the clownfish are hanging out.

Most of this info came from 'Clownfishes' by Joyce Wilkerson. It basically lays out how to breed your own clownfish from beginning to end so it may be worth picking up if you want to do give it a go.

[fresh]

They definately DON'T need an anemone to host in, nor do they need any other coral!!! Clowns will host in anything you have in your tank... It could be a piece of live rock, a heater, a power-head, a filter tube, skimmer tube, etc.

As a matter of fact, people who breed clowns, they have nothing in the tank except the two clowns and a clay pot for them to lay their eggs on.

If you want to go after breeding clowns, I recommend (highly) to buy the "clownfish" book by wilkinson (spelling might be off).

In your tank, just make sure you have a surface for them to lay their eggs on. So no need to go and buy anything as long as you have a decent amount of live rocks and sand.

[Midknight]

Thanks, that is the info I needed.
Will get them a surface to work with.