BonesReef Clownfish

[BonesReef]

per request I thought that I would start a thread about my clownfish business. I will be adding more to this post tonight after I get home from work. In the mean time ...if anyone has anyquestions please feel free to ask.

hyper...Whats this about a april date open...lol ??

If you want to check out my website please feel free. All the fish on there have been sold and the webdeveloper needs to remove them.
www.BonesReef.com

Enjoy :)

[hypertech]

You had mentioned hosting a meeting.

The first April and Second May Meeting slots have not been filled yet. We were thinking of doing the MOA thing in early April, but there is nothing on teh schedule for late May.

If you want to sign up, PM Mary (mtfatwork).

[BonesReef]

Sounds good... I'll speak with the better half and confirm if that works :)

[coralreefer]

Do you just breed true percs? Any other type of clown?

[BonesReef]

I'm working on building my business... I also have a pair of ocellairs:http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii123/BonesReef/Clownpics1.jpg
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii123/BonesReef/Clownpics2.jpg

My goal is to have multiple pairs of spawning B&W ocellaris over the course of the next year..soo if anyone has them, please feel free to contact me :)

[PLNelson]

I'd like to place an order for a couple Minnesota grown maroon clowns. :biggthumpup:

[oyam123]

What is the best size tank, and what does one need to bread and raise a (what do you call a fish litter?) hatching to get some little fish.
I think my kids would love to see this.

[PLNelson]

I like your website. Nice and simple yet very effective.

[BiochemRobyn]

Bones, could you give us a whole description of your setup? How many tanks do you have dedicated to raising these little guys? What type of lighting do you have over the setups? How do you catch the fry after they hatch?

Finally, I think any person in the hobby who has raised any young ones has encountered this particular question:
How do you continuously feed the little guys? I know with seahorse fry, that was a pain! Do you grow your own baby brine?

Sorry for all the questions! I just have to admit you're the first person I've met who has had an extremely sucessful system set up.

[mtfatwork]

speaking of B&W O. Clowns. Hope you dont mind. After all, I did tell you I would eventually post a pic of my little guys :)

(sorry about the blur, they are active little buggers)

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/mtfatwork/DSC_4037.jpg

[BonesReef]

Sorry that I was not able to provide any responses last night. But here we go :)

PLNELSON...I would grow GSMs...but they require a large 6 foot tank for growout because of how aggresive they get. Maybe somewhere down the road.. :)

OYAM...the best size tank to have a pair of fish spawn in is a 10 gallon. As for the raising process..you'll just have to come and visit sometime to see how its done. You call a litter of fish a clutch. and the clutch(eggs) once hatched can be called fry. As for your kids wanting to see this...I may host a event in april and you can bring them by then.. :)

ROBYN...I have six 10 gallon tanks which host my broodstock pairs. of those pairs only two are spawning at this time. The pairs lay their clutch on flowerpots which are removed the night they will hatch and placed into a small 5 gallon tank. once they all hatch they are then collected using a DIY tool and placed into another 10 gallon aquarium which is a greenwater tank.

From this point they will remain through meta..moved to the next 10 gallon growout tank...and then finally ....they will land in one of three 10 gallon tank...which they remain in until sold.

so total there are 12 tanks.

The lighting used is dual 150watt MH w/ pcs.. Its a 48' coralife setup.

I do indeed grow all my own food. But this I try to keep top secret ...as its the key to my success.... :)

MTFatwork..nice clowns buddy

[christensonjes]

Do you sell to any of the LFS? Or online? or do they all get sold off the website?

[twincitiesreefer]

nice opperation..ill have to stop buy sometime

[BonesReef]

The picasso and snowflakes are sold on my website... WHich I will be adding 21 new ones to this week.

SWE is carrying my ocellaris and true percs at this time. they also have a snowflake and a picasso type.

[BiochemRobyn]

Stunning setup! :ac11:

I have several more questions for you: :biggrin:

How long have you been doing this? How did you get into it? Is it profitable (i.e., do you come close to breaking even)? How much time do you spend on it per week (on average)? (don't worry, I'm just curious. As much as I love reefing, I'm definitely not looking for a new hobby).

When raising my seahorse fry, I noticed that the vast majority of my time was actually dedicated to preparing the food vs. looking after the little guys. Is this the same for you? What sort of system do you have in place to keep the greenwater & rotifers growing?

[BonesReef]

I've been at this for around a year. I got into it because I was sick of seeing clownfish that were tank bread and looked horrible, plus I saw the profit potential.
I spend on average 4 hours a day working with my clowns.

I believe that most of my time is spent doing water changes vs. food prep.

I would love to disclose my feeding setup...but its the key to my success :)
The food and food prep room is one that will only ever be seen by a handful of people. But I do grow all my own food for the fry, as well make my own food for the broodstock. :)

[hypertech]

Interested in mentoring and/or franchising :)

This is on my list for after the frag tank.

[BonesReef]

I can always give words of advice... :) is this an area of interest for you

[hypertech]

I probably won't be ready to do anything for a year or so, but yes - raising livestock is an interest of mine.

[BonesReef]

excellent...keep me posted and I'll help you out. Has anyone had a chance to check out the snowflake and picasso type that SWE has from me?

[davidsreef]

I am with hypertech, I also have clown fish breeding on my to-do list. In theory I would like to start this summer, but I don't have a mated pair yet. I have a GSM, but am worried she would kill any potential mate I introduced into the tank.

[BonesReef]

GSMs do spawn with ease....but the growout process is very difficult because to be successful you need a large...6 foot round tub...to grow them out because they are such aggressive as little ones.

and you are correct..being that you may go through a male or two before she takes a liking to one.

I would suggest starting out with ocellaris...:)

[davidsreef]

Bones Reef - Thanks for the advice. I would love to send the GSM to the porcelain tank with built in flush system, but the wife won't let me. So, for the time being I am stuck with the GSM.

[BonesReef]

How large is the gSM

[davidsreef]

Hmm, 3 in. or so. Had her for 2 1/2+ years. Was mated until (then it was male) his wife jumped out on him and did carpet surfing.

[BonesReef]

Do you have any pictures to share?

[davidsreef]

Hmm, yeah I do. I can try to post later on.

[davidsreef]

Here is my GSM
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e233/davidsreef/Phil3.jpg
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e233/davidsreef/Phil2.jpg

[davidsreef]

Her back two stripes are more yellow than the picture shows.
The picture was taken by my friend who has a nice DSLR camera with a closeup lens. Unfortunately, I don't know which brand.

[kmjoen230]

excellent...keep me posted and I'll help you out. Has anyone had a chance to check out the snowflake and picasso type that SWE has from me?

I believe I snatched them up! Are these the ones?

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1323033&perpage=25&pagenumber=4

[BonesReef]

Very cool... do you have any other pictures of them?

[BonesReef]

Also...I just dropped off a shipment of Ocellaris and Percs up at SWE yesterday.

[kmjoen230]

i'll get more pics...
I saw that batch, they look great!
How old r they?

[kmjoen230]

o ps if you work backward through that thread you can see more pics as well

[BonesReef]

They are around 4 months on the percs...and 5 months on the ocellaris