1. Breeding Pair of Clownfish
In order to breed this kind of fish, you will need a mated pair. The simplest way to do is to obtain a mated pair and the second way is to acquire two clownfish if they are still young. Young clownfish are usually males but once the dominant fish was determined, the dominant fish is the female. You'll be able to tell that it is the female simply because it's always bigger than the male fish.
When they begin mating, they are going to lay eggs every 12-18 days on a part of rock. Make sure you make weekly water changes with a minimum of 10% of the total amount of water. Keeping the water clean does make them more likely to spawn. A good protein skimmer a very good idea so that you can lower the regularity of changing water. If your clownfish has tank mates, the tank must be peaceful. It’s not advisable to put different type of clownfish together because they might fight and stress out one another. Keep in mind that anemone fish will not lay eggs if it's stressed. An anemone helps the clownfish feel more comfortable in laying eggs but it is not necessary. You can use rocks with plenty of hiding areas so your fish will feel much more comfortable.
It’s best to use timer for the lighting for the fish tank. A timer could possibly get the fish in the routine of sunlight and darkness. Feed the fish in a particular time daily with a combination of flakes and frozen food. Keep in mind that if the fish aren't receiving proper nutrients and vitamins, they are going to lay eggs that have a poor quality.
When the fish become acclimated and are also on the regular routine, they're going to begin to behave in a different way around spawning time. If the female has a thicker line in the middle of her body, the fish is currently pregnant. If you notice that the fish is consistently cleaning a place on the rock with its mouth and fins, this means that the fish is cleaning the site for the eggs. The female will move over the site for a lot of times until she lays the egg, then the male will follow to fertilize it. The eggs are orange in color and about 3-4mm in length. The male fish will protect and guard the eggs, and also eat the damaged egg and unfertilized eggs.
2. Preparations for Clownfish
In the first day the eggs are colored orange. After a couple of days they'll look grey, and lastly grey with silver eyes. If the silver eyes already appeared, they will hatch the following night. Before the eggs hatch, you will need to prepare the following:
a. Hatchling Tank
You have to raise the baby clownfish in different aquarium to make sure they're going to get proper food without competition from other tank mates.
b. Live Rotifers
Baby clownfish don’t eat flakes and any frozen food. They simply eat live food like rotifers. You'll need Nannochlopsis or Rotifer Diet since it is food for rotifers.
3. Hatch Night
Clownfish eggs will hatch about a week or maybe more depending on the water temperature. You should check the eggs everyday and when you notice that the eggs has a silver color this means that they're going to hatch after the lights go out or at night. You need to remove clownfish fry from the tank and put them in the tank you prepared and ensure that the two tanks have the same salinity and temperature before you move the eggs.
Turn off the filtration system and pump in the fish tank. There shouldn't be water current or movement within the aquarium. After the lighting is off, wait for about half hour and turn on your flashlight into the water. You should not shine the light at the eggs mainly because it will delay the hatchling process. The clownfish will be attracted by the light and swim towards it then begin siphoning the clownfish fry into the bucket. Then put it in the tank you prepared but make sure that the eggs aren't going to be exposed in the air.
Once the eggs are in breeding tank, place an air stone or airline tube near to the eggs to make sure that the eggs gets a sufficient amount of air to hatch properly.
4. Feeding and Care
Keeping your clownfish fry alive can be tough. Your fry tank must consistently be full of rotifers for the baby fish to eat. You will notice if your baby fish is dying because they will have problems in swimming, you will see them spinning within the water column, and sometimes they are going to sink towards the bottom and suddenly will start swimming again. If you see this in your tank, your clownfish fry are starving to death. If the fish starts diving like it is being dropped to the bottom and is having a trouble in swimming, they'll usually die in 24hrs. Add rotifers as quickly as possible. You will able to see your fishes eating the rotifers by noticing them swimming then stop, curving their tails and darting forward. Continue to feed rotifers for a week and then try feeding them with live shrimps.
Newly hatch brine shrimps are great for your fry. When brine shrimp hatch they leave a brown egg shell. The shells are always floating and the shrimps for the clownfish are usually at the bottom. For the first 2 days you should feed the fish with both shrimps and rotifers to ensure they're still getting as much vitamins as possible.
Once the clownfish fry are already eating brine shrimps, their bellies will appear orange. That's a good sign that they are getting more than enough food. Make sure that the clownfish fry don't go without food for more than 12 hours. Make sure that you always have live foods available for your fish.