OK I'll try to keep a long story short. Paired up a couple of GSMs last year. They took to each other right away. Almost a year after they paired, they had their first spawn.
8/6 - first spawn
8/7 - notice the nest is gone, they ate it
8/18 - 2nd spawn, my wife has ZERO patience for pairs that consume eggs, so the nest is pulled very shortly after spawn. I know what you are thinking, but we have been doing this with our cinnamons that loves to eat eggs and we still get a good hatchout with them. The eggs looked a peachy-orange opaque color. The nest deteriorated (no fungussing observed) over the next couple of days w/o any indication of developing.
9/14 - 3rd spawn - same results as the second
9/30 - 4th spawn - decide to leave the nest with the parents to see what happens, was eaten that day by the female.
10/9 - 5th spawn - same result as the second and third.
I have heard that it will sometimes take the pair some time to get things going right, but how long is that? I figured by the 5th spawn they would each have their parts figured out. So what are the odds that I have a sterile male? Is there any other reason why this is happening? We have several other pairs of spawning clownfish, so we know what a fertilized nest of eggs look like, and the ones from our maroons just don't look that way.
FYI attached is a picture of the pair, their nesting site is on the tile under the sponge filter which is behind them in the picture.
8/6 - first spawn
8/7 - notice the nest is gone, they ate it
8/18 - 2nd spawn, my wife has ZERO patience for pairs that consume eggs, so the nest is pulled very shortly after spawn. I know what you are thinking, but we have been doing this with our cinnamons that loves to eat eggs and we still get a good hatchout with them. The eggs looked a peachy-orange opaque color. The nest deteriorated (no fungussing observed) over the next couple of days w/o any indication of developing.
9/14 - 3rd spawn - same results as the second
9/30 - 4th spawn - decide to leave the nest with the parents to see what happens, was eaten that day by the female.
10/9 - 5th spawn - same result as the second and third.
I have heard that it will sometimes take the pair some time to get things going right, but how long is that? I figured by the 5th spawn they would each have their parts figured out. So what are the odds that I have a sterile male? Is there any other reason why this is happening? We have several other pairs of spawning clownfish, so we know what a fertilized nest of eggs look like, and the ones from our maroons just don't look that way.
FYI attached is a picture of the pair, their nesting site is on the tile under the sponge filter which is behind them in the picture.
