Shad's clownfish breeding log

So I thought I'd start a log of sorts to go over my results.

Our clowns first laid eggs March 30, or April 1st.   We were unable to try and save them as we had a child in the hospital when they hatched on Easter. The clowns laid again on Tuesday, April 10th. Again, we were dealing with a child in the hospital, so we didn't attempt to save them.

The clowns spawned for the 3rd time on Tuesday the 24th. This time we attempted to save the babies. We stayed up late on Thursday the 3rd. We were able to recover about 30 larvae from the tank and transfer them into the waiting nursery tank. I had loaded it up with rotifers and phyto, and placed a light with some paper towels to dim it a bit. We went off to the midnight showing of Avengers and then to bed when we got home.. The next morning, we couldn't find any trace of the larvae in the tank. Not even dead bodies... I'm not sure what happened.

The clowns spawned again last Sunday. I sat and watched them do it.. It was an awesome sight to see. So, we are expecting them to hatch Monday night.

I have an idea of some of the changes that I need to make, but they seem small and not so important.. Anything else that I need to look at?

I transferred the larvae to a pitcher with an airline siphon.. I tried the flashlight in a cup and it didn't work all that well. Out of the pitcher to the nursery tank was with a small cup a few larvae at a time. Nursery tank is a 5.5 gallon. blacked out the sides with dark paper.

I'm a little unsure of the rotifers. How can I tell how many are in there? Are they the little white dots I see in the rotifer water? They seem to be moving on their own. I've been putting enough phyto-feast in to make the water a little green. I may have put too much phyto in the tank that first night as I was unsure. It was pretty green.

Larvae swim toward any light. If the flashlight is too bright or has a shining beam, the larvae will be attracted to spots of reflected light on all surfaces. Very dark room with very weak batteries and a paper over the flashlight lens is the way I've done it. Be sure to turn off all circulation.
Siphoning did not work for me. It seemed to damage the larvae.
Are these parents the Clownfish you got from me last year soon after you set up your first tank?
I agree with Shaun, Tahitian Blend phyto paste from BSD is like 10X more phyto for the money. I suggested it for a clam just the other day. Going in together on an order is a good idea so the phyto paste doesn't go bad before you have used it all.
I darken the water with phyto and grow tons of rotifers. Larvae need lots of rotifers, even more than this:

I use the Nannochloropsis Algae Paste from BSD. I also buy grade A Brine Shrimp eggs from BSD. Saves a ton of $$$ and get a lot better hatch rate over paying 6$ for 6 GH at the LFS.

Did I ever show you how I restrict the flow in my rotifer straining process? It takes about 10 minutes to drip 1-2 gallons through a coffee filter.
Some people buy the specially made rotifer strainers which are faster.

BTW don't just leave the rotifers in the grow out tank until you have a batch of Clownfish larvae. To keep the population vibrant, continually feed them and continually remove some a few times a week to feed to the main tank.

Well, I'm not sure what happened last night.. It looks like they decided to hatch before the lights went out.. I tried to fudge it by leaving the lights on later because we had company over. When I got to it there were very few eggs left. I was able to retrieve one lone larvae and transfer it to the nursery tank. He was still swimming around this morning when I left for work, so bonus.. He made it through the night..

It looks like my rotifer cultures are doing well. I had a ton of them to transfer into the nursery tank.

You'll get them on the next batch.

The eggs should hatch tonight.. I've picked up some BSD nanno as well as some golden pearls. The rock that the fish laid the eggs on is easily moved, so I am going to move the whole rock in a bucket keeping it submerged the whole time. That should help considerably. I know some people have said that they had less luck with moving the rock, but you can't get any more loss than the 100% loss that I'm already getting..

I'm not sure what happened.. Nothing hatched.. It's like they all died still stuck to the rock.. :(

Did you move the eggs? If so, did you aerate them?