Clownfishfan: That's pretty much along the lines I was thinking.
Bad news update: Out of 100+ eggs only 4 developed into pro-larva. The rest either stalled in development or were infertile.
Things which changed over last clutches:
#1. We had a cold front come thru last week and the tank temp went to 79 degrees for 2 days.
#2. This is the first time they have spawned for 5 consecutive days.
I don't think the tank temp had anything to do with the quality of eggs as they have spawned before at this temp and I had 100% pro-larva develop albeit at a slower rate. This might be a factor of nutrition or of the fish themselves.
The next photos show the abnormal development. You will see aborations as well as stalled development. One photo shows a dead pink egg. I've gotten dead pink eggs before (3-4) from some previous spawns. I beleive this is just a factor of length of removal from the tank.
I'm going to stop them from spawning for a day or two and see what transpires from there. If they stop then that will give me time to address the nutrition issue before they start back up again.
Food:
400ml white shrimp - shelled, tails only
300ml RO water
50ml kelp meal
50ml spirulina powder
50ml krill meal
Pour into a blender and it produces a gell like paste. Spread it out on a cookie sheet and freeze. Cut into sheets and put into heavy duty freezer bags.
I also feed frozen mysis and live brine raised on nanno and spirulina/kelp meal.
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“Everything is everywhere but the environment selects” – Baas Becking (1934)
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