but but..i think <|-|!<0 is right...because i tried again last night, and i made sure to have all my clones compact and waited to go through the tube then when i started going through the tube, 3 clones magically appeared out of nowhere from the top of the screen
I recently began being able to save 260+ clones on this level, and I've noticed the same. It seems to only happen when you have more than 250 clones and are grouping them tightly to go through the tube. I think they are getting stuck in the tiny nooks and corners of the "ceiling" as you collect them in one tight group. I've figured out that if you don't press them hard up against the ceiling then they don't get stuck. You can't see them stuck up there, but sometimes they loosen up and come out just in time to miss going through the tube. Just don't press them so hard up against the top.