i bought a breeding tank

[poppy]

I have had 2 fish pair up in my community tank, they spawned 5 times in 2 weeks, but ate the eggs overnight as they turned to wrigglers as the other fish were having a peck too....

I bought a breeding tank (yes completely addicted) a all in one 90 litre AQUA 1. I put a breeding cone in, transferred 80% water and topped up with purified water (have had a seagull 4 water purifyer installed) for the benefit of the fish LOL It is similar to pura tap, but a better quality product as it PURIFIES the water rather than FILTER it. The minerals and trace elements remain in the water but chlorine and impurities are removed.

I added media and a sponge from one of my filters in the main aquarium with the new rinsed media. I cycled the tank for 2 hours and waited until the temperature was up to 30c.

I scooped up the breeding pair, even got them in 1 scoop together, they did graze a bit but I apologised to them.

They settled in a fter a few hours and ate their dinner and seemed very happy. Now i watched and waited in anticipation.

Exactly 48 hours later they spawned YAY, thier biggest batch yet 180 approx, on the cone and front and centre.

That was last night, all eggs look a nice fawn colour and this morning only 2 have turned white.. So I am very pleased with the transfer and the spawn being so far good.

Now I will wait to see if they can get them past wriggler stage.

Ill, keep you posted

poppy

[kalebjarrod]

good one,

any pics?

keep and eye on the nitrates if the tank hasn't been cycled properly

all sounds great

[Insomnia]

I've done some reading on the Seagull, It's a lot of money and I'm not sure what to make of it yet. The concept of it is a good one since I would do just about anything to get rid of my RO Holding tanks but the specs on it don't look all that great as far as what it purifies, and with the minerals left in the water, I bet your PH is going to have to be buffered down.

Here's the comparison chart I used.

http://www.waterfiltercomparisons.net/WaterFilter_Comparison.cfm

[poppy]

heres the family

[poppy]

hi insomnia...........

the importer of seagull is a friend and installed it as a present 4 the fish........

so im a lucky one......... and so are they hopefully

and we will see how it works.....

poppy

[Insomnia]

That's great, poppy, I hope it all works out for ya, great pics, keep us posted!

[Ben]

Well done Poppy!
Looks like you have a great pair of breeders!
Keep us posted on on how they go!

Cheers,
Ben


Ps, have you started thinking about hatching some brineshrimp?

[poppy]

ben

thanks

no i havent looked into BBS, will probably mix food and use mortar and pestle to grind into a paste. Have a few syringes to suck up food and squirt on mum and dad when ready to intoduce other food.

ill keep you posted

poppy

[Merrilyn]

Congratulations Poppy. Sounds like things have started off well.

Newly hatched baby brine shrimp are an important first food for your fry. Dry food can be added to their diet later, but in the early stages, they don't seem to recognise it as food and simply ignore it.

If you can't manage to hatch the live brine shrimp, ask your aquarium shop for some frozen baby brine shrimp. Do stress that you want the baby brine, or they will try to give you adult brine shrimp.

[Tiger]

Hi Poppy, any updates of your fries, hope you are successful, tks

[DR.V]

eggs hatched yet ???

[poppy]

sorry...........

no time all week to be on here.......

ate the eggs twice so far in breeding tank after 48 hours............

but seem very keen still
total of 7 spawns.......... so they r probably still getting into it.........

i hope as im real keen too......

i want bubs

ill keep u posted

poppy

heres a pic last time taken while spawning

[Merrilyn]

Fingers crossed for you Poppy.

[DR.V]

hmm

[jim from sydney]

Poppy
we are waiting what is happening???????Jim

[poppy]

sorry people........... been busy busy.........

have spawned and eaten twice in the breeding tank........

hoping they will get their act together........

spoke to a breeder today and got some great advice about putting in a screen / mesh to stop them eating the eggs, also abou adding some anti fungus stuff into water.......

see how we go keep u posted as soon as wrigglers hatch

poppy

[jim from sydney]

will the fish not get damaged by the screen???? and the fry will they not swim thru at the edges??? seems pretty hard to control i think....lets know how it goes....good luck...any more pics yet????Jim

[Merrilyn]

Poppy, just go easy on that anti-fungus stuff. Only add it the day they lay the eggs, no later. It can interfere with the slime production of the adults.

Jim, the mesh screen is slipped over the cone once the parents have laid, to prevent them eating the eggs. It is hoped that by the time the wrigglers have hatched and become free swimming, the parental instincts will have kicked in, and the babies will be safe.

[poppy]

thanks

yes a i heard a surround made from gutter gurad will stop them eating the eggs

ok thanks about the anti fungus

will post new pics as they come

cheers

poppy

[goldenpigeon]

koolo poppy hope it works out! :D

[jim from sydney]

Ladyred..............is gutterguard, that Poppy suggested, ok to use????? or is there something else we can make it from???????????.Jim

[Merrilyn]

That would be fine Jim. Just make sure it doesn't touch the eggs. Roll it into a cylinder and use fishing line to join the ends.

[poppy]

I made the gutterguard "egg guard" as a cylinder of gutter gurad as round as the base of the cone and clipped together with two cable ties and plate on top to keep it in place. The fish don't seem to mind and are still blowing and fanning the eggs as before....

hoping for the first sign of movement in the next 24 hours

poppy :D

[Merrilyn]

This is so exciting Poppy. Fingers crossed for you.

[jim from sydney]

Ladyred....thanks
Poppy......i am jealous
Jim

[jim from sydney]

Ladyred......Is there a way to take the breeding cone with eggs together with the parents, out off the community tank safely?????and place parents and cone in another tank... or is that too late :oops: ...Jim

[Merrilyn]

Jim, it's worth a try. I think it will disrupt the pair too much, but you've got nothing to lose.

You will need to fill at least half the breeding tank with water from the main tank, to prevent shock to the parents and eggs.

[jim from sydney]

Ladyred...........not that i am that lucky at the moment but am preparing for when "the magic moment arrives"........Jim

[poppy]

Jim

I was never expecting a pair to spawn......... thought it was in the too hard basket. After a terrible disease claiming two of my fish things were looking sad in the tank. Only 4 discus left but all looking healthy.

A week later two spawned, I couldnt believe it!!!!!!!!!! I left them spawn in the comm tank 4 or 5 times, twice they got to wriggler stage. I couldnt resist I had to go out and buy a breeding tank. Now 3rd time in there....... with the gutter guard hopefully they arent able to eat. This morning no more eggs have turned white

48 hours is up this afternoon at 4ish.......... so I will keep you posted... cant wait to get home from work.......

My advice is let them spawn a few times.....then move them......... they just keep going and going.......... not just a one off event until they are successful

cheers poppy

[Merrilyn]

Fantastic news Poppy.

Do keep us posted.

[poppy]

hi

i have about 10 eggs with black dots and in the last hour begun to see some movement (tails) in 3 of them that I can see.........

maybe not a huge one........ but see how far we get

poppy

[jim from sydney]

Poppy..............GREAT......wish you lived next door so i can see them :shock: :shock: :shock:
Keep us posted every MINUTE please.....GOOD LUCK
Any pictures???????....Jim

[Merrilyn]

Great news. Must be time to open the champagne. :P

[poppy]

2am............. LOL........... new mum checking up..........


still wrigglers......... seem almost a tiny amount bigger than when first hatched........

keep you posted in the morning.......

Im a bit sceptical as I had my water tested and its too hard........... but these lil babes seem determined to give it a shot.......

next time I will lower the hardness before spawning and that will apparently give a better success rate due to osmosis of water / nutrients into the eggs directly after fertislisation......the the water needs to be harder when they r babies feeding and growing.........

gee im learning all the time

poppy

[Merrilyn]

There's lots more fun yet to come. Good luck with it all.

[jim from sydney]

2 A.M. did you sleep at all??????.....i bet NO NO.....too excited......i can hardly wait until i get to that stage..........
may be some soft music might help too for the new borns???????

[poppy]

I am off work with the flu.......... yes truly not just being over protective..........

I have 3 wrigglers that must be total troopers.......... they are definitley getting bigger, and mum is turning slightly darker

the rest of the spawn is a fungused blob......... :?

keep u posted

poppy

[poppy]

over 24 hours old now and the 3 still going strong........

mum and dad have lost a bit of interest and their breeding tubes are beginning to swell........

picking around a bit

what should i do.............. soften water..........in prep 4 spawn

or leave it..........

confused now

[jim from sydney]

Poppy....i would not upset them for the sake of the next lot of eggs. see how it develops. it is afterall a steep learning curve. at least you have got 3, better than the last time. next time will be more and you also have more experience. so i would sit, learn and observe.........Good luck.....Jim

[jim from sydney]

Poppy.....p.s. i have a cold too.....Jim

[jim from sydney]

Poppy.....any news this morning???Jim

[Merrilyn]

If they only manage to save a few wrigglers from the first spawn, they usually lose interest and lay again soon after. They seem to know they need a big spawn to have any chance of some fry surviving.

[poppy]

hi

yes they did lose interest..........

one little trooper is still going after 48 hours......... amazing........

i have put him in a bowl.......... hes still on his egg sac......... see how he goes.......then if he lasts maybe try egg yolk......

I have cleaned up the breeding cone and put watersoftening resin in......... so hopefull this will be better for next time..........and will add anti fungus to eggs when they spawn.......

hoping 4 the lottery then............LOL

poppy

[jim from sydney]

over 24 hours old now and the 3 still going strong........

their breeding tubes are beginning to swell........



Poppy...where are they exactly located and how much do they swell???is it obvious????..Jim

[Merrilyn]

Jim the breeding tube is located just behind the pelvic fins, (the two feeler like fins) and in front of the anal fin. Depending on the size of the fish, the female breeding tube can swell to the size of a match head, and the male's is smaller and a "V" shape.

[poppy]

I have removed the single wriggler in the whole spawn, as I the parents had lost interest and I want to prep for the next spawn.

5PM
I removed him carefully with his surrounding eggs and blob and put him in a margarine container, he became freeswimming a few hours later. I put some black tape at one end which attracted him immediatley..... I syringed some beaten egg yolk at him........

I did this a few times.... he seemed to take and stay there after a few times......... immersed and wriggling like normal ( I hope he was eating) After the feed I put him in fresh aquaruim water in another container.

I repeated 3 times until I went to bed............ at 1am I had a guy call with a wrong number that woke me up............ (does my superfish have a guardian angel) and I checked on him and he was still alive!!!!!

I fed him again and changed water........ the whole time I have him under a light to try and keep temp up. I woke this morning at 7am and hes still alive........

he is SUPERFISH!!!!

Fed and changed water......... not sure if he ate tho??? He is still swimming and seems ok............

now the dilemma.............. do I pack him up and take him to work to keep feeds up................ AM I NUTS............. MAYBE...........LOL

this guy seems to be a miracle...........

any similar experiences???

poppy

[jim from sydney]

Poppy......you single or married?????...
if you are married your wife will be jealous, with the attention you give the "superbaby".
if you are single.....better ignore the girlfriend for a few more days...superbaby needs you.
taking "superbaby" to work could change the temp too much, leave it at home just love it when you can :P ...Jim

[poppy]

he he........... Jim i'm single and female......LOL (do have abf that is on hold at the mo..........LOL......... so at least superbaby is keeping me busy.......

and as u can imagine......... no kids.......

superbaby........ is still alive and well and enjoying his egg yolk........ I can notice his tail has darkened since i put him in bowl....... so hopefully hes growing..............

poppy

[jim from sydney]

Poppy.......well that goes for any boyfriend tooooo........put him on hold for a while just keep nursing superbaby...although give it space too much is also no good, dont disturb tooo much...keep in touch...Jim

[poppy]

bf.......... is the one that wants space........... :oops:

so at least this is keeping me busy until bf comes to senses....

lol

poppy

PS when superbaby is big enough i will take a pic

[goldenpigeon]

i thik your on jims "hot" list poppy! :lol:

its good to hear superbaby is ok

[jim from sydney]

see..... funny how things work themselves out...some-one up there is looking after you.......now your turn to look after superbaby...can you make a pic. pl??.........Jim

[poppy]

superbaby is still alive and well..........

just had his brekky....... I have added spirulina to his egg yolk......

I can really see if hes growning......... but he definitely not getting smaller

poppy

[Merrilyn]

Okay, this is giving me the warm fuzzies. Poppy I hope the little guy makes it. It sounds like he has a terrific 'mum'.

Have you got any baby brine shrimp hatched. If so, you can crush them with your finger, mix together with the cooked egg yolk, a drop or two of raw egg yolk to bind it all together, and smear some of it on the black tape. Allow it to dry for about ten minutes before adding more water to the container. The mixture should stay on the tape, and will feed the baby for hours.

Clean water every three hours is a must when feeding egg yolk.

[goldenpigeon]

even at night merrilyn?

80this is great poppy! u watch he will grow up big and healthy and be your most prized fish! :D

so happy for you !!! :D

[poppy]

Hi

thanks for the advice........... hes still hanging in there........ seems to eat ok now without black tape, i just syringe the egg yolk near him and he wiggles around in it........and grazes in it, I then leave it for 20 mins then change the water......

should I leave it in there longer

he seems fine

growning slowly he about 3 - 4 mm to the end of his tail and his head has developed a bit

where do i get bbs???

poppy

[jim from sydney]

Ladyred..........what is this black tape you talk about .."smear some of it on the black tape" ????
Poppy.............see what magic things can happen if you get rid of the bf for a while, or would he have the patience to do what you are doing now??? Great to hear that your "superbaby" is doing fine, seems to me that the real danger period is behind....PIC PLEASE...Jim

[Merrilyn]

Jim, it's just a piece of black sitcky tape that poppy has put on the inside of the container superbaby is swimming in. Fry are attracted to something dark. So smearing some food on the tape will encourage superbaby to feed from the tape.

Poppy, you are doing a great job. Leaving the food in for about 20 minutes is fine.

Baby brine shrimp is something you can hatch at home. Your local fish shop will will sell you the eggs. They are an excellent first food for tiny fry.

[poppy]

up doing my night feeds........... just cos i woke up...........


hes a troopper and happy .............. I think

the fact that hes still alive means a lot

poppy

[goldenpigeon]

this is very insperational

*starts crying......


mum comes in with the mop*


hope he survives!!!!! can u pics of him?

:D :D :D :D :D :D

[chrissyoscar]

Well done that little fish really is a superfish.
Just shows you what can be done if you have passion.
Most of us would have just gone bad luck and not worried about it.

I'll keep following this post with great interest.

Oscar

[poppy]

superbaby munching on brekky........... hes amazing......everytime i see hes still alive i think wow......... what is driving this guy.......... hes a surviver

my camera wont focus properly in the container....... will keep trying....

will bump up his feeds a bit to see if i can get him to bulk out.......... he still tiny

poppy

[jim from sydney]

Poppy.....does your camera have a focal length that you can set yourself???? if so tell me and i will guide you to the making of "perfect pictures" you should try to capture superbaby as often as you can, you will get "keel-hauled" by all of us that are following superbaby's progress if you dont.....we have no nails left.......Jim
Ladyred....is that black insulation tape you talk about....Jim

[poppy]

hes still going........... my friends and family cant believe how much energy he has..........

I have a CANON IXUS 2meg........ it wont focus......... hes in a margarine container and all that comes out is a white fuzz

believe me I would love to be able to take a pic.........

hes pretty micro u know.........LOL

poppy

[jim from sydney]

yep.....i just looked on the web and your camera is not the best for taking discus pics, especially for babs.....ring the bf and tell him this is an one in a lifetime change to film superbaby...that is if he has a good digital camera????maybe he hasn't........Jim

[poppy]

the bub is still going strong ..........not so keen on the egg this morning tho.........

I will ask my nephew if he can take a pic.......... he has a flash fangled digi camera ( just gotta nail the lil bugger down)

mum and dad laid a beautiful spawn last nite........ so see how this lots goes

poppy

[jim from sydney]

Poppy...DONT use flash.....it will kill superbaby from fright

[poppy]

Thanks Jim.......... i dont want to hurt or frighten him........

hes still going strong.......... going to introduce some BBS at his next feed mixed in the egg yolk.

He still looks like a tadpole.......LOL........ my local shop says he will take a while to look like discus.......

poppy

[Merrilyn]

Hooray for super baby.

Hang in there little guy :D

[jim from sydney]

To Superbaby......hang on little fellow, you owe it to Poppy.....Jim

[poppy]

I have introduced the brine shrimp with egg......... hes seems fine.......

I can see his head getting bigger and his tummy too........these are really exciting times

cheers

poppy

[poppy]

through a magnifying glass I can now see he has lateral fins now........ they flap away as he wiggles around......... :)

[goldenpigeon]

AWWW!!! :D

this is great!! keep up the good work!!!!! :D

[jim from sydney]

Poppy.........keep up the good work :D ....Jim