[chenowethpm]

^nice!!!!!^
Maybe we can trade fry when weather gets better!

Sounds awesome! I would love to have GBR again. And apistos!

 

[chenowethpm]

I guess I'm going to have to setup something else's to raise more fry. I Have a 20 long out on the shed that has never been used. I may get it out and divide it in half for grow out and hatching. I have to admit in having a lot of fun with these guys. My lfs said they'd give me credit if I bring them some peacock gudgeons. They sell them for 12 bucks each.

 

[chenowethpm]

These tiny guys are getting bigger. Still less than 1/4 inch long, but when I put the newly hatched bbs in there, they get some big orange bellies. Here's a pic from tonight. Maybe the best pic I've gotten of them tonight.

 

[chenowethpm]

Fry are getting fatter and starting to resemble fish. I m still observing the new spawn in the parent tank. Today the male is still in the pipe taking care of the eggs. He's a good daddy. They seem to be maturing faster than the last time when I removed him. Also no fungus and a lot more viable eggs. I think I will have to pull them tomorrow. I gotta work and I don't know where I'm going to put them yet but I'm afraid to let them hatch in the parent tank. I don't know what would happen if I put the eggs in with the other fry. My plan was to divide a 20 long and put the fry on one side and the eggs on the other. I'm just worried they're going to hatch tomorrow. Hope I can get something set up before they do.

 

[chenowethpm]

Well, after putting the pipe with the male in a breeder net in the main tank so they wouldn't hatch and get eaten my the female or a shrimp I finally got another tank set up for the fry. I put the fry I already had in a 3g into a 10g and moved the breeder net with the pipe into there. The male didn't want to come out but I got him back in the main tank. The eggs are starting to hatch and it looks like about 50 of them this time. No fungus or anything. Wondering if I can just let them go in the main tank or should I keep them in the breeder net till they're free swimming and then let them out. Would the fry I already have mess with them? Getting ready to harvest some vinager eels for the newly hatched fry.

 

[chenowethpm]

Well, I had to remove the fry from the breeder net because they were getting trapped in between the frame and the net. Bad design. Anyways, they are all free swimming now and getting along great with the older fry. They're not that much smaller. I can't count em all but it seems like 30 or 40 made it. They're eating vinegar eels and bbs. Anyone have any good experience with tank dividers? The only one I ever tried sucked.

 

[chenowethpm]

Everyone's eating and competing well for food. They go crazy when I put the vinegar eels and newly hatched bbs in the tank. Doing daily feelings and water hanged and bbs hatchig has become such a routine that I don't even think about it anymore. Would it be real bad if I missed a day of water changing? I was sick yesterday with a stomach virus but still managed to change that water. I've got a system where I take out the water and then drip new water in while I go to sleep. A few times I've woken up mid sleep thinking, oh no the tank is going to overflow. But I never add too much water for that to happen, just a scary thought.

 

[Kehy]

Sounds like you're having great success! I love seeing people breed fish for the hobby so they don't need to take any from the wild. These guys are gorgeous, I wish I had room for them...

 

[chenowethpm]

It's more fun than I knew it would be. The little guys are too cute with their bellies full. My only problem is that I usually have to wait till everyone's in bed at my house before I can tend to them so I'm always up late. Half the time I'm just sitting in front of the tank watching them eat though.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l0VumQZm3Hc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[chenowethpm]

Well, it's been almost another week and these little guys are still doing well. The first batch is growing fast and I can see all of their little tiny fins developing. The second batch is still smaller but they're growing fast too. Daily water changes and bbs hatching/feeding are so routine now I can do all of it in half an hour. The parents are not in there pipe but the female is starting to get her yellow bulge in her belly again. I'm almost scared to change their water because it might trigger another spawn. Built a stand to put the 10g fry tank on. The stand has another shelf so I can set up another 5g tank for more fry growing room. My wife hasn't yelled at me for taking up part of our closet with the fry tank yet.

 

[chenowethpm]

Update: first two batches are still growing and living together peacefully. I haven't had any deaths in a while. Still doing daily water changes and feeding live bbs. There's at least 50 of them but it's impossible to get a good count. Looks like I might have to setup something else because the parents have gone into their pipe again tonight. If it plays out like it has been there should be eggs tomorrow. I'm going to try to train the fry in already raising prepared foods instead of live. Any suggestions? I might move the the fry to an established 20 gallon to give them more room. It has one convict in it that I rescued and am finding a new home for.

 

[chenowethpm]

Well, the male is still in the pipe today caring for a new batch of eggs. Looks like I'm going to have to set up another 5.5g to put them in. I just don't have anymore cycled sponge filters to put in there. Maybe with the daily water changes and small bioload it won't matter.

 

[chenowethpm]

Got them moved. The male left the pipe as soon as I picked it up. He was not happy with me. He flared up as big as he could and got near his lady. They're both just flaring their fins at each other. The eggs I just put in the new 5g are about to hatch. They already have the eyes and tails showing. Probably wigglers tomorrow. Vinegar eels ready to harvest. I don't know how much longer the parents will keep up this spawning behavior, but it's really cool and feels good to know undoing something right. My only concern about this new batch is the sponge filter wasn't cycled. Will it be good with daily 50% water changes?

 

[chenowethpm]

Quick update on these guys. The first two batches in the 10g are getting big. They're actually recognizable as fish with all their fins and are starting to turn yellowish color. The third batch in the five have gone from eating vinegar eels to bbs already. It's probably the biggest spawn yet. And I've only lost/culled 4 of them for various reasons. I probably have a total of 70 or so fry between the two tanks. I might move the fry in the 10g to a 20g to grow them out the rest of the way.

Here's a pic of the 10g with the first two

 

[chenowethpm]

It's been a few days and a few water changes. Just a quick update on these guys progress. They're all still growing fast and eating like crazy. Still on the live baby brine shrimp everyday, I got the first batch to eat a little crushed flake food so I'm going to try to start training them to that, but I'm still going to feed the bbs because the second batch is still real tiny. The parents are starting the ritual again, if they are doing like before I'll probably have another spawn within the next week. Here's a couple pics of the first two batches in the 10 and the third batch in the 5.5

 

[coralbandit]

How cool!
Nice picture.
You can see an eyespot(coloring) near the tail to help protect them from predators!

 

[chenowethpm]

How cool!
Nice picture.
You can see an eyespot(coloring) near the tail to help protect them from predators!

Thanks man, they're pretty fun to watch. I can hardly wait for them to grow and get their adult coloration. Gettin ready to move the two batches in the 10 to a 20 so they'll have more room to grow.

 

[chenowethpm]

Been a while so I thought I would update.
The little guys are growing slowly. But they look great. The first two batches in the 10g are voracious eaters and never leave food uneaten. They are doing wonderfully. Going to be moving to a 20g soon. I'm having some troubles with the batch I the 5.5g. Been losing a couple every few days. Can't figure out why. Parameters are always NH4-0, NO2-0, NO3-5-10ppm. Don't know why. Still changing 50% a day on both tanks mostly after feeding to clean up any leftovers. Hopefully they stop dying and I don't lose all of them. Total on both tanks is around 60 little gudgeons. Got them trained on non live foods now so no more daily bbs hatching. The first two batches in the 10g are about an inch long now. Here's a pic of them.

Here's the grow out setup in my closet, wife's not to fond of it but she bears it.

 

[coralbandit]

they look great!
Your wife and landlord will hate me!
Move them to as big a tank as possible!
It is as big a difference as feedings in first few weeks!
More room to run,more room to grow.
If you got some to 1 " we could be very close to trading!(sitting on 100+ gbr{1/2 over 8 months!})
Nice work young man! and glad to hear that maintenance is a problem!
Probably means you are doing almost enough!
I don't push everyone!

 

[treliantf]

NO3-5-10ppm....?

Would you consider setting up a RO dripping system such that you may further reducing nitrate to <5ppm? Fries are sensitive to NO3 but not adults, as I tried very hard to educate folks on the Forum here.