Grav February 4, 2008 February 4, 2008 Well, I made a few changes for this 3rd attempt at hatching my maroon clown eggs. Larger air bubbles, waited a day longer to remove them from the care of daddy, and sofened the total flow in the fry tank. About an hour after lights out tonight and already at least 3 dozen have hatched (previous record was maybe 6) Rots are ready, think I have everything I need. Will update as things progress. Phil
traveller7 February 4, 2008 February 4, 2008 Great news Phil Keep good notes to support tweaking the procedures at each stage and increasing yields.
Grav February 5, 2008 Author February 5, 2008 I wanted to take some pics, but no good. I have nothing in the way of a camera that will take a picture of something I need a magnifying glass to see. So hard to guess the numbers. 50? 200? I have no idea. I would guess half of the fry were dead the next morning. Not sure if they were bounced around by the bubble flow over night or if they just didn't survive the hatching process. The good news, I don't think I'm still having any significant number of losses at this point. Thanks all!
flowerseller February 7, 2008 February 7, 2008 Very cool Phil, I can't seem to get past 6 weeks to 2 months with the cardinals. Very frustrating when seemingly healthy, eating babies just die one day.
Grav February 12, 2008 Author February 12, 2008 Well, here is the update. I went away for a long weekend. Actually drove to CT to install a tank for my brother. Had a great time and he has his 1st tank. 65g 6x39w T-5s, turbo floater (had it laying around) fuge, 3 mj1200s, 75 some odd pounds of live rock... a weekend of watching the kids crawl around (we re both newish dads) a little beer, a little WII... good times. Anyway, I had a friend stop by and feed the fry on the days I was gone, but they didn't seem to do too well. Very few left at this point. I think the water quality dropped due to over feeding and I blame myself. So now that we have the hatching thing down, it is just a matter of time before we get the raising them thing down. Chip, I read an article about raising cards... in the past few months, will have to go find it.
traveller7 February 12, 2008 February 12, 2008 So now that we have the hatching thing down, it is just a matter of time before we get the raising them thing down.Yep, now focus on tweaking hatch day with temperature: too early they are not strong enough to eat, too late and they don't have enough yolk to sustain. 2F increments have quite an impact on hatch time. You'll be shocked at the water quality the fry will tolerate, minus ammonia of course. Feeding at the stage you are working is easily a twice daily requirement and coupled with a light cycle. Your persistence will reward you
Grav February 13, 2008 Author February 13, 2008 Scott, What do you suggest on the light cycle? The last thing I read suggested 40w bulb 12 inches over the fry tank 24/7
wreck February 13, 2008 February 13, 2008 Scott may have a better answer, but I kept my fry tank on the same light cycle as main tank 12/12. I used a normal output 15w hood over the 10 gallon fry tank. The fry only need light to target food. I also used dark construction paper to cover all sides of the tank for the first week. The paper reduces reflection off the glass, which can confuse the fry. If you notice the fry hanging out near the sides or corners of the tank it's probably because of reflection. Good luck Wreck construction Scott, What do you suggest on the light cycle? The last thing I read suggested 40w bulb 12 inches over the fry tank 24/7
traveller7 February 13, 2008 February 13, 2008 Scott may have a better answer, but I kept my fry tank on the same light cycle as main tank 12/12. I used a normal output 15w hood over the 10 gallon fry tank. The fry only need light to target food. I also used dark construction paper to cover all sides of the tank for the first week. The paper reduces reflection off the glass, which can confuse the fry. If you notice the fry hanging out near the sides or corners of the tank it's probably because of reflection. Good luck Wreck construction Good feedback Wreck. Most of the folks I know have been using NO Fluorescents as well. Definitely recommend darkening the sides and whitening the tank bottom(paper on the outside bottom). For light cycle, 12+on/12-off is a good place to start. Single tank environments allow you to tweak lighting to egg hatch, fry eating rots, fry eating bbs, etc so be prepared to tweak away. For instance, to help keep fry from overeating bbs, shut off the light when gut loaded. In a multitank breeding set up, that may not be possible. Good feedback Wreck. Most of the folks I know have been using NO Fluorescents as well. Definitely recommend darkening the sides and whitening the tank bottom(paper on the outside bottom). For light cycle, 12+on/12-off is a good place to start. Single tank environments allow you to tweak lighting to egg hatch, fry eating rots, fry eating bbs, etc so be prepared to tweak away. For instance, to help keep fry from overeating bbs, shut off the light when gut loaded. In a multitank breeding set up, that may not be possible. Have you been breezing through the Breeder Forum on RC? Atticus, Billsreef, JHardman, and MarinaP have some solid experience and post quite a bit.
Grav February 14, 2008 Author February 14, 2008 Ahaaaaa. I found (what I think was) the main problem with the last batch. The heater was unplugged. I didn't find much on RC, seemed like there were few posts in an inactive breeding / fragging forum section. Must have been looking in the wrong place, will check again. Next batch is on deck tomorrow I think. 12/12 it is.
wreck February 14, 2008 February 14, 2008 Having the heater unplugged might be a problem. . I try to keep my fry tank at 80, supposed to help with growth and ease transition in the metamorphosis stage. Good luck and keep us posted. Ahaaaaa. I found (what I think was) the main problem with the last batch. The heater was unplugged. I didn't find much on RC, seemed like there were few posts in an inactive breeding / fragging forum section. Must have been looking in the wrong place, will check again. Next batch is on deck tomorrow I think. 12/12 it is.
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