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Thread: How to grow out large fry experiment - How many water changes needed

  1. #1
    Registered Member Luke in Phoenix's Avatar
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    Default How to grow out large fry experiment - How many water changes needed

    What is the most important component to growing out large fry? Water changes or feeding quantity and schedule?
    These are pictures of a batch of fry that I just grew out born on 9-4. After 53 days all of them were over 2.5" with a few reaching over 3" and very healthy.

    That's pretty good right? I'll post next what I did after you see these pictures.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
    Registered Member Luke in Phoenix's Avatar
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  3. #3
    Registered Member Luke in Phoenix's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to grow out large fry experiment - How many water changes needed

    I offered these fry a constant or pretty close to constant food supply of baby brine shrimp and then a homemade beefheart / seafood mix. They pretty much ate constantly.

    With this much food, nitrate becomes a problem so I installed an algae scrubber. Nitrate levels were kept between 0 and 30 ppm with only one 30% water change the entire 53 days the fry were growing out.

    Conclusions: Only 1 water change of 30% for 2 months is pretty crazy but these fry grew outstandingly. A constant food source is more important than water changes if you can keep nitrate levels low. I also have a large UV sterilizer on the system but I haven't experimented with and without it.

    Before I get killed about the importance of water changes, notice that this thread is in the "laboratory" or experiment section. I am only hoping for a non-emotional debate and to find out if other people have done this same thing.

  4. #4
    Registered Member alcastro's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to grow out large fry experiment - How many water changes needed

    Did you have like a 1,000 gallon tank lol

  5. #5
    Registered Member Luke in Phoenix's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to grow out large fry experiment - How many water changes needed

    Quote Originally Posted by alcastro View Post
    Did you have like a 1,000 gallon tank lol
    LOL, I wish but my wife would probably leave me. Tough decision... just kidding!

    It's a 40 gallon breeder tank and an 80 gallon display tank both connected to a 20 gallon sump.

  6. #6
    Registered Member alcastro's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to grow out large fry experiment - How many water changes needed

    Was just curious because you did not post it, was their any illness with the fry

  7. #7
    Registered Member Luke in Phoenix's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to grow out large fry experiment - How many water changes needed

    Quote Originally Posted by alcastro View Post
    Was just curious because you did not post it, was their any illness with the fry
    Good question. 0 signs of illness. The only thing I noticed was some planaria.
    The breeder tank and my display tank are actually plumbed to same sump (share the same water) and all fish are healthy as ever with great color. no hiding, eating great, etc...

  8. #8
    Registered Member dprais1's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to grow out large fry experiment - How many water changes needed

    can you get some pics of the algae scrubber? also how many fry, from the pics it looks like less than 12?

    regardless, very good on many levels

  9. #9
    Homesteader Filip's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to grow out large fry experiment - How many water changes needed

    Interesting thread.
    Can we see pics from parents?
    Also more info and pics from algae scrubber.

  10. #10
    Registered Member Luke in Phoenix's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to grow out large fry experiment - How many water changes needed

    TDS = 310, Temperature 84, KH = 3
    I grew out 9 total fry in this setup. I just moved the Discus fry into another tank and put the parents back into the breeder tank.

    These are the parents today back in the breeder tank, still 0 additional water changes as of today. They continued to lay eggs every 1-1.5 weeks along with 2 additional pairs in the display tank that also laid eggs on a schedule.
    2015-10-30 10.12.27.jpg

  11. #11
    Registered Member Luke in Phoenix's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to grow out large fry experiment - How many water changes needed

    These Red Dragon discus are one of the other pairs that I put into breeder (I split the breeder tank with a divider). You can see the eggs they just started laying today.
    2015-10-30 10.17.53.jpg

  12. #12
    Registered Member Luke in Phoenix's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to grow out large fry experiment - How many water changes needed

    Quote Originally Posted by Filip View Post
    Interesting thread.
    Can we see pics from parents?
    Also more info and pics from algae scrubber.
    This is the algae scrubber in the sump below the display and breeder tanks. Very simple "upflow" algae scrubber setup only cost me a couple bucks plus a led light. You can see the led light that I put against the side of the glass to shine on a piece of mesh. There is an air stone below the mesh that provides more waterflow over the mesh screen. I also lined the middle sump chamber with mesh and put a light above the sump for extra light. This keeps the nitrate below 30ppm and usually close to 0. At one point, the fry and display tank was consuming over 10 cubes of beef heart daily.
    I know there are a couple of other threads with Algae scrubber designs.

    2015-10-30 10.29.25.jpg2015-10-30 10.29.51.jpg2015-10-30 10.30.23.jpg2015-10-30 10.31.01.jpg2015-10-30 10.31.30.jpg

  13. #13
    Registered Member Luke in Phoenix's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to grow out large fry experiment - How many water changes needed

    One more pic of display tank 2 weeks ago (10-15-2015). 2 of the 3 pairs layed eggs at the same time.
    10-15-2015 - update.jpg

  14. #14
    Registered Member warblad79's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to grow out large fry experiment - How many water changes needed

    Quote Originally Posted by Luke in Phoenix View Post
    I offered these fry a constant or pretty close to constant food supply of baby brine shrimp and then a homemade beefheart / seafood mix. They pretty much ate constantly.

    With this much food, nitrate becomes a problem so I installed an algae scrubber. Nitrate levels were kept between 0 and 30 ppm with only one 30% water change the entire 53 days the fry were growing out.

    Conclusions: Only 1 water change of 30% for 2 months is pretty crazy but these fry grew outstandingly. A constant food source is more important than water changes if you can keep nitrate levels low. I also have a large UV sterilizer on the system but I haven't experimented with and without it.

    Before I get killed about the importance of water changes, notice that this thread is in the "laboratory" or experiment section. I am only hoping for a non-emotional debate and to find out if other people have done this same thing.
    Try raising 200+ fry to the 40 gallon breeder tank. Well see If your sump can keep up, your experiment is only base on fewer fish. That's why you can get away with less WC. I'm pretty sure a lot of people already try this experiment but most of them failed miserably and you'll see them on disease section all the time.

  15. #15
    Administrator and MVP Dec.2015 Second Hand Pat's Avatar
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    Default Re: How to grow out large fry experiment - How many water changes needed

    Luke, how many fry are part of this experiment?
    Pat
    Your discus are talking to you....are you listening


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