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Thread: Artificial rearing made easy

  1. #16
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    Default Re: Artificial rearing made easy

    Thanks Tuck...I understand it now...Just I would need to find or make something for the resevoir. Pretty clever Tuck. Hats off to you...Bill

  2. #17
    Registered Member Tropical Haven's Avatar
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    Default Re: Artificial rearing made easy

    Hey Bill, after you get yours set up I will need to come over and see it for myself. I am still a little confused on the setup, maybe if I see it in person I will see the light.
    Scott

  3. #18
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    Default Re: Artificial rearing made easy

    Sounds good Scott. I am seriously thinking about building it, as I have tried to artificially raise fry years ago. I found I could kill fry just as good, if not better than the parents, so I gave up my killing spree and just let the parents eventually get it right. But I do find it a challenge and a facet of the hobby that I really don't have a clue about...Bill

  4. #19
    Registered Member Rod's Avatar
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    Default Re: Artificial rearing made easy

    Nice one tuck, i use a not dissimilar method to you. Works great as well. I like the idea with the coffee strainers, i might have to give that a go.

    Rod

  5. #20
    Registered Member John_Nicholson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Artificial rearing made easy

    Found the writeup. Its not formatted properly but here it is. Step 10 is the one that is similar to your setup. Maybe its something that you add to your setup. I put a very rough diagram on bottom.


    Artificially Raising Discus Fry

    John Nicholson

    Like most processes or technologies everything that we do today is built on what others have done in the past. The artificially raising of discus fry is no different. My method will be very similar to the method used by most breeders, with just a few subtle differences. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the pioneers in this realm and specifically Jack Wattley and Dick Au. Both men have forgotten more about discus then I will probably ever know.

    Jim Quarles was fairly well known for preaching the KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid) philosophy and I have adopted that thought process when raising fish. In other words I try to let the parents do the work instead of me. There will be situations that arise, however, when that is just not possible. It is these times when I will raise a brood without the parents. I will provide a basic framework/timetable for the process but as you adopt it please make improvements with the process. That is what all of us “oldtimers” have been doing for years.

    1. I will normally leave the eggs with the parents but cover them to prevent them from eating the eggs. Once they hatch out I will pull the cone. If you feel better pulling the eggs before they hatch then make sure you provide aeration and some sort of antifungal medication.
    2. I setup a 10 or 20 gallon tank with a heater and some aeration. I get 2 plastic bowls that I can float in the tank.
    3. Once the eggs hatch I use a turkey baster to rinse the fry from the cone into the bowl. The water in the tank should be between 82 and 86 (match the temp of the parents tank). Have some gentle aeration in the bowl.
    4. Do nothing until they all go free swimming.
    5. On the first day of free swimming I feed egg powder. I take a very small pinch and grind it between my fingers. A little goes a long way. I have the aeration adjusted so it is very slow. A small bubble every couple of seconds will work. Too much aeration will cause the egg powder to emulsify in the water. If that happens it will kill all of your babies.
    6. After about one hour do a water change. I do this by slowly pouring the water from this bowl into an empty bowl. With a little practice you can get good at doing this without pouring out any babies. Once I get almost all of the water out of the bowl I pour the babies into the other bowl that has been floating in the tank. Since everything has been in the same tank everything is the same temperature. I then clean the used bowl, refill it about 60% with water from the tank, and float it again so it can be used for the next water change.
    7. I repeat step 6 at least 3 times a day. Remember do not over feed.
    8. On day 2 I start adding a small amount of freshly hatched brine shrimp (BBS). I have found that some of the babies will eat BBS as early as day 1 and some as late as day 4. Once all of the fry are eating BBS I stop the egg yolk powder. At this point you are home free.
    9. From this point forward I will feed BBS twice a day and change water twice a day. The nice thing about BBS is it will often live for several hours in freshwater so the need to change water goes down a little. With proper feeding you could probably get by with one water change a day but I would try to do at least 2 per day if possible.
    10. At about day 5 I put the fry in a shoebox. The advantage of a shoebox setup is you have a much larger water volume but yet you still have your fry in a confined area. To make a shoebox cut a hole approximately 2 inch by 3 inch in the bottom of the shoebox towards one end. I then use a hot clue gun and glue fine netting outside of the box over the hole. Make sure you clue it well or the fry will find everyplace that they can become trapped. I then cut a hole about halfway up on the other side of the box. I put a lift tube in the hole. I normally rig up some PVC pipe to keep the box floating. I insert the air tubing into the bottom of the lift tube and put a piece of sponge I the tube to hole the air line in and keep any fish in the tank from going up the tube. It if nice if you have other fish in the tank that are older but still eating BBS. They will eat any that come though the net.
    11. From this point forward raise them like you would any other spawn.


    This method is fairly easy and not to time consuming. Remember do no overfeed. More fry are killed by poor water conditions then anything else. Also, once they get on BBS you have it made. The largest spawn that I have raised in this fashion was about 240 fry. I have tracked some of these fry for several years and they seem to do as well as parent raised fry in all aspects. I do believe in parent raising the fry but if you get in a pinch where you feel you just have to have some fry and the parents just are not getting it done give this method a try. Good luck.
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  6. #21
    Registered Member Big Tuck's Avatar
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    Default Re: Artificial rearing made easy

    Hi stanle yes the water is continually changing .The round baskets contain the fry i just squirt a turkey baster full of bb couple times a day.Dont hesatate if you have more questions,ill try my best to fill you in. Tuck

  7. #22
    Registered Member Big Tuck's Avatar
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    Default Re: Artificial rearing made easy

    Thanks John,any goodd info is appreciated,ill give it a good hard look. Tuck

  8. #23
    Registered Member Big Tuck's Avatar
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    Default Re: Artificial rearing made easy

    Hey Bill,if your going to build it give me a call,theres a few important things i cant explain without talking to you. This thing is almost to good to beleive,it will be worth your time and effort,I PROMISE, Tuck

  9. #24
    Registered Member John_Nicholson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Artificial rearing made easy

    The nice thing about the shoebox is it is much larger then the coffee filters if you ahtch out a really big spawn. You can also really hammer them with BBS without hurting anything.

    -john

  10. #25
    Registered Member Big Tuck's Avatar
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    Default Re: Artificial rearing made easy

    Heres some Rose Red int. fry 12 and 13.5 wks old.all were raised artifically in my Nutty prof contraption.
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  11. #26
    Registered Member John_Nicholson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Artificial rearing made easy

    Looking good.

    Also I discovered after writing the above article that most fry were able to eat BBS on day 2.

    -john

  12. #27
    Registered Member Big Tuck's Avatar
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    Default Re: Artificial rearing made easy

    Yep, John good point.I had a larger container for the fry to start with and i found i was loosing more fry.There pretty dumb so by crouding them up they seemed to find the food better.I put a turkey baster FULL of BB at a time.They eat like pigs and what they dont get(not much) dies and falls thru the filter and is taken away.Seems like theres many ways to get the job done.Thanks for your valued input. Tuck

  13. #28
    Registered Member specialsuperK's Avatar
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    Default Re: Artificial rearing made easy

    Big tuck, Is that a plywood fish tank u have those fry in, if so what do u coat the inside with to seal it?
    If you can't take pride in your own work. What can you take pride in?

  14. #29
    Registered Member Big Tuck's Avatar
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    Default Re: Artificial rearing made easy

    Hi superk,yep its 3/4 plywood good 1 side.I have 2 75 gal and 1 150 gal.More being built now.I brace every joint with 2x2 and then give it 2 coats of fiberglass resin.After it dries overnight i run a bead of silicone over all seams.Works great and makes a cheap tank.Hope this helps. Tuck

  15. #30
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    Default Re: Artificial rearing made easy

    Hi Tuck...I like your fish...the browns. Nice shape and healthy. You have a pic of the parents?...Bill

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