Continued from page 1Breeding
Breeding rainbowfish is not for everyone. Some people just like to look at and enjoy their fish, others like the challenge of breeding them. For those who are the breeding type, I will cover some of the technique's that I use in my own breeding program.
One of the least known factors on hobby fishkeeping is water chemistry. I am convinced that there is more to breeding and raising fish than just a proper pH and hardness, although they are probably the two most important factors, they are not all of them. Water chemistry varies from region to region. Just because Troy Foster does well with pygmaea and you don’t does not mean that you are not as good a breeder as he is. Your water could be a lot different and could be the problem. The only way to overcome this problem is to create the water you need for spawning. This can be costly and if you don’t know exactly what you need to do chances are you are probably wasting your time. I would recommend that you breed the fish that will do well in your water and let other people breed the fish that does the best in theirs.
Another problem you may have is that sources of city water change and therefore the water chemistry will also vary. In Colorado the water is usually drawn from reservoir stocks where it has had time to gain compounds from the reservoir substrate. In the spring and summer we get most of our water from the run-off generated by the melting snow that blankets the Rockies in the winter. Where I live in western Colorado the hardness of the Colorado River can change as much as 100 PPM from spring to winter.
The best way I know to encourage spawning is a combination of two things: food and water. Good diet is important for good healthy fry. The quality of the nutrients in the yolk sack is a direct reflection of the diet the adult fish are fed. This will affect the health of the fry when it is developing in the egg and for the first few days after it hatches. A poor diet for the adults will hinder fertility and development of the eggs and definitely result in week fry. A diet high in calcium and protein is required for good success. I use frozen bloodworms and freeze dried plankton to obtain good results.
The water for your breeders should be as clean as possible to reduce stress and induce spawning. Frequent water changes are done to achieve this. Large water changes usually will be followed by increased spawning activity.
Ambiance is important as well. The goal here is to create surroundings where your breeders will be as comfortable as possible. I do this with a dimly lit tank with three sides painted black. No plants are present but I do use multiple mops in different areas in the tank so that the fish may select the site that suits them the best. Once they have selected this site they usually will return to this site over and over again. Yarn colors are mixed (different shades of green as sometimes different colors are preferred
Fry Raising
This is an aspect of fishkeeping that can be enjoyable or you could end up pulling your hair out and have a little smoke come out of your ears. Pay attention and I will try my best to help you avoid the latter of the two.J
Let’s talk about tank setup. This is the simplest part. I know that some of you are in to natural aquariums and I envy your ability to make this work, as I have been unable to do this in the mass production of fry. Determine what your goal is. Do you want to raise a few are quite a few?
I try to breed as many of a species as I possibly can. With the trips I take to Australia I typically will be returning with new fish that are not available in the country so my breeding practice is to breed as many fish as possible and the subject of this section will be just that. Many people will use trays and very small aquaria to raise the fry in; this will work fine if you want to have just a few offspring. I use 10-gallon tanks (35 litre). The reason for this is that it is a lot harder to foul 10 gallons of water than it is to do the same with 5 gallons. Larger tanks can rear more fry and the water on the average will be cleaner provided you don’t over feed. When I set up a tank I use only clean non-aged water. Even if your water has chlorine in it, the chlorine will help prevent fungus. I use a small sponge filter that is not cultured and a heater set to 82-84 deg. F. I do not use shell grit in the tank anymore as I once did. The reef blocks I mentioned earlier do a fantastic job of supplementing the water with the building blocks the fry need for proper growth and development.
Typically the hardness will be between 150 and 220 PPM and a pH of 7.6. This will depend a lot on what the condition of the water is you start with. The addition of ramshorn snails after the fry hatch is a good way to process the uneaten food. The addition of tetra blackwater extract is also beneficial. It has vitamins that help the development of the fry.
Jungle small fry saver works well, but I typically will make my own. The mixtures for this is in a quart jar of distilled water add ½ tsp. Nalidixic acid, 10 drops of acriflavine and a few drops of nitromersol. Shake well and use 1 tsp. Of this solution in 10 gallons of water. This will help guard the fry against a bacterial attack.
The water temperature is kept at the temp. mentioned above untill the fry are at least ¾ inch. Then the temp. is lowered to 76 deg. F. over a period of a few days. I do not move the fry until they are this size as it is stressful and can result in death.
Another thing to avoid is handling the eggs. I can not stress this enough. If you are getting eggs from another source insist that they be on mops. The only exception to this rule is if you are getting the eggs form overseas. Eggs on mops will always do better than eggs picked and placed in vials.
Foods for fry could be another article in its self. I use only APR, commonly known as OSI Microfood. A light feeding three times a day is the best. Be careful not to overfeed this product, its primary ingredient is egg yolk and it can foul the water if used in excessive amounts. Once the fry are old enough to take baby brine shrimp the use of APR is discontinued. Small feedings of flake food should commence when the fry are ¾ of an inch to get them use to their adult diet. At this point you can pat yourself on the back, You did a good job!
In closing if you have any questions regarding this article please feel free to contact me.
Good fishkeeping!
To contact Roy Hunter
The original of this article is located at http://www.angfa.org.
Published with permission of the Author.
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