[Share your macro photos!]

4 hours ago, Colu said:

Just think won't be long before he's snacking on his Frist snail

At 24 days old, he was sizing a snail up. Still *just* a bit to large 🤣🤣

(This is a few week old bladder snail)

[Vinegar eels - how to collect them]

I started with using a bottle with a long small neck to put in a piece of cotton and (very gently) pour fresh water on top so I can just collect the vinegar eels from the fresh water. But it can really take a while for them to collect in the fresh water. So when you have very intense care fry, it can be a benefit to be able to collect a lot faster.

Since I also have sieves to harvest infusoria, I just used those. I pour a bit through a 38 micron filter and then collect what is left in the 10 micron sieve below that. That way I can wash them before I feed them. The 38 micron also collects the bigger vinegar eels. I just put those back in the culture. 

 

(unfortunately my fry don't seem to go for them though).

[Is my Spotted Congo Puffer a Male or Female?]

Maybe this can also help.  I think both pictures where taking in the first week I got my group of 6. They are wild caught so still going through deworming. 

Male and female conveniently lined up above each other

And from above

 

They are now completely dewormed and well fed, the difference is a lot easier to see now. If I get some decent pictures of how they are now with both sexes in it I'll post them to later.

 

[Share your macro photos!]

Six day old Tetraodon schoutedeni (spotted congo pufferfish). 25 times enlarged. 

[Hi from Netherlands! Puffer enthusiast with first fry (schoutedeni)]

14 hours ago, Fish Folk said:

Welcome Marlies! Congratulations on your Puffer success. I am curious to learn if there are some good options available to you for selling your fry? We are in Maryland, USA. Several of our local aquarium stores buy fish that we breed and raise. We also are part of an aquarium society that meets monthly (when possible... COVID has kept us largely apart for over a year). At our meetings, there is an auction of fish and plants. 

Thank you! 

Unfortunately in The Netherlands (at least in my region) we don't really have an active aquarium society. I would have loved that! In regards of selling the fry, in the beginning it will just be smaller numbers. I really don't see any issues in selling those directly to people (already have several on a waiting list). This species is still relatively rare and there are just a few people whom have had succes in breeding them. If I do manage to get better at this and repeat it (with hopefully larger numbers), I want to start and work with resellers and/or an export company to ship them overseas where there is more demand.

 

3 hours ago, Colu said:

Welcome to the forum beautiful baby  puffers

Thank you!

[Trying and failing to hatch small batches of brine shrimp. What am I doing wrong?]

Not an expert by far. But when I had a lot of salt/unhatched brineshrimp, I had to lower the amount of salt used. I now use 22 grams on 2 liters of water. I just use regular salt from the grocery store without iodine. I don't light 24/7, but only turn it off during the night. I use a 5 watt heater in the Ziss. I get pretty steady results now after 36 hours.

 

Edited to add;

I put some of the "debris" under the microscope. And could actually see them having trouble getting out of the egg (this one was really moving to try and get clear). I then read that that can be caused with an too high salt content and thus lowered the amount of salt I used. 

 

[Hi from Netherlands! Puffer enthusiast with first fry (schoutedeni)]

Hi guys! 

I came on this forum via a video from Preston John and already had seen several of Cory's video's on YouTube on divers topics and after taking a look around decided to join. My name is Marlies and I'm from the Netherlands. 

I got a group of six Tetraodon schoutedeni's (Spotted Congo Puffers) not so long ago with the hopes of maybe breeding them some time down the road. Boy was I in for a wilde ride! They started spawning not long after I got them and after the second round, I had a good amount of fry hatching in the parents tank. Luckily, being the nerd that I am, I already had some infusoria cultures running, mostly because I wanted to practise for the "real deal" later on. And also had already read everything Preston John has shared over time about his succes with this species (of which I'm very very grateful!).

Well, I got to learn quick! Those fry currently are 5 weeks old! I got about 6 of them left (they are hard to count at the moment, they are hiding like it's nobody's business). And they are absolutely awesome! From starting as swimming specks (Oh my are they SMALL!!), they have now become really small actual puffers! 

Sizing up his future food

 

Sizing up a (still a bit to big) daphnia

 

Still got a ton to learn! I really hope I can hatch and raise some more. But they sure are not easy! 

Cheers!
Marlies