laritheloud Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 On 7/8/2021 at 5:25 PM, Hobbit said: @Fish Folk which direction are you from DC? If you live north of DC, I may be able to point you to a LFS up near philly that buys basically only locally bred fish. I wonder if we're thinking of the same LFS! I'm from South Jersey and know of a small shop with modest stock across the bridge, but most of his stock is locally bred. @Fish Folk this has been a really great read and documentation. I'm glad the hatch is exceeding expectations, and I'm excited to watch them grow with you. Good luck, hope they'll take powder! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 On 7/11/2021 at 9:02 PM, Fish Folk said: Today has been a sad day. I saw a couple dead fry early on, sucked them out. And then started seeing more. Something went very wrong. I thought I’d gotten them all. It’s been a busy day, so just now, changing water, I’m realizing how awful it is. I’ve lost at least 1/2 of the fry. I took out the sponge filter, and thoroughly cleaned it off. I decide to change 32 Oz. with R. O. Bottled water. No tank water tonight. Factors are many. Perhaps a few died, and ammonia / ammonium went sky high? Or maybe the hydra are getting some at night? Could a batch of BBS have been decaying? Maybe the tank water doesn’t settle well yet? Or maybe a plant brought in a pathogen? All I can think to do is change water, feed, and keep up the upkeep. *sigh* Ah, I missed this-- I'm so sorry you lost half of them. I hope the rest of the little fish make it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARMYVET Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 Hey Bud....Im sorry for the loss....My heart sank when I read it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted July 13, 2021 Author Share Posted July 13, 2021 On 7/13/2021 at 7:20 AM, ARMYVET said: Hey Bud....Im sorry for the loss....My heart sank when I read it. Well, life is full of loss. And every venture comes with risk. No matter how hard a man works on his farm, he cannot control the weather. I think of it this way: if I had not bought these Rams, they would be in someone else’s care. That means in all likelihood they’d be dead by now. Few people know how to breed them, which means this pair would not have been paired up. And if I had not lost these, I’d have less to learn. So, on the whole, I think everything is a huge win. The adults are very happy, looking better than ever... there are still 30-50 fry... and I’m able to grow as an aquarist. All good!! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted July 14, 2021 Author Share Posted July 14, 2021 BBS is back tonight! Had help from Fish Folk Jr. Here’s an impromptu interview... Ram Fry happy to enjoy BBS again... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted July 14, 2021 Author Share Posted July 14, 2021 Here’s a couple shots of fry fin development this morning... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARMYVET Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 On 7/14/2021 at 11:05 AM, Fish Folk said: Here’s a couple shots of fry fin development this morning... Cute little buggers arent they! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted July 17, 2021 Author Share Posted July 17, 2021 Lots of misc. updates here... First off, I fed late today. At cleaning / water change time tonight, there were two that had died recently - without decay. All others looked stuffed. I am beginning to think that it is easy to _overfeed_ baby brine shrimp. Here is a look at the dead ones — note lack of fungus decay, as well as full orange bellies... And here is a look down into the specimen container from above... So... I decided _not_ to feed them tonight. Now, my mind has been focused on the adults: why are they not spawning again? I decide to do a major water change. Here are some steps in that process... First, just a shot of the tank. Note the growth of Pothos and Bamboo out of the back and wrapping around. Also observe the water line recession... To change water, here is the stretch of our “python” from our fishroom utility bathroom over across two rooms to this tank... A close look at the faucet end and the tank side entry show a series of adaptors threading onto the faucet and several layers of panty hose (knee highs) to prevent drawing out any fish. Water was changed in excess of 50% volume... And one little trick to boost tannins: I added one Rooibos tea bag for at least 24 hrs... The adult Rams look reasonably good. With a healthy diet, soon I hope to see prespawning signs... 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 @Fish Folk do you think the two fry that died overstuffed themselves? Or do you think they died for a different reason (decaying brine shrimp brought the water quality down, etc)? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted July 17, 2021 Author Share Posted July 17, 2021 On 7/17/2021 at 1:48 AM, Hobbit said: @Fish Folk do you think the two fry that died overstuffed themselves? Or do you think they died for a different reason (decaying brine shrimp brought the water quality down, etc)? It is a good question! Because there was virtually _no_ uneaten bbs, I think they overstuffed themselves. It is so tempting to want to feed too much food when you just want them to grow! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted July 17, 2021 Author Share Posted July 17, 2021 Here’s a shot of the tank this morning with Rooibos tea tannins lightly tinting the water… The more I try this, the more convinced I become that many fish thrive best in tannin-stained water. Obviously I’m not getting leaf, pod, or cone breakdown here to provide it… but I still think it does healthy things for the fish. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 @Fish Folk that is very good to know!! I have never had gourami fry eat themselves to death, even when I WAY over feed by accident, but I’ve always been nervous that one day it might happen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted July 18, 2021 Author Share Posted July 18, 2021 Quick glances at fry fin development… Bellies full of orange bbs… 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted July 18, 2021 Author Share Posted July 18, 2021 Adult male appears to be struggling slightly with either an injury, or a touch of “hole in the head.” This can be brought in by stress. Usually it rectified itself in a few days, but I’ll keep my eye on this. People ask: where do you get Rams so colorful??! My answer is that I just feed them lots of carotene-rich foods. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted July 25, 2021 Author Share Posted July 25, 2021 I’ve been out of town for a week. My son, the original “Fish Folk” looked after the fish. He ram out of BBS, but transitioned the baby Ram fry over to Sera Micron successfully. Here’s a video of the tank upon my return… And here’s a video showing how to mix Sera Micron powder with tank water. Key is not to overfeed… 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 (edited) It’s so great that your son can look after your fry! Any update on the hole-in-the head issue? Edited July 25, 2021 by Hobbit 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted July 25, 2021 Author Share Posted July 25, 2021 On 7/25/2021 at 1:04 PM, Hobbit said: It’s so great that your son can look after your fry! Any update on the hole-in-the head issue? Looks to me like it’s all cured! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 ORD but yay!! 😃 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted July 27, 2021 Author Share Posted July 27, 2021 Recently got some white worms. Pretty easy to keep at room temp, feed finely ground pinch of fish flake food each day. No odor. I drop them into tank water to serve… 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted July 28, 2021 Author Share Posted July 28, 2021 Alrighty! This evening, I’ve fed the Ram fry a new food: Grindal Worms. They’re tiny little look-alike worms compared with white worms. Very fun to watch the fry hammer these… 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted July 29, 2021 Author Share Posted July 29, 2021 After a long stop at the “All You Can Eat Brineffet” … I am guessing that the final count will stay steady at ca. 30x fry. Next steps will be to clean out the tank, water change, and move fry to breeder nets after posting for BAP with my Fish Club. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted July 29, 2021 Share Posted July 29, 2021 They look so round! 😄 So for the BAP, do you need to raise the fry to adults in order to get full credit? Or do you just need to have fry? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted July 29, 2021 Author Share Posted July 29, 2021 On 7/29/2021 at 10:54 AM, Hobbit said: They look so round! 😄 So for the BAP, do you need to raise the fry to adults in order to get full credit? Or do you just need to have fry? In my club (PVAS - Potomac Valley Aquarium Society) you must (1) provide notice of initial spawn (2) document from 1st “free-swimming” day (3) record and journal weekly progress with photos, videos, or by bringing fry in to club meetings (4) If minimum 10x fry survive for 30 days, you are awarded points, depending on the species, difficulty, etc. For GBRs… I think… they’re either a 15 or 20-point fish. At 300 points, you are an “advanced breeder” and at 500 points you are awarded the certificate of “master breeder.” To become a master breeder though, there’s some tricky fish you’re required to breed, including a number of CARES species that are endangered. My son is an “advanced breeder.” I’m trying to catch him 😅 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 Things holding stable with fry. Changed water in 20-gal. Fed live white worms to adults / Grindal worms to fry. Haven’t been too obsessed with water changing the fry container. Added a Catappa leaf and a few Alder cones to 20 gal tank. Coconut fibers get on fry container bottom via Grindal worm feedings. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picklepuppy Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 GREAT job! 👏 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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