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Rainbow Shiner Breeding Journal


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On 1/9/2024 at 10:46 AM, msudawgs56 said:

These are beautiful native fish. No need to run a chiller?

No, not for this species. They will do well at room temperature between 65-75 F. As long as you keep enough air flowing into the tank, they can thrive in the upper limit of their temperature range. If, however, they reach 80-F for prolonged periods of time, they do begin to struggle.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

Here’s my 33 gal long ‘Bama Blue Rainbow Shiners all fired up after a low front passed through…

They spawned like this for 12-hrs straight…

I pulled a nice haul of eggs. We’ll see how they pan out this time…

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I’m starting to pay more attention to barometric pressure drops in my region. For example, this coming Tuesday-Wednesday looks like a good window to see US Natives go into spawning mode…

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From this past week through Monday morning, I feed heavy: live larvae & frozen foods. Then I change water (40-50%) as the pressure drops — ca. Monday, and present a stone tray for Shiners (or yarn mop with Banded Darters) to induce spawning. I leave lights on for 48-72 hrs as well. During this time I do _not_ interrupt breeding by feeding. As pressure rises back up, I remove tray, feed, and return lights to normal schedule.

I suspect that the barometric change releases just enough pressure that triggers egg layers / egg scatterers to spawn. As long as your females are healthy, full of roe, and not harassed, they’ll cue up the males.

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I'm starting to see some of my females get a little more round. Hoping that indicates they're full of eggs, and not just fat! Still haven't seen anything I recognize as breeding activity. 

20240525_113621.jpg.cb24d078df9b284ff0aa099829e359bd.jpg

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On 5/25/2024 at 11:37 AM, Chris said:

I'm starting to see some of my females get a little more round. Hoping that indicates they're full of eggs, and not just fat! Still haven't seen anything I recognize as breeding activity. 

20240525_113621.jpg.cb24d078df9b284ff0aa099829e359bd.jpg

They still look less than 12-months old. Probably not yet ready to spawn.

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