Fish Folk Posted April 15, 2022 Author Share Posted April 15, 2022 Oh boy! Tonight’s haul.. 5:30 pm… 🤭 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CornAndCrawlers Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 im new to the hobby but native breeding is what I want to focus on. can you explain why you chose to remove these eggs rather than leave them in your main tank and ensure they get fertilized by males? again, im new. maybe the answer is obvious but I have never bred any fish before. thank you 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 16, 2022 Author Share Posted April 16, 2022 On 4/15/2022 at 7:49 PM, CornAndCrawlers said: im new to the hobby but native breeding is what I want to focus on. can you explain why you chose to remove these eggs rather than leave them in your main tank and ensure they get fertilized by males? again, im new. maybe the answer is obvious but I have never bred any fish before. thank you That's great you've got an interest in NANF (North American Native Fish). So, the reasons why I pulled the eggs are (1) to control fungal spoiling, and (2) to protect against predation by adults and Darters I keep in here. First off, these Dace -- like most all egg scatterers -- fertilize as the females drop the eggs. There is no further pass-over fertilization, per say. Gametes are unbelievably effective! Only on rare occasions do females drop loads of eggs while males "shoot blanks." There may be some infertile ones, but by and large, they should be fertilized. As for fungus . . . in the wild, these fish have a _constant_ source of _fresh_ water, fed by rain, springs, etc. that flows over the stony patches where they like to live and spawn 24/7. Fungus doesn't really take ahold and foul up water in such conditions. But in a tank (this one is a 20 gal long), there is a LOT of fungus. If you pull out a clear glass of this tank water, set it on a windowsill, and drop in a pinch of fish food, you'll immediately note that fuzzy fungus covers the fish food very quickly. This will happen to the eggs, and will unfortunately "nip them in the bud." By pulling them, adding air to circulate, and methylene blue periodically (or sometimes we add Hydrogen Peroxide instead) they will fungus _less_ and allow fertilized fry to hatch and thrive. Now, concerning predators: in the wild, the entire creek or river bed is strewn with rocks and pebbles under which and around with these eggs and newly hatched fry can hide. But in an aquarium, they are quickly exposed to larger fish. Dace do not care for their young, and will quickly eat fry. In fact, they're always eating eggs they drop while spawning -- which is why the rock tray needs to be a couple inches deep with rocks. But in this tank, I also keep several of these... Rainbow Darters. They coexist very peacefully with the Dace, but will gladly gulp up caviar if they can when the Dace spawn, and will nab any fry they can catch. I'm also breeding Rainbow Shiners. You can follow that journey here on the Forum if you like... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CornAndCrawlers Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Fish folk, thank you very much for your in-detail response, I figured some might get lost to fish eating them, but did not consider fungus in the equation at all. I WILL be following your rainbow shiner journey. I have x2 39 gallon tanks and at that size I feel like minnows, dace and darters are my best options for breeding. I just need to commit to a species and have a go at it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 16, 2022 Author Share Posted April 16, 2022 On 4/15/2022 at 9:24 PM, CornAndCrawlers said: Fish folk, thank you very much for your in-detail response, I figured some might get lost to fish eating them, but did not consider fungus in the equation at all. I WILL be following your rainbow shiner journey. I have x2 39 gallon tanks and at that size I feel like minnows, dace and darters are my best options for breeding. I just need to commit to a species and have a go at it. Great! I’m loving my Rainbow shiners. When they spawn, they’re colors are unreal… My Dace have colored up beautifully this spring… I’m also excited about my Banded Darters… And very soon, I’m planning on setting up a new 29 gal for Saffron Darters… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonder Boy Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Very Cool! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 19, 2022 Author Share Posted April 19, 2022 Here we go! SRBD Wigglers starting to hatch out… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 21, 2022 Author Share Posted April 21, 2022 Woah! More, more, more… SRBDs anyone??! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 22, 2022 Author Share Posted April 22, 2022 Ready…set... (Almost a go on lift off!) … Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 26, 2022 Author Share Posted April 26, 2022 (edited) Last evening, I noticed fry were making it through the coarse sponge on the flow-through handles, and dropping into the tank (left side). A young male Rainbow Darter was loving the surprise snacks! So today, I determined to fix the problem. Got to move the fry from this floating container… Over to this new 10 gal, set up with (1) cycled substrate (2) cycled sponge (3) tank water… I decide to add a few more plant cuttings… Then drain water out enough water yo allow for displacement… So i can float the fry tray… There’s definitely _not_ as many fry as originally hatched left… But there’s enough for BAP 😎 Fry are released… here we go little guys… Tank cloudiness settles fairly quickly — even in time it’s taken for me to make this post… P.S. Someone is NOT pleased that snacks are gone… Edited April 26, 2022 by Fish Folk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 27, 2022 Author Share Posted April 27, 2022 “All rise! For the honorable fries…” Not too many yet. We shall see next 24 hrs. what the total looks like. I’m fine if I just get 10x for BAP 😂 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrey Posted April 28, 2022 Share Posted April 28, 2022 On 4/27/2022 at 7:42 AM, Fish Folk said: “All rise! For the honorable fries…” Not too many yet. We shall see next 24 hrs. what the total looks like. I’m fine if I just get 10x for BAP 😂 I counted 14 in the video, so you look to be at least meeting your "I'll be satisfied" amount. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CornAndCrawlers Posted April 28, 2022 Share Posted April 28, 2022 So so cool, thank you for taking the time to record video of the eggs and the gradual hatching and then post them here. Truly cool to see dace fry, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 28, 2022 Author Share Posted April 28, 2022 SRBD Numbers looking very good this morning! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 29, 2022 Author Share Posted April 29, 2022 Yo! SRBD fry y’all!!! Um… I think I’ll get 10x for BAP… 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 3, 2022 Author Share Posted May 3, 2022 SRBD adults in spawning dress again. They react well to more + brighter light, corresponding to spring seasonal changes… Meanwhile, SRBD fry in grow-out tank… 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted May 3, 2022 Share Posted May 3, 2022 On 5/3/2022 at 7:35 AM, Fish Folk said: SRBD adults in spawning dress again. They react well to more + brighter light, corresponding to spring seasonal changes… Meanwhile, SRBD fry in grow-out tank… Gotta be at least 200 or more in there! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 3, 2022 Author Share Posted May 3, 2022 When adults, in spawning dress, they’re awesome. I just snapped this photo… 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 6, 2022 Author Share Posted May 6, 2022 SRBD fry going strong. With lots of hydra chillin’ on tank glass thanks to heavy BBS feedings… 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrey Posted May 8, 2022 Share Posted May 8, 2022 ORD😍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 18, 2022 Author Share Posted May 18, 2022 Here is a look at this batch of Southern Redbelly Dace fry hatched out in home aquaria… 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tihshho Posted May 18, 2022 Share Posted May 18, 2022 (edited) @Fish Folk based on the success you get with eggs, and I'm not sure your final goals for all the offspring, have you considered using the eggs as a source of food for some of your other natives? I would be curious if your darters would benefit with a roe offering to promote spawning as I have a feeling in the wild they probably predate on eggs if they come across them. Also, any issues noticed with the fry with the hydra in the tank? Edited May 18, 2022 by Tihshho 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndfi78 Posted May 18, 2022 Share Posted May 18, 2022 My goodness! That is a lot 😄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 18, 2022 Author Share Posted May 18, 2022 On 5/18/2022 at 10:03 AM, Tihshho said: @Fish Folk based on the success you get with eggs, and I'm not sure your final goals for all the offspring, have you considered using the eggs as a source of food for some of your other natives? I would be curious if your darters would benefit with a roe offering to promote spawning as I have a feeling in the wild they probably predate on eggs if they come across them. Also, any issues noticed with the fry with the hydra in the tank? This has been suggested to me — both feeding fry, and roe / eggs. Honestly… I do not generally breed or raise fish in order to feed them to others purposefully. You are 100% correct that darters probably do gorge themselves on fry in the wild. My goals, at this point, are pretty lame: (1) breed fish (2) get BAP points (3) beat my son’s BAP score 😂 As for the Hydra, I think they tend to just eat the brine shrimp at this point. But if there’s anything to watch out for, I’d be interested in learning. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tihshho Posted May 18, 2022 Share Posted May 18, 2022 I'm not sure I could go the distance of feeding off the fry either. In terms of eggs when your rearing tank is full of fry, if you don't have plans to home them yet the eggs might actually might provide some trace nutrients to induce spawning of some of your other species. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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