Killi Me Softly Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 My clown colony is up to 21 in a heavily planted 20g high. Is there a magic number to split the colony? Also, should I introduce new fish from another source when I do decide to split? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 I don’t know that there is a “magic number”. No matter what fish I breed I always try to introduce new genetics. I often order new from a few places to really mix it up. Starting any colony 3 sources if my preference but 2 minimum. I’m not sciencey but it seems to keep my populations strong and healthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huck Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 I have some clowns that I am hoping to breed. I got them a long time ago, have been feeding them well, but am not getting fry. Is there something specific I need to do, or do they need to be really mature to not eat their fry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killi Me Softly Posted January 24, 2022 Author Share Posted January 24, 2022 @Guppysnail I started from 2 sources and have since found a third. I think I'm going to split the colony as close to half as possible and introduce the third batch of fish to both tanks. @Huck I keep hornwort extremely thick. I rarely see the fry at all until I need to trim. I've only had this colony for about 6 months. Started with 6 fish from 2 different sources. I'm sure some fry are getting picked off but they seem to be doing fairly well. I feed frozen bbs, daphnia and live blackworms. Every couple of days I hot them with a shot of co-op easy fry food. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrey Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 On 1/23/2022 at 10:30 PM, Killi Me Softly said: @Guppysnail I started from 2 sources and have since found a third. I think I'm going to split the colony as close to half as possible and introduce the third batch of fish to both tanks. @Huck I keep hornwort extremely thick. I rarely see the fry at all until I need to trim. I've only had this colony for about 6 months. Started with 6 fish from 2 different sources. I'm sure some fry are getting picked off but they seem to be doing fairly well. I feed frozen bbs, daphnia and live blackworms. Every couple of days I hot them with a shot of co-op easy fry food. Looks like you have a pretty good method. @Guppysnail I know you keep pretty meticulous records to make sure one generation to the next doesn't have any line breeding. I tend to do more colony breeding, and as @Killi Me Softly does, keep plants super thick. Milfoil and hornwort, as well as pearlweed and guppy grass are great for improving the survival of fry @Huck. Despite the dark tannins, the plants grow crazy fast, because the fish population supports the plants. @Killi Me Softly, are you a Roberta Flack fan, or a Fugees fan? I appreciate the twist🐟🕺 Forgot to add: My colony breeding programs, I like to cull every 3rd generation and add fresh genetics. I know from fieldwork as a teen how small, isolated genetics can lead to extinction events... frequently due to genetic anomalies. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killi Me Softly Posted January 24, 2022 Author Share Posted January 24, 2022 @TorreyThats a funny story. My teen daughter at the time said hey dad check out this cool song by this band the Fugees. I said yeah.....thats a great Roberta Flack tune. Lol. Thanks for the cull insight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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