10 replies to this topic

[Kanus]

Does anyone have experience breeding these guys? I have a number of adults purchased as fry from the KY convention and they are far too cool/rare of a fish to let peter out. Mine have been winter-conditioned, but I really would like input from someone who has had success with them. Bob Muller spawned them and my fish are the descendents of his. Does anyone have his contact information so I could ask him? I welcome any other experience anyone may have with them also...

[Michael Wolfe]

Bob is a BOD member and is sometimes on the BOD list... also if you go to the website you can send email to any BOD member...

 

Look here

http://www.nanfa.org/bod.shtml

[Sean Phillips]

I've never spawned them but heard that a good cool down in the 30s-40s will normally trigger it. I almost bought a group from a friend with an all tropical fish room who thinks he can spawn them at 78 (ha) but didn't have room for them.

[Casper]

There is an old AC where Ray K spawned them.  Get the AC CDs and it has a search function for which issue.

[Kanus]

Thanks guys! I got in touch with Bob and he was very helpful. I didn't realize he was on the BOD and now I feel like a dummy. And yes, I still need to pick up the AC archive CDs.

I'm going to move them into their own bare-bottomed tank with egg-catching devices and hopefully will have good news to report shortly.

[Kanus]

So after setting up a ten gallon specifically for them, SUCCESS!!!

 

Ten gallon tank. Initially it was bare-bottomed but the fish cowered in the corner and went nuts whenever I walked in the room, so I put down some sand. Egg catcher made of fluorescent light diffuser/egg crate stuff, with the top surface covered by coarse (larger holes) needlepoint canvas, and the bottom covered with very fine needlepoint canvas. Clump of java moss sat on top and anchored with a pebble or two.

 

They've been in this tank for probably a month and I've checked the egg catcher every few days.

 

Today I lifted the egg catcher and noticed something different than normal, so I rinsed it into a tupperware container with a few cups of tank water to find this...

 

All in all I have between 85 and 90 eggs that look healthy and have very active embryos, despite not being eyed-up yet. As I am reviewing Bob Muller's email to me and his article in the Winter 2012 AC, I notice that it mentions the eggs hatching before the pigment in the eyes in developed.

 

So I go back to check out the eggs (this is maybe half an hour after first finding them) and find this...

 

 

I am SO SO SO glad I checked on these when I did. It's possible that there were more eggs and any (very mobile) fry that hatched before I got to them may have become snacks for the adults. Had I waited until later tonight to check on these, I may have never known I had any success.

 

They have 13 hours of light per day and the temperature has been in the 65-70 range for the last few weeks, and possibly a little cooler before that. They were winterized in another tank directly next to an open window the majority of the winter. The temperature was in the 40s and 50s.

 

 

WOOHOO! As a pretty novice fish-breeder, I'm currently a very excited papa!

[mattknepley]

Suh-Wheet! Congrats, Daddy! How many adults were there to spawn, a pair or a group?

[Kanus]

Matt, there are about 10 adults in the breeding tank. Might be a dozen, I forgot to count when I put them in there.

 

 

 

[Mysteryman]

EXCELLENT!!!  Great job!

[Michael Wolfe]

Nicely done sir. Maybe I need to set up actual breeding conditions instead of relying on dense cover to be enough.

[Khai Wan]

That is a neat egg catcher device. Maybe I need to try it out on my breeding.