Lepomis humilis Spawning

Here's a sequence of photos of Lepomis humilis spawning in an aquarium. This was in 1999. The fish were wild from Ohio. I don't have them any more. I don't have any orangespots at all now. Click the link to see them:

http://jonahsaquariu...umilisspawn.htm

Well, let me try this again. Maybe I can get them all to display right here:

Nice pictures! I would love to have some Ospots, but I don't have the room for any more fish ATM.

Did you raise the fry? What did you use for a first food? Just curious.

Nice pictures! I would love to have some Ospots, but I don't have the room for any more fish ATM.

Did you raise the fry? What did you use for a first food? Just curious.

Well, they hatched. Had a 29 gallon tank full. That's where they were spawned. Removed all of the adults. Tried brine shrimp nauplii, but they were too big. Tried to get some Paramecia going, but it wasn't enough, I guess. They all dissappeared. I have never raised this species from eggs. A couple of years ago, I raised a brood of bantam sunnies on green water I siphoned from a tank of Daphnia I had on the patio. Probably got some baby Daphnia too. The timing was just right that I had the food and the fry at the same time Anybody out there raise orangespot fry in a fish tank?

Well, they hatched. Had a 29 gallon tank full. That's where they were spawned. Removed all of the adults. Tried brine shrimp nauplii, but they were too big. Tried to get some Paramecia going, but it wasn't enough, I guess. They all dissappeared. I have never raised this species from eggs. A couple of years ago, I raised a brood of bantam sunnies on green water I siphoned from a tank of Daphnia I had on the patio. Probably got some baby Daphnia too. The timing was just right that I had the food and the fry at the same time Anybody out there raise orangespot fry in a fish tank?

Well, maybe you'll get to try them again one day. I was wondering mainly because I have a few species of sunfish that are getting ready to breed, and I wanted to know what you had to feed them. Someone said they raised some yellowfin shiners on crushed flake food, and I was wondering if you could do the same with sunfish. They have fry foods like "First Bites" and "Liquifry" now. I wonder if those would work for a first food?

I noticed the corydoras in the last picture. Did you take him out after they bred? He looked like he was ready to eat some caviar.

I've had success with my rainbow fry using Golden Pearls from Ken's. A little goes a long way. THe bows were big enough for vinegar eels after ~7days. The problem with powdered flake is that it can really sour your water, much easier than this stuff. Another one is ARP (artificial rotifer plankton). I want to try that when my GP is all gone. I bought 1/4lb and I don't think I will run out any time soon though. A little goes a long way.
OLDEN PEARLS:
"Golden Pearls" - A New Brine Shrimp Replacement Diet
Golden Pearls is a revolutionary new larval diet that has successfully replaced live Artemia nauplii in marine fish hatcheries in Europe. A patented processing technique (agglomeration of micro-encapsulated particles) resulting in feed particles or "clusters" that resemble raspberries (under the microscope). Golden Pearls have tiny air pockets that keep the feed particles in the water column, not on the bottom of the tank, and mimics live brine shrimp nauplii.

Ingredients: Brine shrimp, squid, shrimp and fish protein, animal protein, purified fish oils, phospholipids, astaxanthin, vitamins and protected minerals, antioxidants, and immunostimulants. These are now available in 3 sizes!

1/2 LB $8.00
1 LB $16.00
FOR PHOTO:
80% HATCHOUT $20.95
85% HATCHOUT $25.95
90% HATCHOUT $29.95
FOR PHOTO:
FOR PHOTO:
1/4 LB $6.95
1/2 LB $12.95
1/4 LB $5.95
1/2 LB $9.95
1/2 LB $6.50 1 LB $11.00 5 LB $45.50
FOR PHOTO:
FOR PHOTO:
1/4 LB $10.95 1/2 LB $20.95 1 LB $39.95
FOR PHOTO:
1/8 LB $4.95 1/4 LB $9.25 1/2 LB $17.45
FOR PHOTO:
1/8 LB $4.95 1/4 LB $8.95 1/2 LB $16.95
1/8 LB $5.50 1/4 LB $9.95 1/2 LB $18.95
FOR PHOTO:
1/2 LB $8.00
1 LB $16.00
FOR PHOTO:
80% HATCHOUT $20.95
85% HATCHOUT $25.95
90% HATCHOUT $29.95
FOR PHOTO:
FOR PHOTO:
1/4 LB $6.95
1/2 LB $12.95
1/4 LB $5.95
1/2 LB $9.95
1/2 LB $6.50 1 LB $11.00 5 LB $45.50
FOR PHOTO:
FOR PHOTO:
1/4 LB $10.95 1/2 LB $20.95 1 LB $39.95
FOR PHOTO:
1/8 LB $4.95 1/4 LB $9.25 1/2 LB $17.45
FOR PHOTO:
1/8 LB $4.95 1/4 LB $8.95 1/2 LB $16.95
1/8 LB $5.50 1/4 LB $9.95 1/2 LB $18.95
FOR PHOTO:
1/2 LB $8.00
1 LB $16.00
FOR PHOTO:
80% HATCHOUT $20.95
85% HATCHOUT $25.95
90% HATCHOUT $29.95
FOR PHOTO:
FOR PHOTO:
1/4 LB $6.95
1/2 LB $12.95
1/4 LB $5.95
1/2 LB $9.95
1/2 LB $6.50 1 LB $11.00 5 LB $45.50
FOR PHOTO:
FOR PHOTO:
1/4 LB $10.95 1/2 LB $20.95 1 LB $39.95
FOR PHOTO:
1/8 LB $4.95 1/4 LB $9.25 1/2 LB $17.45
FOR PHOTO:
1/8 LB $4.95 1/4 LB $8.95 1/2 LB $16.95
1/8 LB $5.50 1/4 LB $9.95 1/2 LB $18.95
FOR PHOTO:

http://www.kensfish....cialtyfood.html

That's pretty cool. Thanks for mentioning it. I might buy some and see if sunfish fry will take it.

Well, maybe you'll get to try them again one day. I was wondering mainly because I have a few species of sunfish that are getting ready to breed, and I wanted to know what you had to feed them. Someone said they raised some yellowfin shiners on crushed flake food, and I was wondering if you could do the same with sunfish. They have fry foods like "First Bites" and "Liquifry" now. I wonder if those would work for a first food?

I noticed the corydoras in the last picture. Did you take him out after they bred? He looked like he was ready to eat some caviar.

Yeah, took everything out but the fry. Those Golden Pearls might be worth a try. I haven't really tried very hard to raise sunfish fry on dry foods. Although I would usually start mixing powdered flake and freezedried brine with their live food to get them accostomed to the taste so I could later switch them over. I have raised minnow fry on dry food. I've done longears, dollars and redspotted sunfishes on live brine nauplii. Some species apparently require smaller first foods, though. If you're doing minnows/shiners, I'd go with something professional quality, perhaps like the Golden Pearls, otherwise you may end up with nutritional deficiencies and unhealthy fish that fail to thrive. Using the live brine anyway can get you over the hump until you can later switch them to dry foods without causing deficiencies during that critical period after hatching and yoke absorption.

Yeah, took everything out but the fry. Those Golden Pearls might be worth a try. I haven't really tried very hard to raise sunfish fry on dry foods. Although I would usually start mixing powdered flake and freezedried brine with their live food to get them accostomed to the taste so I could later switch them over. I have raised minnow fry on dry food. I've done longears, dollars and redspotted sunfishes on live brine nauplii. Some species apparently require smaller first foods, though. If you're doing minnows/shiners, I'd go with something professional quality, perhaps like the Golden Pearls, otherwise you may end up with nutritional deficiencies and unhealthy fish that fail to thrive. Using the live brine anyway can get you over the hump until you can later switch them to dry foods without causing deficiencies during that critical period after hatching and yoke absorption.

I would highly recommend vinegar eels also as a live food. Troutperchbeeman gave me a starter culture jar last year. They sat in a box, literally, for 6 months and the fluid almost all dried up, they came right back after I added vineger water and apple. They are VERY easy to culture and hardy. Mix ~50/50 apple cider vinegar and water, add a few chunks of apple and a lil touch of sugar, a pinch of bakers yeast and you get a continuous culture of very small live food. Have to keep adding vinegar and water as you take it out to feed. I use a turkey baster to take a squirt out of the culture jar and put into my feeding jar. Add water to the top to dilute the vinegar a bit and then feed to the fry. Only way I could figure to "wash" it out. One could probably send starter cultures in a wet piece of paper towel. I'ld be willing to try if anyone was interested.

O-spot fry have been the hardest of any to raise indoors for me. Even harder to feed than blackbanded fry. I did not succeed either and had the same results as Itsme.

Sunfish ( other than awesome greens) seem to not take to prepared foods until they are an inch or even larger. Not sure why. They take it in, spit out, repeat. Then suddenly they one day eat it like its no different than live foods. Strange.

I have heard of the golden pearls, and cyclopeze, as good first foods. I have not tried either and wonder how they would work for fish that the fry seem to never take dried and prepared foods. Getting Elassoma on something other than live and frozen would be a great indicator how good these foods are for this application, since they are picky about food.

Brine shrimp should work. Make certain newly hatched nauplii are used.

who still keeps/breeds this spieces? I'm trying to obtain them.