How do I improve eggs Quality?

[JulioCC]

I have a pair of occelaris that have beeing laying eggs for a year.

The first time I catch a few fry and put them in a 10 gal tank and tried to feed crushed food. Didn´t work (they lived 2/3 days and starved to death I think).
Two month ago I started a rotifer culture and it is doing fine. I had 2 crashes but I have like 5 buchets just in case...

5 days ago I catch abaut 40 fry and put them in a 5 gal tank with water from the main tank. Next morning half of them were dead and the rest weren´t swiming properly. 12 hours later all of them were dead.

I think the problems is egg quality. Isn´t it? Is there any food that can improve fry quality?

I´m quite dissapointed, I´m culturing phyto and rotifers but fry can´t eat

Any suggestion?

regards,
JulioCC

 

[billsreef]

Parent nutrition does play a big role in egg quality. Feed a variety of items, high quality frozen foods such as Mysis along with high quality dry feeds. Also feed them 3 or 4 times a day to make them fat and happy

 

[GreshamH]

How are you catching them?

 

[JulioCC]

How are you catching them?

I siphon them with a 1/2" hose. I know it is not the best but the first time I worked fine.

I didn´t say that 70% of the eggs born dead (I catched them 1 hour after lights went off and most of them werw floating and white).

I think I´ll try improving food variety and I´ll try to catch them with a jar or something different.

Besides from mysis is there any other good food? A can cultivate artemia if needed.

 

[nauticac4]

Enrich what your feeding them as well with a supplement like Selcon.

I feed my breeding maroons and percs:
Pe Mysis
Hikari Brine/Spurlina
H20 Life rotifers
Cyclopeze
Spectrum Pellets

I just randomly pick a few cubes out each day and throw pellets in when the urge strikes me. The egg quantities have increased and the larvae are much more active at hatching since beginning this variety.

Not sure about the avalibility of these things in Argentina but there are plenty of homemade food recipies out there using fresh seafood such as scallops, squid, clams, mackerel, and such that will work equally as well.

 

[JulioCC]

Not sure about the avalibility of these things in Argentina but there are plenty of homemade food recipies out there using fresh seafood such as scallops, squid, clams, mackerel, and such that will work equally as well.

I can find selcon but the other things are not always available. I´ll start enriching flakes and pellets with it.
I also feed Ocellaris with shrimp but I´ll increase variety and frequency. I´ll also try a homemade recipe.

Everything indicates that it it poor food quality.At the begining I thought that it could have been the age of the pair (since they started laying eggs 1 year ago).

Thank you all for your replies!!

 

[rkelman]

You suction with a 1/2" hose.. That's your issue. The 1/2" hose siphoning creates alot of current. The larvae are very fragile at this point. I think its physical damage that's killing them. Try scooping them out with a container / bowl. You could use a 1/4" hose but you'll still get alot of dead fish from it. (I've tried)

 

[nauticac4]

You suction with a 1/2" hose.. That's your issue. The 1/2" hose siphoning creates alot of current. The larvae are very fragile at this point. I think its physical damage that's killing them. Try scooping them out with a container / bowl. You could use a 1/4" hose but you'll still get alot of dead fish from it. (I've tried)

I didn't think about this. I use a larval snagger to catch my larvae. Do a google search on them for some plans.

 

[JulioCC]

Thanks nauticac4 and rkelman. I´ll collect them with a bowl next time (I will take every advise to raise them!!).

I didn´t think abaut this because the first time the fry survived almost 3 days with the same siphon method. This time most of them were born dead (I went to the aquearium 1 hour after lights went off and most of them were floating and dead with white colour).
My goal is to take the eggs out of the tank the last day but I´ve tried and all of them died (I think I pick them out one day earlier)


rkelman: It was your post abaut black occelaris that encouraged me to raise the fry! Thanks!!

 

[rkelman]

Very cool I'm glad JulioCC good luck!

 

[emperador]

Que bueno que otro argentino este intentando la cria de peces payasos -- ya somos 3 - que yo sepa

en argentina todo es mas complicado -- el fito - el roti -- el selcom -- todo

pero con esfuerzo se puede lograr

yo tengo 6 parejas pero son jovenes aun y solo una pone huevos -- aun no saque una camada adelante - por diversos accidentes - la ultima me duro 5 dias - hasta que se rompio el calefactor y los quemo a todos --

saludos fernando

perdon a todos los foristas - pero no hablo muy bien ingles !!!!1

 

[JulioCC]

Sí, es bueno que más gente esté intentando lo mismo. Se hace difícil conseguir todo y termina costando fortunas cuando debería ser algo simple...


NEWS; I think that new eggs wil hatch on wednesday!! I´m feeding a lot and I´ll add an automatic feeder because I´m at home just 4 hours and it is not enough to make them fat.