i'm setting up a breeding tank for orchid dottybacks....i need help!

[fishkid6692]

ok i'm setting up a breeding tank for a pair of orchid dottbacks. i have a 20 gallon tall aquarium for them as told to do by the breeders guide. then a question came to mind....... how can i tell male and female dottybacks? please help!

 

[dorm_reefer21]

orchids as well as other dottybacks can switch their sex, just as clowns do, but the male will be the bigger one and they have even been known to switch sex more than once. you will most likely be fine just getting two.

you are moving really fast kid, i hope you can keep up with this and afford everything that you are doing.

 

[fishkid6692]

yeah i have all the money i need now because i just sold my quad. i'm getting so into this hobby i had to sacrifice my quad for more tanks. for the dottybacks i read the male will use a cave to lay eggs and stuff. i can use pvc pipe for this correct? what is a good method of filtration because it is going to be a breeder tank so no gravel or live rock. do i need a sump? or can i just use a hang on back filter?

 

[fishkid6692]

btw where can i get some orchid dottybacks?

 

[dorm_reefer21]

you could use a hangon back filter and you could also use the pvc pipe if you wanted, i hate the look of barebottom tanks and pvc so i always breed my fish in natural setups, yeah its more of a hassel but i also think its that added incentive for the fish. i wouldnt sump a tank that size, kinda pointless if you ask me, just more wasted money.

www.liveaquaria.com/
www.bluezooaquatics.com/
http://www.marinecenter.com/

all good places to find one, not to mention your LFS should have at least one, and if not they can easily order one.

also start going here if you havent already for breeding info
www.marinebreeder.org

 

[fishkid6692]

how often will i have to do water changes? i used water from my tank so it should only have to go through a short cycle. and what can i do for a bio filtration?

 

[dorm_reefer21]

if you want biofiltration without live sand or rock, then you should tanke out the carbon of the HOB filter and pack it with filtersponges so the bacteria have somewhere to take hold. do water changes just as you would on any other tank, 20% every week. since you are planning on breeding all these fish you need to start looking within the next couple of months for potential buyers and LFS that will take them from you.

 

[fishkid6692]

i have 2 local fish stores that will take them. but i am saving some of the clowns and orchids because over the summer i'm getting a breeder setup in my basement with about 15-20 10g tanks. but i'm still planning it out.

 

[dorm_reefer21]

im glad you got the time to take on a full breeding setup kid, if you do good and make good sales, hey you might not have to get a job and im sure your dad will be happy of his entrepreneur son.

i wouldnt save too many of the offsring, just enough to get one for the pairs you want and then pair them with a new fish that you bought in oder to introduce genetic variation, this will help prevent deformities and will probably get you some cool variations in your clowns and better coloration with the clowns and orchids. if i were you though i would breed neons instead of orchids, i think neons are bad ***! i have to bring my other biocubes into my apartment when i move in in about a month inorder to put a pair of neons in, for some reason i like to breed my clowns and other small fish in biocubes, it just seems like a more controlled environment and not to mention i still have tanks i can prowdly display instead of pvc filled tanks.

 

[fishkid6692]

are the neon easy to breed too? and do the dottybacks eat the same food as baby clowns? for the first 3 days feed them rotifers and then bbs? and do the dottybacks lay on a surface like clowns? once i can raise the b/w ocellaris babies i'm going to get a pair of snowcap clowns. how long should i leave the eggs with the parents? that question is for both fish.

 

[dorm_reefer21]

leave the eggs with the parents as long as you want, its a matter of preference. neons are just as easy to breed if not easier than orchids, the baby dottybacks will eat the same as the clowns, and please stay away from bbs unless you plan on enriching them with vitamins, they are pointless and dont need to be fed to fish. as someone put it in another post on here, i forget who, brine shrimp are like popcorn, it tastes really really good but if you tried to live off of it you wouldn't make it long. replace the bbs with live copepods or mysis. if you are using pvc for the dottybacks they will most likely lay in one of the tubes, they are cave spawners.

that is a good idea with the snowflakes, you can sell the fry for a good amount. but not all the offspring will bear the snowflake pattern, there will be plain patterned ocellaris in the mix as well

 

[fishkid6692]

i know and those will be sold to the lfs's in my area. and maybe i can work something out with another breeder for the snowflake patterns. like i could trade my snowflake babies for there snowflake babies so i could have the genetic variation that i need for them. is that a good plan?
what size pvc pipe should i use for both the clowns and dottybacks?

 

[dorm_reefer21]

sounds good, the pvc is pointless for clowns i would just put a terra cotta pot in there if anything. for the dottydacks a 6" piece of 1-2" diameter pvc should do.

 

[fishkid6692]

ok the tank for the dottybacks will be ready to go tommorow. and i think i might stick with the orchids cause i like the bright pink and purple. thanks for all the help! lol i'll probly have more questions soon.

 

[clownFish1313]

hi i really like how your breeding im going to start a photoplankton culture then rotifers then maybe il use my 10 gallon and 2 5s to start to breed some thing in only 13 (on the 13th) what would be the cheapest breeding pair of fish becouse clowns are 60-120 dollors and i want some thing like 40-60 for a breeding pair.

Thanks

 

[fishkid6692]

cool, i'm only 14! it's nice to meet someone my age. clowns are easier to breed then dottybacks....at least thats what i've been told. for a pair of clowns i spent 170. and for the dottybacks i'm probly gonna spend 80. i'm new to this.

 

[clownFish1313]

cool you said you sold your quad what was it i just sold my yamaha breeze (125) my dad boght me a race go kart so im still debating if i shound race it a lot or start breeding go kaert racing is the only thing i found more costly than reefs :lol: , its cool to see some one my age too

Good luck,
Chandler

 

[fishkid6692]

i had a yamaha grizzly 125 but i haven't sold it yet. i'm still looking for someone to buy it. and if i have babys anytime soon if you pay for shipping i'll give you a pair for free.

 

[fishkid6692]

i just got another 10g tank today and all the tanks are really adding up. i have no more desk in my room! soon i won't be able to walk. this hobby is so addicting.

 

[clownFish1313]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12043273#post12043273 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishkid6692
i had a yamaha grizzly 125 but i haven't sold it yet. i'm still looking for someone to buy it. and if i have babys anytime soon if you pay for shipping i'll give you a pair for free.

Thats will be cool but i think shipping over night will be like $50 let me see how much fedex will be.

Good luck,
Chandler