Just did my first cull.

[Juck]

No fun at all.

I had to kill 17 out of 120 fish (black ocellaris) ,,, mostly for gill deformities but a few had large underbites, which I wasn't expecting as both parents have nice balanced heads.

How/when do you pick your cull animals? Do you cull them as soon as you see them? Or do you wait until the fish are saleable size and then go through the batch one-at-a-time (like I just did).

Is 15% a high cull percentage for Black O's? This was the first nest for these fish,, would that affect the quality of the larvae? I don't see nearly as many gill deformities in my more recent batches from the same parents.

 

[mwp]

Personally, I would cull "the sooner the better", in theory you invest less resources that way AND the remaining fish get "better" access to things like cleaner water, food etc..

FWIW,

Matt

 

[David M]

I have 8 large adult bangaii's (4 pairs). I try to pick out any bad clowns at a size where they are still, uh, well let's just say usefull :smokin:

 

[Kathy55g]

My really bad clowns die on their own before they get to salable size. The lordosis, misbarred, FLFs (funny looking fish) all get sold. People want them! I am happy to sell them.

 

[Kathy55g]

Surprisingly, with the broodstock I have now, I have few misbars and no other deformities. Either its the broodstock, or I am getting better at this...

 

[Luis A M]

Not meaning to puncture your balloon,but I guess it´s just chance:bum:
I just raised a whole ocellaris lot without a single misbar
I envy your guts,I don´t have the heart to cull:rolleye1:

 

[mwp]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7813640#post7813640 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kathy55g
Either its the broodstock, or I am getting better at this...

Personal guess based on my experience with rearing marines in general, I'd say pat yourself on the back for hard earned experience that results in improvements over time!

Matt

 

[Noof]

Hi,
Dont mean to hijack this thread but while we are near the topic of the flared gills and overbite in young clowns?.....

Any thoughts on why?

I have a couple in batches I have and havent culled yet... waiting for just the right moment??

I have been told that this is pretty commom Ref: Dman (thanks)

 

[Luis A M]

CULLING MUST STOP!SHAME ON YOU!
I can´t kill a fish.Pugnose and flared gills are healthy and lfs take them without complains.I even kept a flared as a breeder because of his nice colour.
I once had an ocellaris lacking an eye.It was hard to notice because the fish always faced people with the eyed side.I gave it free to the lfs.

 

[David M]

I have a one-eye too I am keeping her (and her mate) for two reasons, they were among the first fish I ever grew out and they have exceptional color at just over a year. Their behavior is such that I think they will spawn fairly soon. I'm sure she lost the eye in battle rather than being born that way.

 

[Juck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7818242#post7818242 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Luis A M
CULLING MUST STOP!SHAME ON YOU!

You mean I put 17 fish through the blender for nothing?!

 

[Kathy55g]

Enough.

 

[Dman]

I have a local with a prettylarge predator tank, 50 cents a piece. I just set up a "feeder" tank on line and he comes when I have some.
feel alot less guilty this way.

 

[Jens Kallmeyer]

HI

Oe or two of each of my banggai hatches were sinkers, they could not control their buoyancy and had to paddle constantly. I tried to raise them, but no luck they just burn way too much energy for keeping afloat. As soon as I see a sinker, I try to pick that one out and it goes back into the main tank, the other tankmates will take care of the rest.
I don't think that this is cruel, in nature they would most probably not make it through the first day, and seeing them slowly fading away is not nice either.

Jens

 

[Atticus]

To actually address your initial question. I cull at the last minute with most fish. Obvious problems that would cause the fry pain or a long drawn out death would be culled immeadiatly, but normally weak clowns don't meta. As for culling gill plate defects and snubs, why not give them away? As long as you are not charging top dollar or breeding inferior clowns I don't see a problem with them living as long as they can. Obviously they are survivors if they can make it past the 6 month mark. I too have black O's, but I made sure I have a TMC female and an ORA male. This has resulted in no gill plate defects or snubs. I also have been blessed with 100% perfect barring, except for this last batch when I tried to create an all black clown. Got them all the way black except the head bar and a couple has no barring on one side. Should be cool to see them grow out. I will call them "Nemo's Shadow Clowns", patent pending...

 

[Kathy55g]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7830165#post7830165 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Atticus
... Got them all the way black except the head bar and a couple has no barring on one side. ...

How did you do that!??

 

[Atticus]

Just used a few theories from here on the board about what causes mis-barring. "Poor" water quality and cheap second food seemed to be key. I have not figured out what stage of the ammonia cycle has the most influence on this, but it may be an interesting experiment.

I cannot rule out genetics, but I would say that genetics play more of a role in making a clown more succeptable to mis-barring than causing mis-barring as my female is misbarred, but she will produce complete clutches of full barred clowns, with pristine water and feeding conditions. She even produces some of the widest midbars I have seen. I just cannot figure out what makes a clown throw extra barring like the piccasos...