Reality sets in...

[Kathy55g]

I've been mulling this over for a few days:

At my present capacity of 3 20 gallon tanks and 2 10 gallon tanks, and a small sump, bioballs, 40W UV, 100 micron mechanical filter, I will run out of room for the new lavae soon.

My Ocellaris are spawning large nests every 11 days, and my frugal nature says that I should harvest every last one and grow them up to sell. I would need at least 12 tanks for that, and that's if can sell them at 4 months, and the runts won't be ready then.

I only have 5 tanks, and it consumes my time as it is. When I am feeling crazy, I think I could build another system, but that would double the work just raising them, much less driving the big ones around to the stores to sell.


In more sane moments such as right now, I give up the frugal identity, and say, I can harvest every third spawn, say one per month, and keep the system full, and no increased work. If they all live, and that is a big "if", I could have a steady supply for a couple of stores, and recoup my costs.

Then there is the middle road. I am wondering if I could get a few batches to 1 or 2 months and sell them to a local friend who has a saltwater internet business. He could grow them up a couple of months in his spare tanks and sell them online with the rest of his stuff.

That would clear some tanks for me, and allow me to harvest more of the clownfish bounty.

What do you all think of this idea?

Kathy

 

[ediaz]

A kids wadding pool on the floor conected to the system? With similar sizes in it?

Ed

 

[Kathy55g]

Interesting idea, but how to connect it, change water, etc? Wouldn't that be double the work, too?

Maybe I should get a couple of big tubs, like yours.

 

[David M]

The obvious solution is to send me the pair

No? OK then, I think you need to be very realistic about what you can handle both in terms of time and space/ expense. Maybe you should skip some nests until you grow out enough to start selling and use that money for expansion. Also that will give you a way to assess the market in your area and make smart decisions. You might find a kid at one of the lfs who'd come over and help for a few bucks too. Just an idea I have been toying with myself. Farming them out to someone else for growout is an idea also, and I might know just the person for the job, sending PM now :smokin:

 

[David M]

I left out the most important part, but it should be obvious. It makes a lot more sense to have a few hundred healthy clownfish than a few thousand that are malnourished, beat up or suffering from poor conditions, overcrowding, etc. I am very nervous about the number I have already and more are comming.

 

[Kathy55g]

I am with you there, David. I could squeeze them in 20 per gallon, but my rearing system is also my larval system. I put the larvae on system water, just a trickle, at day 6, so as Edgar says, watch out for the organics!

I keep my water quality pretty high so far, but the system has yet to be severely tested. Feeding tiny larvae does not stress the system as much as feeding a couple hundred 1.5 inch fish in a 20 gallon tank. Or three tanks of them. If I push it, I fear that I will suffer losses, and that would be discouraging....

Waiting for the next nest to hatch as I type this, getting ready to fill the last tank on my system. I have some juvies that approach being ready to sell, but then there are the runts that do not grow..... I want to keep this batch of big fish seperate from the rest, as these are the last from my friend's broodstock, and all the rest are from mine.

Ooop, time to check the snagger!

 

[Kathy55g]

See, this is the part I love: Sitting in complete darkness, eating ice cream, watching as hundreds of larvae swim toward the pen light and into their clownfish condo. They check in, but they cannot check out.

I started turning the light timers last week, so the dark period would come sooner. Last time they started hatching at 10:30 and I was up too late. Even though their photoperiod is 2 hours earlier, they hatched at 10:15, so I get 15 more minutes sleep....

 

[Kathy55g]

I think I got 'em all this time! Huge nest for Ocellaris, this time they all hatched in 45 minutes.

Previous hatches I pulled the snagger when the flow of larvae went to nothing. Then checked with a flashlight after I got the larvae squared away, and there were always more eggs unhatched in the nest, and they would be all gone by morning.

This time, I pulled the snagger out with the same cues, but when I checked the nest, there was not an eggshell left! Momma and Papa are getting with the program!

No David, you cannot have them!

 

[mwp]

Kathy, like ed mentioned, VATS, automation, this can actually be done relatively easily. We serviced 400 tanks with 50% water changes once a week at the 'ole Cichlid Hatchery...it took maybe 4 hours. The biggest advantage was that we had run PVC piping around to all the tanks...it drained into a floor drain

Of course, there's another idea...give those extra larvae away (or heck, sell them) to folks who'd be interested in getting some rearing experience under their belts while waiting for their own fish to kick in (or for that matter are just looking for some variety in their breeding...)

FWIW,

MP

 

[Kathy55g]

Still thinking...

 

[Kathy55g]

Thought's over.
Husband put foot down. No swimming pool in basement.





I'm a little relieved.

 

[David M]

Ya gotta choose Kathy, is a husband really worth a room full of clownfish?? I know, I'm one myself, we are a dime a dozen. At least that's what my wife tells me

 

[Kathy55g]

Yup.