spawning tricinctus!

[OrionN]

It is likely that you got bad patch of phyto from the fellow reefer.
I order direct from Reed. On arrival, I freeze them in a bunch of smaller containers that last me a week each. I have no problem with my phyto.
You need to screen out the rotifer and not add the water you raise the rotier into the fry tank becasue it is high in nutrient and ammonia (due to there is no life phyto in my case.)
My phyto never get thawn out and refreeze. I think this may have been your problem.

Having phytoplankton culture is good, but a whole lot more work. I have done this before too. I rather use frozen phytoplankton. Reed send out concentrated, chilled but non frozen phyto overnight so you can portion it out and freeze them.

 

[MarinaP]

Why do you need phyto if you are using RG complete?

I would also get some kind of enrichment from reeds, so you grow rots on rg complete, then take some and enrich in a separate one gallon container prior to feeding the fry.

 

[shifty51008]

I use rgcomplete for my rotifers, not sure if the frozen stuff your using has the buffer and ammonia detox in it which may be the problem if your not adding it seperate.

 

[Ron Popeil]

i chose to grow the phyto as the main source of nutrition for the rotifers, and as a project....a part of the whole challenge, so to speak.

the RGcomplete was in case i couldnt grow the species i wanted, or i had a crash. i was hoping to use the three species of phyto as well as RGcomplete to give a very well rounded rotifer diet.

since i have started using it, i have no had any problems, so if growing phyto continues to be problematic, i will probably use it as the sole dietary supplement for the rotifers.

marina, could you expand on the enrichments? are these the products you are referring to? do you have any recommendations?

http://www.reedmariculture.com/product_n_rich.php

 

[MarinaP]

Either one of the n-rich products will work. I also used Pavlova as second enrichment. I found it critical to normal development of the fry. I wish Reed would package these products in smaller containers, as it is almost impossible for small-scale breeders to use up these enrichment products before the expiration date.

 

[Ron Popeil]

i jumped the gun a little bit, but i think it will work out.

last nest, i thought i had one more day before they hatched. came in the morning to find the nest gone. very annoyed.

this nest, i was a little jumpy, so i pulled the tile and set up the hatchery tank....only to find no hatch the following morning. so, with crossed fingers i kept them in the hatchery tank and put the tank dark this evening....two hours later a million fry loose and swimming.

tomorrow early morning they get rotifers. lots of them. i am substantially more prepared this go around and am excited to see how this part turns out.

pictures to come soon.

 

[shifty51008]

congrats, hope everything works out good this round.

 

[Winwood]

Very exciting!

 

[OrionN]

Waiting for pictures. very good.

 

[Ron Popeil]

well sadly i will not have the really awesome up close, magnified photos of the fry as they develop. but....for all you low quality photography nuts out there....this should knock your socks off:



this is a top down shot of the hatchery tank. there are approximately 50 fry as of this morning. all of the living fry are congregated towards the top of the 10 gallon, away from the bubbles and sponge filter. the sponge filter has been maturing in my sump for the past month and should help out tremendously with my filtration.

i had to swap out my heater as the temperature was at 86 in the tank and 72 on the heater. i would like to keep the temp closer to 80.

i also promise to provide much more valuable photographs in the future. color me embarrassed.

 

[worm5406]

Yeah.. I did not count 1 million of them... LOL...

That is COOL.. Really cool!!

I would love to do that one day.

 

[Overboard]

Good luck!!

 

[OrionN]

You got to get a digital heater. Those analog heater will kill your fry tank.

 

[shifty51008]

Wow you put your filter in fast. I always wait till meta before adding mine so the fry dont get stuck.

They look good though

 

[Ron Popeil]

Minh, do you have a particular heater in mind I should seek out?

 

[OrionN]

I used these for years and never had problem with them. Finnex digital heater controller
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/finnex-deluxe-digital-heater-controller.html

 

[OrionN]

Frequently you hear heater overheat and kill fry tank. Heater is something you cannot skim on

 

[Ron Popeil]

i definitely believe it!

 

[Ron Popeil]

end of day three. still about 50 swimming tirelessly. they are definitely putting on size. i am putting in rotifers twice a day. tomorrow is a water change day. i also will be moving the heater, bubbles and sponge filter to the back of the tank, so that the fry utilize the viewable space more. this will allow better pictures of their development.

i was finally able to catch a spawn tonight. i took a riveting two minute video of this and was surprised how calm the female behaved. when my chrysopterus spawned, my female seemed like she was hyperventilating. please disregard the annoying buzzing sound. its the air pump in the garage taking care of phyto, rotifers, and fry. its ancient.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HW03rwl1pZk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

and then this was the final result. next weeks project.

 

[Ron Popeil]

digital photos are such a blessing. if this were 20 years ago, it would have cost a fortune to get just these few pictures.

day 4 fry