which to breed in classroom?

[jadeguppy]

I'm considering setting up breedng research for my 6, 7, and 8th grade gifted kids. Planning is for in a year or two, but it takes nearly a year to write and receive a grant. What species will do best in a classroom setting? I have experience breeding fw and in keeping sw reef tanks, but have not attempted breeding sw species.

 

[bwbixby]

clowns going to be by far the easiest IMO

 

[acrodave]

seahores would be cool... and they have no larva stage and are able to take care of them selfs from birth

 

[gmneil]

bangii cardinals, i'm currently trying to breed them myself the male holds the eggs in his mouth untill they hatch and you can feed the babies with baby brine shrimp

 

[acrodave]

its hard to tell males from females till they breed in the cardinals

 

[jadeguppy]

These are the top three on my list. I'm told that clowns are not reliable to breed unless you pay $$$$ to get a proven pair. IS that accurate? Seahorses being able to be fed brine shrimp from birth is a plus. What are cardinal and clown babies fed?

 

[acrodave]

cardinals will take brine at birth...clowns will spawn as long as you just get two of them.. but raising baby clowns is a major pita

 

[woodiecrafts]

I would opt for the horses as well. With them after awhile you could also look into pipefish. Clowns as stated can and generally are a royal pain.

There was a thread on here a month or so ago with a fellow reefer that had raised cardinals, he had them seperated out in a small tank and there were 20 or 30 of them in there. You might search for that as well. He had a bit of information in it.

 

[Juruense]

I would suggest shrimp rather than fish, much easier to rear the fry and the results can be delicious...

 

[Toddrtrex]

I also suggest the cardinals, will be easier to feed the fry. Feeding clown fry isn't the easiest thing to do in a class room setting, since you will have to raise the food (( rots and what not )) yourself.

 

[InsaneClownFish]

Try contacting Rod Buehler regarding breeding clowns. I'm sure he'd be happy to talk with you:

http://www.rodsfood.com/contact.html

 

[Toddrtrex]

Just thought of something else....

Unless you plan on going there over the weekends, I for sure wouldn't do clowns. Would need to get there to feed the fry, which would be in a separate tank. Also if any of the fry died at the beginning of the weekend, could very well lose all of them from an ammonia spike.

 

[jadeguppy]

Goos points and information. I really appreciate it, keep it coming.

Would cardinals and horses be okay over the weekend?

 

[reeferstace]

I have heard that most newly hatched seahorses end up dying from staph infections. This was stated at my local reef club meeting just last night by the speaker who has a business of breeding marine ornamentals.

 

[TP123]

If doing fish breeding as an educational project, FW fish would probably be a much better bet.

Many freshwater species are much more active spawners, so you're more likely to actually have them breed. They're less picky about water quality, which can be hard to control at a school. Specialized foods can also be less of a concern, depending on the species.

You also have some ability to do genetic studies on things like guppies if you really wanted to. It's slower than the classic "fly models" since the fry need a couple months to mature, but could work.

Zebra danios, convict cichlids, cories, livebearers, bristlenose plecs, and others are all pretty easy to spawn.

 

[rick s]

Seahorses also cannot go all weekend without being fed.

 

[buffalo123]

A good attempt at royal grammas would be nice, i think they are mouth breeders. Can be difficult to get a working colony that don't kill each other

 

[billsreef]

Any marine fish species is going to require weekend feeding for the fry. Easy breeders and fry would be Seahorses, Clowns, Neon Gobies, and bangaii's. In any event, you want to source pairs to be sure and get things going in a reliable time frame. Being in Florida, you might be able to arrange collecting wild pairs of of Neon Gobies or Seahorses. Might be possible to get some of the breeders to donate a breeding pair of something as well.

 

[Arati]

I also think fresh water is a better choice for a classroom. If I was pick a Saltwater Fish It would be Bangi as they are by far the least work.

 

[Juruense]

There is no need to breed something in a saltwater tank to educate.

The closer you look at a saltwater tank the more life you see.

There are a myriad of biological and chemical topics that can be discussed and investigated.