Wrasses

[coral_addict]

Hello all! I am attempting to start a research project at my school in breeding a marine fish. Funds are limited so we'll see if the setup is even feasible, but, I want to attempt raising a species of wrasse. Can anyone give me advice on such an endeavor? I am looking to set up a dedicated system for the pair, using a plastic barrel or something similar. What I am really looking for is...

A way to get ss strain rotifers
a ciliate culture
small copepods
dinoflagellates
a good wrasse to attempt

Can anyone help?

 

[coral_addict]

Ok, so I talked to my boss (I work at an LFS) today, and I think we decided on the Carpenter's wrasse. So mostly now I'm looking for first food sources. Can someone please point me in the right direction? Specifically ss rotifers, small copepods (i.e NOT Tigger pods), dinoflagellates, and ciliates

 

[waterhog69]

Ok, so I talked to my boss (I work at an LFS) today, and I think we decided on the Carpenter's wrasse. So mostly now I'm looking for first food sources. Can someone please point me in the right direction? Specifically ss rotifers, small copepods (i.e NOT Tigger pods), dinoflagellates, and ciliates

mysis shrimp are good, that's what I feed mine, and he is fat and happy.


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[coral_addict]

I'm talking about the larval fish, not adults. Thanks though

 

[Fishfirst]

A couple observations:
1) is this your first attempt at breeding something? Wrasse are a reach on the breeding frontier.
2) a limited budget might hinder your progress on P. carpenteri, not saying it can't be done, just saying a more manageble species on a budget would be smarter in my opinion.
3) I would suggest breeding a cardinalfish species as there are a lot of sp. out there that would be a first in the hobby yet should be fairly easy.

 

[coral_addict]

Well I won't lie, it will be my first time. However, this project is something I am willing to invest a lot of time and effort into. I do not expect to have immediate success. But I really want to try to spawn and raise a pelagic species that hasn't been done yet. As for the budget, I work at an LFS, and my boss said he can get me three fish for under 15 a piece, so that part isn't an issue. I have most of the budget information worked out, and it seems feasible from that standpoint. Really what I am looking for right now is a source of ss rotifers, dinoflagellates, small copepods, and ciliates. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[coral_addict]

No one has any help?

 

[Prairie Reef]

Would zooplanktos L be in range? I think it claims to be from 300 mc to 1500mc ?

 

[coral_addict]

That might be a good start! Where can I get it?

 

[tj1627]

You can obtain pretty much any food you're looking for from Reed Mariculture. You can also order directly from them.

ss rotifiers: http://www.reedmariculture.com/product_instant_zooplankton.html#rotifers

If you want to culture your own phyto to feed the copepods and rotifiers, you can look at FAF (good selection albeit not a great website) http://www.florida-aqua-farms.com


HTH

 

[coral_addict]

That website is awesome! Thank you. How about ciliates? Anyone know how to get a ciliate culture started? I'm in the final process of getting the project approved. Fingers crossed!

 

[DrPat]

http://www.algagen.com/prod/?p=117 CHECK OUT ALGAGEN THEY HAVE STATER KITS FOR PHYTO AND COPEPODS

 

[fla2341]

Have you given thought to obtaining your own wild caught plankton from the Gulf waters near you? (Corpus Christi) I was able to make a good plankton net using plankton cloth (3 feet of 53 micron) from FAF, some 45 degree 1/2" PVC elbows and pipe, a plastic jar, fishing line to sew the net together and some rope. I got thousand of copepods each time I went out collecting.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2162845&page=4

Just go out on on incomming (late in the cycle) or turning tide. You can try a boat dock on the inner coastal/bay areas. This approach can save you some $, get you some local copepods/plankton to identify and give you an emergency source of plankton if your cultures crash and you need something fast.

 

[SantaMonica]

Good idea on the pod collecting. He might be a bit far from the beach though.

 

[coral_addict]

Have you given thought to obtaining your own wild caught plankton from the Gulf waters near you? (Corpus Christi) I was able to make a good plankton net using plankton cloth (3 feet of 53 micron) from FAF, some 45 degree 1/2" PVC elbows and pipe, a plastic jar, fishing line to sew the net together and some rope. I got thousand of copepods each time I went out collecting.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2162845&page=4

Just go out on on incomming (late in the cycle) or turning tide. You can try a boat dock on the inner coastal/bay areas. This approach can save you some $, get you some local copepods/plankton to identify and give you an emergency source of plankton if your cultures crash and you need something fast.

That is an awesome idea! I've considered it before, the problem would be like SantaMonica said, I'm a few hours from the beach. But I'm thinking this might be the way to go. I'd like to be able to catalogue what they're eating though. So I guess I'll have to figure that part out. I still want to try ciliates though as well. Does no one know how to get a culture started?

 

[coral_addict]

Got final approval!!!!!!!!!! So now begins a long an ardous journey. I need now to type up a list of what I'll need, so I can get some monetary help with it all. Just wondering though, has anyone bred a carpenter's wrasse before? I don't think so but I could be wrong.

 

[coral_addict]

Officially have the tank (a trash can), lights, a filter, and powerhead! The fish are on hold for me at my LFS to make sure they're healthy and cohesive! We decided to switch from carpenter's to McCosker's wrasse because there were two females and a male today. So this week we'll get the tank set up and hopefully have the fish by next Sunday!!!!!