Diary of the 10G GBR/Bolivian Grow-Out Tank w/pics 7/22/06..

[Lonewolfblue]

Well, here it goes. Just the other day, my GBR's layed eggs. And I got out as many as I could. And being a newbie, I failed, lol. There were probably about 200-300 eggs, and when I got done, I think I have maybe 100-125 eggs. The rest I lost. Don't use a turkey baster, lol. Bad idea. Next time I'll submerge a small container, then will use a spoon to take small thin sections out, til all the eggs are removed. That will probably be the easiest thing to do with minimal damage..

Now that I got that out of my hair, lol, on to the good stuff.....

Day 1: Transferred eggs to 10G tank.
Day 2: Eggs are still eggs. lol
Day 3: Eggs this morning, a few wigglers after getting home from work. Yes, I got Wigglers........
They are still hatching as we speak. I just looked and got 6 so far. But a lot still to come. Will keep you posted of all that goes on...

 

[rich311k]

Congrats Wolf. Good luck with the little guys and gals. So when do we get pictures?

 

[Friendly]

Congrats on getting some wigglers Lonewolfblue!! Hopefully they will all survive

I was just wondering, why was using a turkey baster such a hassle? I thought that would have been the best way to remove the eggs. Also, did you do anything special to your 10g to help the fry out in anyway?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

As for the turkey baster, well, lol.

First, the eggs stick to the surface. So that means they are sticking to the gravel. When you use the baster, and go to move them to the container, the gravel is heavier and go out the end of the baster, lol. So by the time I got them to the container, which is submerged in the tank, I lost over half the gravel from the baster, which were scattered in the tank, lol.

So that's my turkey baster experience. LOL

As for the eggs, yes, you do need to do some prepping. It's not as simple as just moving them, unless you fill the 10G with the water from the main tank where the eggs are. Then you can just move them. My next batch, I'm just going to use the main tank water instead of having to acclimate. But it still works. Then there's the method of minimizing fungus, and removing bad eggs. Now remember, GBR eggs are very very small, lol.

 

[SkullJug]

Congrats!!! Best of luck with your fry!

 

[Jchillin]

Congrats on your success LWB. You are among the few who have had success in artificially hatching out fry. I know you've probably exhausted your camera's memory card but you have to post pics of these wigglin' darlings.

 

[JRagg]

Very impressive. I'm going to jump on the bandwagon here and say that I can't wait to see some pictures.

Congrats!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I tried to get some pics, but they are so small, much smaller than the bolivian fry. Also, I got home for lunch today just now and they aren't moving. But will keep an eye on them. There's still a lot of eggs, looks like those aren't going to hatch. I'll be better prepared next time with what I've learned. It might have been from moving the eggs and not acclimating as well, just made sure the temps were the same. Next tile I'll almost empty the tank and refill with water from the 75G and then move the eggs, and treat for fungus at the same time. We'll see how things turn out....

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Well, doesn't look good. They are not doing anything, and looks to be slowly discintegrating. I guess this batch didn't survive. Still going to wait a few more days befor eI clean things up for the next run, which I now have a better idea of how to do things.

 

[SkullJug]

Sorry to hear it wolf. Let us know how you get along.

 

[maxwell1295]

Wolf, what are you using for filtration? A sponge filter works best. You can help speed up the cycle by squeezing the gunk out of the sponge or floss material from an established filter (I use AC'c so that's easy). As for fungus control, you can use 3% hydrogen peroxide. I really works well. When I used it, I had zero fungus.

I hatched a batch of GBR fry a couple of months back and got them to the free swimming stage. I fed them egg yolk and they seemed to like it. I didn't have a small enough heater for the fry tank and had trouble regulating the temps, so I ended up losing them. I let the adults try to raise the next few batches with no success past the initial free swimming stage.

As long as you can keep steady temps, clean water, and good filtration, you should be fine. The egg yolk mixture also works well for feeding.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

As for my filtration, I'm using a cycled Whisper HOB that came with the tank. I took part of the filter material off my 26G and used it to cycle with, near instant cycle. But since I haven't added ammonia to keep them going, the bacteria is probably near gone. Tank parameters are perfect, everything 0ppm and nitrates less than 10ppm.

As for feeding them, that's what I had planned. Egg yolk.

But I think the reason for them not making it is not acclimating properly. I only had about 12-14 hatches out of 150 or so eggs. Nextt ime I'm doing it a bit differently.

 

[maxwell1295]

A lot of it also depends on how good the male is about fertilizing the eggs. It my guy 2 times to get it right. But once he got, he really got it!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

This was their 2nd time. Hopefully in a couple week we'll get another try.

Edit:
Hey, good news all. I was doing some more looking, and I do have some survivors. They are trying now to swim in the current from the powerhead on the other end of the tank. So it looks like I may end up turning the powerhead off and get an air bubbler for current. The current is a bit strong, but it does give them some exercise, lol.

 

[Guest]

LWB I have a DIY sponge filter That I can send you the plans for. I designed it for GBR and Agiss red tail eggs. There eggs are so much smaller then normal. Almost to the sige of Dario Dario eggs. It works really well. Hey Maxwell has your GBRs spawned again latly? I have a couple of femles with eggs in the belly but I dout I'll get to see theor beable to move to a hatchery. As I'm getting ready to leave for a two week vaction. I know they'll be gone by the time I get back.
So LWB after all we did none maded it? I sure was hoping you'd have some mke it.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I thought none made it, but I do see some once again. Looks to be trying to swim in the current. We'll see how it goes from here. I need to boil up an egg and make ice cubes, lol.

 

[Guest]

LOL That's the way my Trifasciatas did. I thought they where gone and was just about to clean the tank up. When I noticed tht there was something moving in the tank. There was 10that made it after all I went throw 10 was great. LOL Glad to hear some made it.LWB

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Looks like I have about 10-15 swimmers. Can't quite get off the bottom yet, but getting close. They swim up a little, then go back down, lol. I now got my powerhead turned off. Think they got enough exercise, and now it's just the current from the HOB. Gonna boil up an egg tonight after work, and get set up with the spray bottle for feeding. Either that or an eyedropper. Just don't want to overfeed.

Another strange occurance, I tested my water last night, and I got 0ppm ammonia, but .25 nitrite. Not sure where that came from. Wonder if it's from some of the eggs that are still in the tank. Will need to do some cleaning tonight. I might also add more seeded material from my 26G to the whisper HOB as well.

 

[Jchillin]

I would have to agree with your assessment...wonder what happened to the ammonia reading though? Perhaps it was quick?

Don't forgot to cover the gravel vac with a mesh cover...don't want any fry getting sucked out.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I never did see an ammonia level in the tank. Has always been 0ppm. But tonight I'm adding more media from another tank. Should take care of the problem.

As for the fry, there's more than I thought, lol. I thing there's around 30-40, lol. I looked at it tonight after work and boy there's a lot, lol. Pretty cool....

well, got some shots here. They are quite small, so they aren't the best pics. But here they are....

My 10G tank: