Black Moor Goldfish Fry (Pictures from day 1 up to 3 months!)

[Giannis86]

Hello folks,

About 3 months ago my moors laid eggs which i decided to breed
This is my first ever attempt in doing this so i made sure i found all necessary information that i could. I have to say that i am quite happy with the results!


Basic information:
FEEDING: First 2 months - 3 times per day with live artemia (DIY setup with 2 bottles for continuous supply)
After 2nd month i added crushed pellets to their diet.
QUANTITY: started with about 30 or so and 25 were left after 2-3 days when they starting having interest in food. Since then they have been getting artemia and only two have died ever since.
TANK: UNDER CONSTRUCTION! DIY Tank 101x41x50cm. The tank is already built but i am restoring it. In the meantime the fry has been kept in a large bucket ~10 liters of water. Although it is quite small they seem to have been doing fine until now. Soon the 180liter tank will be finished and form their new house.
MAINTAINANCE: Daily water changes and 2 times per day i siphon the poo out


Here are some of the photos of their progress:

The parents!
KITT (female)

KARR (male)

The eggs in the tank

Day 1

Day 2 - this fellow hatched in the parents tank

After 1 week - Fish in a glass during cleanup. Note the orange stomach from the artemia;D

About 2 weeks

3 weeks

 

[Giannis86]

1 months old (~2cm in length)

1.5months old - Check the already large tails

7weeks old !

2.5months old
Note that at this point they were still a bit shy
​

YouTube - Black Moor Goldfish Fry 2.5months old
YouTube - Black Moor Goldfish Fry 2.5months old (2)

3months old!
I notice that the fish is no longer afraid
and they are now swimming towards the top when i am about to feed them (not in this video)
​

YouTube - Black Moor Fry Feeding Frenzy (3 months)


SIDENOTE:
The 55galon is almost finished.
I am now removing the scratches from the glass (might take a while)
and i am waiting for my TL5 holders to come so that i can finish the canopy(its been a week and i still didnt receive them :-|)

 

[h8z2luze]

Thats pretty cool that you got the timeline! Congrats!

 

[Giannis86]

here is a closup on one of the moors

Note that i never hold them in my hand and that i did this very quickly

 

[eja206]

that is amazing, congratulations on breeding them successfully! i have a black moor that i really love, such cool looking fish!
are you going to keep the fry? or sell them? or what?

 

[Giannis86]

i cant keep all of them..Their new tank will be a 55gallon (around 50 actually) which is way too small for all of them..

I will let them grow a bit more so that i can pick the best for myself.
I will keep 5 of them, give some to family and friends. The rest i will sell to a local LFS. I wont get much for them but at least i will be sure that they wont end up in bowls...

 

[Giannis86]

Update!

YouTube - Black Moor Fry 3 5months old

 

[cwt]

this is a great series... thanks for sharing. And they grow so fast, too!

 

[Etunes]

This is cool, I am glad you posted, really neat.

 

[sabina]

Great pics and videos!

 

[glassbird]

I have to ask...what are you feeding them? I have 22 (probable) comet fry that are now 1 month old, and they are MUCH smaller than yours at that age. Granted, their first two weeks were spent outside and "wild"...they arrived as eggs on a purchased pond plant. They survived at least one 50% water change with no chlorine remover, and the water was straight out of the hose (in other words COLD), because I did not know they were there! So, no doubt they were stressed as well...

They are inside now, and safe for the winter.

Feeding info would be much appreciated!!

 

[glassbird]

Maybe I should clarify the question I just asked...artemia? And nothing else?

 

[Giannis86]

here is all that i did:
- Make sure that the fry stay warm (about 22 C). I used a heater during the first month for that as fry are most vulnurable when they are small. After the first month i just left them at room temp (around 20-22 as well)
Make sure that temp doesnt fluctuate much especially during WC

-i had no filter at that time so i did daily WC with conditioned tap water

-put some plants or decoration for them to hide. I noticed that during the first 2-3 months the fry get easily scared. So provide enough hiding place to avoid stress

-feeding: after the 2nd-3rd day i gave them newly hatched artemia, 3 times per day
i had 2 batches of artemia to make sure that i would always have newly hatched artemia (of most nutrition)
After the 3rd month i have been giving them sera fancy pellets (crushed )
I also noticed that after the 3rd month they started nibbling on the plants (kinda cool to watch actually ^^)

Although they are growing really well, i will make my own food for them to make sure they get everything they need

if you cant give them artemia you can also try to give them finely crushed hard boiled egg yolk, which is also rich in proteins
however, i found that my fish prefer artemia and crushed pellets instead of egg yolk.
also know that egg yolk will badly foul your water

keep in mind that not all fish grow the same
i mean fish of different types but ALSO the same type
for example, some of my moors are growing MUCH faster than the rest
some are completely black and a few are a bit yellowish

i hope i answered your questions
feel fry to ask for more info if you need

 

[glassbird]

"feel fry to ask for more info if you need"

hee, hee, hee! I am not the only one with fish on the brain!

Hmmm...I have found a frozen food that comes in cubes...I have been alternating between straight brine shrimp, brine shrimp mixed with a variety of greens, and blood worms mixed with brine shrimp and a variety of greens. They love all of it.

Interesting ideas about temps and hiding places. I have some long plastic plants in there now, but could add a few more, for hiding. My only heater is too small for this tank, so they will have to make do with room temp for now. But at least it's warmer than outside!

Thanks!

 

[Giannis86]

"feel fry to ask for more info if you need"

hee, hee, hee! I am not the only one with fish on the brain!

Hmmm...I have found a frozen food that comes in cubes...I have been alternating between straight brine shrimp, brine shrimp mixed with a variety of greens, and blood worms mixed with brine shrimp and a variety of greens. They love all of it.

Interesting ideas about temps and hiding places. I have some long plastic plants in there now, but could add a few more, for hiding. My only heater is too small for this tank, so they will have to make do with room temp for now. But at least it's warmer than outside!

Thanks!

edit:
LMAO at "feel fry"
unintended mistake haha

sounds like your feeding is really good
honestly i wouldnt worry about their size as soon as they are healthy and eating
fry grow really fast. i think in your case their growth was slown down by low temps. Fish have higher metabolism rates at higher temps and hence a warmer enviroment can help them grow faster. anyway looks like you dont have to worry about that anymore since they have been removed from the pond

as about hiding places, i am not sure if it affects growth but it surely prevents unecessary stress. if you check my old videos, you will see all of the fish collected at one corner (that was after i removed the plants for the shake of the video)

at the moment, my fry barely seem afraid. on the contrary, EVERY time i come in the room, they swim like crazy towards the top of the tank and close to the glass, thinking they will get food. funniest thing to watch is when i open the canopy, many of them swim very close to the surface gasping for food
for me this is a very pleasant feeling, as the parents never do that (karr does look upwards but never comes towards the surface)

 

[Giannis86]

UPDATE!

4months old! video also contains feeding

YouTube - Black Moor Fry 4 Months old

 

[Etunes]

I don't think i have ever seen goldfish that acttive. What do you plan to do with them after there grown?

 

[Giannis86]

hehe they are very active indeed. Thats what makes it so fun for me

I will keep 5 of them, give 2-3 to relatives and the rest i will give to a experienced LFS. Sadly enough i cant keep them all as i want them to grow properly, but i trust that LFS and i know that they wont end up to be in a bowl

 

[Giannis86]

Just a small update,
closeups ^^

Look at those amazing eyes!!

 

[Etunes]

Wow, they really are forming nice.