equipment help

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

knownothing-masters

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Dec 29, 2024
Messages
3
Location
israel
Hello, I am a master's student in marine biology, and I wish to ask the real experts about equipment for my experiment
I need to grow Gilt-head bream larvae for my experiment, and I have a few tanks and am having difficulty choosing which filter and lighting is the best for this
since they are small, I am leaning toward using a sponge filter, but I am not sure what lighting and what else I need to sustain them
please answer all aspects of the question and add anything you think I should know
the fish of choosing may change, so I want a pretty universal setup
I appreciate any help you can provide.
 
How do you plan on setting up the tank(s), Live rock? Coral substrate? Sand? Bare bottom?

As for lighting, You want a cooler light spectrum so that the fry can see their food but not so bright that it spooks or stresses the fish. I'd use an LED fixture that is dimmable so that you can adjust the lighting based on your fish's reactions to the setting you choose. Unfortunately I can't recommend one brand over another. Hopefully someone else here has more experience on the different brands currently available. You may want to read through this for lighting schedules: https://www.researchgate.net/public...hing_to_metamorphosis_in_mass_rearing_systems

Are you familiar with setting up rotifer and zooplankton cultures? You will need these for food during the larval stage.

Hope this helps. (y)
 
Thank you for your reply
It's a bare bottom since I need to see their metabolism rate as well
regarding the lighting. I will take that into account
I have an artemia supply since they will be 1 cm, but I am not too familiar with the setup for those. Do you have any sources for me?
It helped a lot. Thank you. Do you have any filter suggestions?
 
Thank you for your reply
It's a bare bottom since I need to see their metabolism rate as well
regarding the lighting. I will take that into account
I have an artemia supply since they will be 1 cm, but I am not too familiar with the setup for those. Do you have any sources for me?
It helped a lot. Thank you. Do you have any filter suggestions?
If you are going bare bottom, you will need to have some control over the ammonia buildup the fish and food will create. I would suggest a sponge filter with a power head to run it instead of an air stone for better circulation but you will also need some form of exchange of gases so a separate air stone located in the center of the tank will help aerate while reducing salt spray. Are you familiar with the Nitrogen Cycle?

Hatching artemia is a pretty straight forward process. I've done it in everything from pint sized bowls to 5 gallon water jugs. The proper process will depend on where the eggs you get come from. Some brands here in the states ( i.e. San Francisco Bay brand) need cooler water than those from the Great Salt Lake in Utah. This is a picture of one of my setups to show it's simplicity: 1735569764952.jpeg
You just need salt water, the right temperature, a means to keep the eggs in motion and depending on the brand of eggs, light may help increase hatching rates. I've used a few different brands in my career and some you can manipulate the hatching times and some you couldn't so I suggest you start by following the directions that come with the eggs then experiment with altering things to find what you can and can't do to change the timing of the hatch. In my hatcheries, I fed my freshwater fish fry 3 times per day so I used the 3 bottles, started at 3 separate times, so that I was feeding nuplii that had recently hatched and hadn't absorbed their yolk sacs yet. This is when artemia is their most nutritious. That also helps increase vitality in the fry.
If you need more specifics, let me know. (y)
 
Thank you very much for your invaluable help!

I'm planning to set up air circulation using a pump along with a sponge filter, as the fish will be around 40 to 50 days post-hatching. I want to ensure the water flows gently to keep them comfortable, and I will clean the filter and tank as needed.

Do you have any recommendations on how often I should change the water? I saw that a 5% change every day is part of the rearing protocol.

Regarding lighting, I'm looking for a budget-friendly option. Would a fluorescent light in the range of 40 to 70 watts with a timer work well for them?

For feeding, I plan to give them artemia and some dry food from the fisheries where they were raised. They mentioned feeding them six times a day. Would it be okay for me to reduce that to two times a day, as long as I increase the portion size at each feeding? I would appreciate your thoughts!
thanks again you have been more helpful than my PIs
 
Thank you very much for your invaluable help!

I'm planning to set up air circulation using a pump along with a sponge filter, as the fish will be around 40 to 50 days post-hatching. I want to ensure the water flows gently to keep them comfortable, and I will clean the filter and tank as needed.

Do you have any recommendations on how often I should change the water? I saw that a 5% change every day is part of the rearing protocol.
Clean water is essential for rearing any fish fry so I would follow the recommended protocol. As the saying goes: " Dilution is the solution." ;)
Regarding lighting, I'm looking for a budget-friendly option. Would a fluorescent light in the range of 40 to 70 watts with a timer work well for them?
I'm not 100% positive on the needs of this particular specie but many marine fish use a solar/lunar timeframe so you may not be able to get away cheap on the lighting. I would look into lighting that has a sunrise/sunset setting as well as full daylight. Your other option is to duplicate the sunrise/sunset timetable with multiple Flo lights on different timers. In the end tho, you will probably spend the same money as the single more complete light fixture.
For feeding, I plan to give them artemia and some dry food from the fisheries where they were raised. They mentioned feeding them six times a day. Would it be okay for me to reduce that to two times a day, as long as I increase the portion size at each feeding? I would appreciate your thoughts!
Bad idea. Multiple smaller feedings will allow the fry to use that energy then get " recharged" at the next feeding. Larger feedings will lead to uneaten food, spoiled water and possible gorging of the fry causing digestive issues and possible death. Always better to spread it out. (y) Here's what I know about raising fish fry from years of doing it: There is no cheating. It can be an arduous task to raise fish fry but if you do it right, you'll have a lot to show for your efforts. Do it wrong and you will have little to show for your efforts beside aggravations.
thanks again you have been more helpful than my PIs
Glad to help. (y)
 
Back
Top Bottom