Live Food Question

[NewbieJen]

Morning,

I am a newbie with a 40b that has Red Neon Blue Eyed Rainbow Fish, Cory catfish a Bristlenose pleco, Oto's, Brown Kuhli Loaches, Blue Velvet and Amano shrimp and some snails.

I am hoping that my Red Neon's will eventually breed since they only live a short time.

My question is on live food - I know there are lots available as cultures, but I am not sure which would be the best that would accommodate all, or the majority of the fish, with the main focus being on the Red Neon's since their mouths are so tiny and if they do have fry then even smaller of course.

I do not want to mess around with hatching the brime shrimp, but not sure if the freeze dried food is good. I did buy some powdered krill, mysis shrimp and golden pearls in a 3 pack and the fish seem to like it - but I am not sure if they are able to eat it all with it being powder.

I have been reading about the micro-worms - but would really prefer to stay away from the culturing side of things, unless I have to.

Any advise on what would work - how to know if the powdered food it actually being eaten or any general advise for my tank and what is best for them.

I do have a variety of wafers and I do feed cucumber once or twice a week and do intend using other veggies too.

Thank you all in advance and happy holidays!

Jen

 

[Colin_T]

Hi Jen

If you want to breed the rainbowfish, you need to get them into a tank on their own. Everything else in the tank will eat the eggs and fry.

Food wise, I used newly hatched brineshrimp and microworms, dry foods that were crumbled up, and frozen foods that were cut up really small with a pr of scissors.

The Otocinclus need driftwood, algae and biofilm or they starve. Bristlenose need it too but will eat other things like cucumber, zucchini, pumpkin, wafers, etc. The bristlenose might eat all the food and the Otocinclus could starve.

Culturing fish food isn't hard. The following link has information about it.
https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f82/back-to-basics-when-breeding-fish-380381.html#post3578561


The following link has all the known Australian and New Guinea rainbowfish and might interest you.
http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Melano.htm

 

[NewbieJen]

thank you so much for your response.

I have a big piece of driftwood and there are lots of hiding places, that all the fish enjoy checking out and hanging out in. There is algae and it was a 2 month cycled tank before I bought fish, they are also getting a variety of wafers, both algae and meat based and everyone seems to be thriving.

I saw a few eggs and removed the plant with them on into on over-hand breeder box, there are only a few, so very tiny, not sure if they will make it, but I want to do what I can.

The Red neon's are in and out of some moss, I check it once a day, but they are so tiny I'm sure I'm missing them or they have been eaten. I do not want to specifically breed them - not yet anyway, but maybe down the road I will get a small tank for breeding. Now its more if they do I'll do what I can to help them survive.

Snails I apparently have no problem finding their eggs lol.

Could I feed the freeze dried brime shrimp, I know not as good as live, but I don't really want to get stuck into messing around hatching brime shrimp every day - but will do it if I have to - I have committed to the fish so will do what is in their interest to live healthy and happy.

thank you for the link I will look over it now - I have been doing some research, but preferred to get it from a more reputable source than google as so much is contradictory

Thank you again

 

[Colin_T]

You need to breed the blue eyes now because they only live for 2 years and do most of their breeding in the first 6 months of life.

Smaller rainbowfish like Pseudomugils don't normally eat freeze dried foods. You might be able to buy frozen newly hatched brineshrimp at your pet shop. It is newly hatched and then frozen so has the same nutritional value as the live stuff but you won't have to hatch it. Just keep it in the freezer and take some out each day.

The link on rainbowfish is written by Adrian Tappin, one of the more knowledgeable people on rainbowfish and he knows what is what when it comes to them. He knows more about rainbowfish than I do and I specialised in them for 20 years. So it's worth bookmarking that link and having a read through when you have spare time.

 

[NewbieJen]

Hi Colin,

Happy New Year.... can I pick your brains

So, the eggs I was collecting were in very small clutches on the subwassatang, I presumed that since that was where the red neon's were doing their little shuffling in that they would be their eggs and moved them to an over-hang fry box.

However, last night I saw a video that showed the eggs to be single ones - which were not these.

SO - have I been foolish and collecting snail eggs, I got some plants that apparently had eggs as I have lots of babies and now I'm thinking I've been collecting the snail eggs.

I am going to set up a 10 gallon tank for breeding when I get a bit of extra cash and find some space lol - as this is super disappointing -I do have a mop in there and there is a 3 entrance large cave type thing that I filled with java moss that they are always in and out but I haven't taken it out, I have decided to let whatever happens, happen in the tank.

I have several cultures arriving tomorrow also (thinking I had these eggs) vinegar worms, banana worms and micro worms.

I just wanted to check before I try and dispose of these egg clutches I don't need more snails that is for sure lol.

Thanks in advance.

Jen

 

[Andy Sager]

If the eggs were in a gelatenous material, they are snail eggs. If you are not sure, it pays to let them start to hatch in a separate container to confirm. You can always euthanize them if they are snails that you don't want.

 

[NewbieJen]

Thank you for confirming, I just wanted to be sure.

I am not big on euthanizing out of inconvenience - and there is so much confliction on the most humane way to euthanize - I know crushing would be the quickest, I think disposing of the eggs would be easier - do you know the best way to go about that - they are not individual eggs, so as you have confirmed I am confident they are snails.

Jen

 

[Andy Sager]

Thank you for confirming, I just wanted to be sure.

I am not big on euthanizing out of inconvenience - and there is so much confliction on the most humane way to euthanize - I know crushing would be the quickest, I think disposing of the eggs would be easier - do you know the best way to go about that - they are not individual eggs, so as you have confirmed I am confident they are snails.

Jen

If these are still in egg stage, I'd just put the in the freezer. Once they've frozen, you can dispose of them whatever way you feel more comfortable as they would be dead so you are not going to bring them back to life.

 

[Colin_T]

Can you post a picture of the eggs before you do anything?

You might have a female fish that likes a particular area and is willing to put all her eggs there. If so, then you are lucky because it makes collecting them easier.

Most common aquarium snail eggs are a clear jelly blob with dark spots inside.

If you have individual eggs near each other, it is probably from the fish.

 

[NewbieJen]

I got rid of them all yesterday - it seemed like most had gone and there was lots of tiny snails - but they was basically blobs of jelly with lots of individual eggs inside. After doing lots of google image search I am confident that they were snails - I hate killing anything, but whilst they are still eggs, it is easier lol.

I actually decided to pull the mop I had put in to have a look and saw an individual egg - but then also an adult and some baby shrimp that have apparently taken up home in there, so had to put it back - so I guess nature will just do it's thing - I am putting in some golden pearls #1 and I already have been putting in powdered mysis shrimp and powdered krill meal, I have some infosuria culture working its magic and have some vinegar eel, micro worms and banana worm cultures that should be arriving in the next day or so - so I will just feed the tank.

If I get the chance to look through the mop whilst its in the tank and see any eggs, I'll just cut the strand and put the strand in the over hang breeding tank.

When I see some more - I'll try and get a picture, I don't have the best cameral on the phone but will see what I can get

thank you for following up

 

[NewbieJen]

These are the egg sacks!

 

[Colin_T]

Yep, definitely snail eggs, probably from common pond snails (either Lymnaea stagnalis or Physella acuta).

Good catch on your behalf, finding them before they hatch. Now get rid of the adults because they don't stop breeding

 

[NewbieJen]

Little buggers they are all over the place.

I can't kill them - I can dispose of the eggs as they haven't hatched, but when they look like snails, slithering around, I just can't lol.

HOWEVER, let me ask you this -

so - there are quite a lot of them as I say - and yesterday there was one (in the pictures) who was slithering around, went past a smaller snail, almost screeched to a holt, turned round, climbed on top of the other - there seemed to be kind of wrestling going on and it looked like it had dragged the other one out of she shell - there are a few empty shells at the bottom of the tank.

I am pretty sure it attacked it and ate it - I have seen it attack a few other smaller snails but I knock it off with a net - and he/she will be getting crushed if it is murdering them all. lol.

Is that what is happening????

If it wasn't such a slow and painful death these creatures put others through I could deal with it more, but I hate cruelty and I know nature is cruel but I don't have to encourage it lol.

I thought only assassin snails ate other snails?

 

[Colin_T]

The pond snails don't kill each other, unfortunately. They are getting down and dirty and reproducing

 

[NewbieJen]

It didn't look like reproducing and there are empty shells - and the other ones are a lot smaller - clearly I have a snail that is a bit of a sexual predator then hahaha

 

[Colin_T]

It didn't look like reproducing and there are empty shells - and the other ones are a lot smaller - clearly I have a snail that is a bit of a sexual predator then hahaha

LOL, yes, in a literal sense

well done on that statement, what a ripper