Wigglers At Last!!!!!

[bigbanker]

Keep thinking on it! Don't give up. I love seeing quality fish produced.

 

[bob mccoy]

any thing i can do to help let me no andy

 

[Andy Sager]

any thing i can do to help let me no andy

Thanks Bob . I'll let you know.
Right now it's all in the developing stage as I have to do some extended traveling in the next few months so I won't start the project until I get back from all that. Unfortunately, my travels don't take to CO or I'd be knocking on your door with plastic bags and an oxygen tank with me.

(All I can say is when I say I've started the project, buy stock in the sponge filter companies lol That's all I use.)

 

[bob mccoy]

lol i agree heaters also

 

[AngelLover]

harikari first bights or frozen baby brine shrimp is what i use. lets see more tanks or boyfriend now that's a big decision lol. jk

Thanks Bob! Hopefully I can find some before they start free swimming which I think will be soon... Tomorrow will be one week from when they first lay the eggs... The wigglers have eyeballs now LOL! As for the tanks vs. boyfriend aspect.... Its a tough one haha

 

[Andy Sager]

lol i agree heaters also

LOL What's funny is I still have about 50 heaters from my last hatchery. Nobody is making money from me and heaters this time. I only wish I saved more of the sponge filters too

 

[Cafrye]

I am raising angel fish and hope to get them to breed, I think they are not old enough yet may be a few more months for me to wait. I have had success with breeding other fish but this is my first time to try angels. I will keep watching you messages, I FEED MY FRIES SOME STUFF CALL FIRST BITES. It works well and when they get big enough I give them crushed flakes. I have 5 aquariums and have been raising fish for about 30+ years.

 

[Andy Sager]

I am raising angel fish and hope to get them to breed, I think they are not old enough yet may be a few more months for me to wait. I have had success with breeding other fish but this is my first time to try angels. I will keep watching you messages, I FEED MY FRIES SOME STUFF CALL FIRST BITES. It works well and when they get big enough I give them crushed flakes. I have 5 aquariums and have been raising fish for about 30+ years.

Welcome to the thread
If you read back through this thread, you will get a whole bunch of useful information on Angelfish breeding so I encourage you to do that.
As a fish breeder, keep one thing in mind, just because the fish are old enough to breed doesn't mean you should breed them immediatly. Angels can spawn as young as 8 months old however, these spawns are usually small, erratic and most often unfertilized so they are also frustrating. I like to let my fish get to about a year old or older before I even let them think about spawning. Also, the size of the fish determins the size of the eggs. Larger fish make larger eggs which in turn make larger fry which in turn makes it easier to care for and raise them. (Just my perspective on the situation )

Keep us posted on your endeavor

 

[Karay]

Andy. When they pair off and begin to spawn how do you discourage them from spawning (prevent them until they reach suitable size and age)

 

[Andy Sager]

Andy. When they pair off and begin to spawn how do you discourage them from spawning (prevent them until they reach suitable size and age)

It's easy. You're gonna kick yourself for not thinking of it either lol.
When the 2 fish pair off, and you can see their tubes so you know who is what sex......... Separate them into 2 tanks. You keep one tank full of females and another full of males. What I did was keep track of which male was with which female so at a later time, I put them back together and bingo, bango, they reconnect and start their breeding lives all over again.

I told you it was easy

BTW: it doesn't matter if the females spawn on their own. In fact, it's actually better that they do so they get the routine down. It also helps them start producing larger eggs.

 

[AngelLover]

So my wigglers are now free swimming! I have frozen BBS on hand but am not exactly sure the best way to feed them.... Dad won't let them move from the filter intake and I'm worried the food won't get to them!

 

[Andy Sager]

So my wigglers are now free swimming! I have frozen BBS on hand but am not exactly sure the best way to feed them.... Dad won't let them move from the filter intake and I'm worried the food won't get to them!

For all my fry, I use a cheapo Turkey Baster that I get from the local Dollar store. (This allows you to not get so close that you scare the fish but can direct where you put the food.)Thaw out some shrimp in tank water then once thawed, turn off the filter, and squirt the shrimp in front of the fry. Once one fish starts eating, they all will follow. When they are done, you should see orange bellies in your fish. Turn the filter back on.

For what it's worth, this is why using sponge filters is so much easier. The shrimp that don;t get eaten first usually congregate on the sponge and the fry will eat them off it later. No fear of getting sucked into the filter and the sponge filter doesn't need to be shut off when feeding the fry.

Hope this helps

 

[AngelLover]

For all my fry, I use a cheapo Turkey Baster that I get from the local Dollar store. (This allows you to not get so close that you scare the fish but can direct where you put the food.)Thaw out some shrimp in tank water then once thawed, turn off the filter, and squirt the shrimp in front of the fry. Once one fish starts eating, they all will follow. When they are done, you should see orange bellies in your fish. Turn the filter back on.

For what it's worth, this is why using sponge filters is so much easier. The shrimp that don;t get eaten first usually congregate on the sponge and the fry will eat them off it later. No fear of getting sucked into the filter and the sponge filter doesn't need to be shut off when feeding the fry.

Hope this helps

Thank you.... those are all excellent tips!! I dropped half a block in the tank (I will get the baster ASAP) and I don't know if they were actually eating or not but they all instantly jumped off the filter and started swimming all about the tank which I think is a good sign. Mom and dad were not very pleased by this LOL.

Is there a way to make a diy sponge filter? Right now I have a sponge covering the hob filters intake... But I don't think it is the same thing?


hard at work!

 

[Andy Sager]

Thank you.... those are all excellent tips!! I dropped half a block in the tank (I will get the baster ASAP) and I don't know if they were actually eating or not but they all instantly jumped off the filter and started swimming all about the tank which I think is a good sign. Mom and dad were not very pleased by this LOL.

Is there a way to make a diy sponge filter? Right now I have a sponge covering the hob filters intake... But I don't think it is the same thing?

View attachment 158165
View attachment 158166 hard at work!

Yes you can make them but right now, they are so cheap on Ebay that it's not wiorth doing it yourself. Here's a link to just one of the many deals there. Aquarium Fish Tank Biochemical Sponge Bio Filter Oxygen | eBay Just pick out the appropriate size for your tank or if you are using a bigger tank, double up on the filters. Nothing bad happens from having extra sponge filters in a tank.

 

[AngelLover]

Yes you can make them but right now, they are so cheap on Ebay that it's not wiorth doing it yourself. Here's a link to just one of the many deals there. Aquarium Fish Tank Biochemical Sponge Bio Filter Oxygen | eBay Just pick out the appropriate size for your tank or if you are using a bigger tank, double up on the filters. Nothing bad happens from having extra sponge filters in a tank.

Thank you again, I just ordered one. I should have prepared ahead of time!

Oh another question.... I am using hikari frozen baby brine shrimp but I'm not sure how much to give at each feeding and how often.. The cubes are pretty small but I am afraid of causing poor water quality by giving a whole cube at once. Maybe half a cube... Or less? I am clueless haha

 

[Andy Sager]

Thank you again, I just ordered one. I should have prepared ahead of time!

Oh another question.... I am using hikari frozen baby brine shrimp but I'm not sure how much to give at each feeding and how often.. The cubes are pretty small but I am afraid of causing poor water quality by giving a whole cube at once. Maybe half a cube... Or less? I am clueless haha

I had to read that a second time, I thought you wrote you were cubeless. lol
For the small amount of fry in your pictures, I would start out with maybe a 1/4 cube or less and see if they eat it all. As I said, the nice thing about brine shrimp is that it shows up orange in their bellies. If you feed 1/4 cube and everybody has an orange belly, it's enough. If they don't, feed more at the next feeding. Try to make your adjustments on the next feeding opposed to that feeding. It's too easy to overfeed and pollute the water. (This is also why pro breeders use bare tanks. They can see when the tank is overfed.) If you see more shrimp floating around the tank and the fry are not eating it, make the portion smaller. I am a strong proponant of feeding smaller amounts more often than larger amounts less often. I feed at least 3x per day and sometimes more depending on the sizes of the spawns. With multiple feeding like that, there is less of a chance of a fish going the entire day without getting some food at atleast 1 of the feedings.

 

[AngelLover]

I had to read that a second time, I thought you wrote you were cubeless. lol
For the small amount of fry in your pictures, I would start out with maybe a 1/4 cube or less and see if they eat it all. As I said, the nice thing about brine shrimp is that it shows up orange in their bellies. If you feed 1/4 cube and everybody has an orange belly, it's enough. If they don't, feed more at the next feeding. Try to make your adjustments on the next feeding opposed to that feeding. It's too easy to overfeed and pollute the water. (This is also why pro breeders use bare tanks. They can see when the tank is overfed.) If you see more shrimp floating around the tank and the fry are not eating it, make the portion smaller. I am a strong proponant of feeding smaller amounts more often than larger amounts less often. I feed at least 3x per day and sometimes more depending on the sizes of the spawns. With multiple feeding like that, there is less of a chance of a fish going the entire day without getting some food at atleast 1 of the feedings.

Thank you! Compared to the amount of eggs layed I'm kind if disappointed in how little fry there are... Hopefully now I can do my part in keeping them fed properly so we don't lose anymore....I'm already getting attached to them haha

 

[Andy Sager]

Thank you! Compared to the amount of eggs layed I'm kind if disappointed in how little fry there are... Hopefully now I can do my part in keeping them fed properly so we don't lose anymore....I'm already getting attached to them haha

If this is a first time or within the first 5 times they have spawned together, this is typical. It used to be that the first few spawns would yield from 1%-25% hatch. This is why I don't get excited when the first few spawns are duds. As the fish matures and gets larger, you could have spawns of 500-1000 eggs ( One of my Mentees said his fish were laying 1000 eggs) with a higher percentage yield. I always counted 100 salable fry from a spawn as a success. This was an average based on total spawns from older and younger fish combined. Some of my pairs would need 3 tanks alone for their spawns.
So use these first few spawns as learning tools as they will get bigger with time. Overcrowding fry will not help you so be prepared with more tanks.

 

[AngelLover]

If this is a first time or within the first 5 times they have spawned together, this is typical. It used to be that the first few spawns would yield from 1%-25% hatch. This is why I don't get excited when the first few spawns are duds. As the fish matures and gets larger, you could have spawns of 500-1000 eggs ( One of my Mentees said his fish were laying 1000 eggs) with a higher percentage yield. I always counted 100 salable fry from a spawn as a success. This was an average based on total spawns from older and younger fish combined. Some of my pairs would need 3 tanks alone for their spawns.
So use these first few spawns as learning tools as they will get bigger with time. Overcrowding fry will not help you so be prepared with more tanks.

OMG I'm already wondering what to do with the 30 or so fry I have now! I have a 20 gallon I can move some too and I guess i can keep some with the parents in their 37 gallon. At what size would you say is acceptable to start giving them to stores/friends? Oh and how long would you estimate before these fry begin to look like fish and not squiggly specs with eyes? Haha

 

[bob mccoy]

i wait till mine are at least dime size before selling mine that way i can tell if there is any deformities like missing fins or weird body shape. 4 to 8 weeks i think