Breeding Angels (Blues)

[UGA_Grad_Student]

Also racer....I will be awaiting the shipment in the mail of those gorgeous angels!! Wow they are gorgeous. That gives me confidence that the parents will be able to raise them on their own. Will the parents keep laying eggs while the lil ones are being grown out?

[wkndracer]

Originally Posted by msawdey

how did you manage to feed the fry racer?

The plant canopy almost filled the tank after the spawn because I stopped trimming not to disturb the parents. They moved the wigglers from the slate into the plants and kept them high in the tank. Several times when they moved the group I thought they ate them but later found the clutch hidden in another area. The day after free swimming started I shut off the pumps and watched the group settle mainly in one area then dipped the brine net into the water directly over the fry. The parents freaked out everytime I did this feeding but the fry figured out what BBS were good for almost right away. They also nibble on algae and learned to hunt BBS through the plants. RCS don't stand a chance in my tanks LOL.
I have 3-10g shrimp tanks and harvest in bottle traps to feed the angelfish. All my parent raised babies grow up as hunters.

Originally Posted by UGA_Grad_Student

That gives me confidence that the parents will be able to raise them on their own. Will the parents keep laying eggs while the lil ones are being grown out?

Each pair will be different and it takes them a few tries to learn how to raise them.
The repeat spawn calendar varies by pair also but if they spawn again too early while the first group are pre-pea size or smaller then both spawns are at risk. The first group eating the second caused me to loose 2 clutch's. The older ones over eating caused them to belly slide and they were lost in the gravel. These blacks stayed with the parents until large dime size before I moved them.
The tank was getting crowded.

(This is all in the journal including pics as the group grew until it was moved)
The Blacks spawn is pictured in post #305 page #21
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...=87012&page=21

[msawdey]

cant wait to be settled in my life enough to be just like you

Hahaha.. jokinnnngg, but no really, i want all of those tanks

[tomfromstlouis]

I think your most important task at this time is preparing food for the fry.

[UGA_Grad_Student]

Yea may need to get one that....yesterday. I GOT WIGGLERS!! I was busy all day and haven't been here since the morning. When I returned a couple of minutes ago I notices some eggs have moved a millimeter or two. Upon further inspection, I noticed they are all tiny tiny wigglers with their yolk sack. Hope they are all there any happy in the morning. Anyways its a good day

[wkndracer]

Wrote this up on what I do for BBS and rather than type it all again or posting a link I just repost it.
(I like lazy tanking)

If it's a large group or you start messing around with breeding fish this may be helpful.
The bottles simply sit on the counter at room temperature and the shrimp are ready in 26 - 30 hrs. We've been running this setup for ages.
2 - 2 liter bottle base units sold on foster & smith.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=4445[/URL]
Cost currently is like $9.99 (LOL 5.99 when I bought mine) add to that the smallest air pump, check valve and air manifold along with empty soda bottles, that's it.
I reset one bottle every night.
Using tank or treated tap water I add a heaping tablespoon of rock salt to the liter of water and always get good hatch rates so beyond that I don't concern myself with worry over mixing to a precise salinity.
Feeding;
I pull the airline off the manifold pinning it above the bottle, just holding it above the hatchery water level. Allow the water to settle and the shells float up. With a light low on the side of the bottle the shrimp go low. after about a minute I lower the tube holding it over a brine shrimp net which is held over a plastic cup for about 3-5 seconds then reconnect the airline.
Carry the net to the sink for the fresh water rinse and put them in the tank. The brine water from the drain cup pours back in the hatchery.
Tricks that work;
When you cut the bottom out of the 2 liter soda bottle,,, save it.
The soda bottles are flared slightly before rounding for the bottom where the plastic is thicker. I cut it on the straight part and place it upside down back on the now top of the hatchery to collect condensation and muffle the bubble noise as an inverted lid. New spawns for the first week or until fins form and the fry gain size I add a small spoon of new eggs from AngelsPlus everyday. When the fry are larger I load two spoons of eggs everyday.
Fish breeders often talk about setting up new bottles every day with fresh saltwater and killing off bacteria. That makes raising brine shrimp much harder than it needs to be. The old/used egg shells are easily removed and the water re used. If it stinks I change it. 13 days on the same water and more if it passes the sniff test.
Once the babies have been fed the second or third time on a bottle (end of the day) before pouring in the water strained though the net gathering bbs 'I 'clean' the bottle. How is I hook the air line back up, at this point the bottle usually has about 1/2 the water still in it. Using the same fine mesh shrimp net used for harvesting I net out the husks by repeatedly scooping though the water rubbing the sides with the net frame loosening anything stuck to the sides and rinse the net in the sink. Reload with fresh eggs, add the water from the brine drain cups back in and put the lid on.
done!
2 liter brine shrimp rig.



Adding flake to the menu
With angelfish once the body size is about 1/4 - 3/8" (around 5 weeks) I add just a pinch of flake rubbed to powder between my fingers before feeding the shrimp. Giving them a few minutes to get curious it doesn't take long and they are eating it. Food is right there with good water for development so I continue feeding brine's until they get bigger and truly are copies of the parents guessing the average is about 2 months.
All I've got HTH

[GraphicGr8s]

wkndracer did you get the email I sent you last week?

[wkndracer]

Hey there G8!
Stupid busy right now working 7/12's (7 days a week, 12hrs a day, 1.5hr travel)
I work in a power generating plant that's currently shut down for scheduled maintenance
out by 0600 and not home again until after 1945 but I'll make time tonight to check email. Site security allows me online but I can't access outside mail servers (go figure).

[Algae Beater]

i sold my pair over a year ago, as the workload was pretty intense. they bred like clockwork every few weeks. I saturated the market here and then moved on

Angelfish Guarding 14 day old fry - YouTube

Angelfish Guarding 14 day old fry - YouTube

water was at 1dKH ~20ppm total hardness with some oak leaves added for extra microbial life.

Anglefish Spawn - YouTube

Anglefish Spawn - YouTube

[msawdey]

love the videos!

[UGA_Grad_Student]

So I have my brine shrimp up and running as of around 4 today. I ordered 8 oz of eggs from brine shrimp direct but for now am using that tiny little vile they have at the LFS...figure its better than nothing. I will end up with a three bottle system which I will reset for 1 morning, 1 night, and a wild card? Maybe lunch timeish?

My question for the breeders out there or in this case hatchers, do the brine shrimp [I]need[I] the light? My uncle says it isn't needed but most videos and sources I have read have a light. My apt is set at 72...even if the hatch rate is lower, I am ok with that because I only have one group of fry. Any thoughts would be great!

[wkndracer]

I only place a light on the bottle when I'm harvesting for a feeding.

[UGA_Grad_Student]

Originally Posted by wkndracer

I only place a light on the bottle when I'm harvesting for a feeding.

What temp is the room set at and what are your hatch times? I have read that not having a light aka heat source can slow the hatch time down by a day or two.

[wkndracer]

Setup in the kitchen guessing 74-78°F range and hatching never takes more than 36hrs.
(wife says around 68-70°F for the last week with the cold front. Shrimp are still ready within 36hrs.)

[UGA_Grad_Student]

I think the 36 hour setup will work great for me. How often did you feed the little ones? I am trying to work through your low tech angel tank journal....a lot of information to take in at once!

Day 6: The past 24 hours for me has been big. I got my hatching set up almost complete with my first successful hatch already up and running (before the fry became free swimming ). Also the parents decided to move the wigglers to a different leaf, luckily only an inch away so I didn't have a heavy heart for long. I am really hoping they start free swimming soon. Here are 3 pictures, 1 from what they looked like this morning, 1 of my brine setup, and 1 of the moved mass of wi lil wigglers. (I apologize for the blurriness)

Anyone want to guess how many wigglers I have remaining??