powdertang05 Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 it so much easir then making your own ive bought reeds rots and phyto and also the live place cant think of it on top of my head and had really really good results and its less stress on me lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted February 12, 2007 Author Share Posted February 12, 2007 ive definetely thought about this. but money is what is lacking significantly at the moment and time is what i have. so playing around with this is good knowledge to have anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Jordan, I will bring rotifers & copepods on the 18th. My phyto originally came from Algagen. I am also running an 18hr photoperiod. I will bring some Guillard's f/2 fertilizer too. Some people avoid using Miracle-gro because of the traces of copper it contains(artificial seawater mixes all contain trace quantities of copper). I'm doubtful if it contains enough to be harmful to inverts or fish larvae. I will inquire into this. I am using a Leviton fluorescent shoplight purchased at Lowe's, and two 4 foot - 6500K-Full-Spectrum F40T12/DX Fluorescent Bulb from Home Depot. (Cost was $7.99 for a twin-pack It sounds like the lack of fertilizer was definitely the problem. I think you should split that 2nd darkest bottle of Nanno. Rinse out the 1st and 3rd bottle, starting those over from some of your best Nanno. Add fertilizer to your Isochrysis and to your new Tetraselmis. My specific gravity is around 1.020. A slight increase will not harm the phyto, but it should be readjusted whenever you split the cultures. I have 3 bottles of each that I split once a month. Don't wait any longer than that, or they may crash. When I first started culturing phytoplankton a few years back, I ran 7 bottle of each species, used a small quantity daily for my rotifers, then replaced the used phyto with new mixed water. As you can see, the Tetra. is a bright green color, Iso. looks like root beer, and Nanno. a very dark green. Capping the bottles and giving them a good shake occasionally does not seem to harm the cultures. Just because the algae has settled out of suspension does not mean it has crashed. Algae on bottom or sides is still very much alive! Be sure always bleach-sterilize strainers, caps, etc. before using again on a different species phyto culture to prevent cross-contamination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JManrow Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 I am using 5ml (1tsp.) of Guillard's f/2 solution per 2 liter bottle. This seems to keep it growing for a month with no problems. I really should be splitting cultures every two weeks, rather than monthly. I have used a 24hr cycle on phyto... it will grow very fast. My office/fishroom has other aquariums and houseplants that appreciate a day/night cycle, so I am running an 18/6 photoperiod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted February 12, 2007 Author Share Posted February 12, 2007 thank you for showing off your set up john, i really appreciate it. do your cultures get natural light from that window? it seems pretty unconventional to have your shop lights directly overhead, its the opposite of what ive heard. so once you fill your bottles, you only split them once a month? and this is when youll add your fertilizers and adjust salinity? and no problems for up to 30 days eh? definetely encouraging. thank you again for the tips john, your experience is wonderful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted February 12, 2007 Author Share Posted February 12, 2007 i had a minor sea swirl mishap tonight: its rotating mechanism failed. it must have been like this for a day or two. so i took out the motor, hooked it back up, permanently positioned where i wanted the flow and installed a maxijet 1200 to up the over all flow in the tank (something id wanted to do for quite some time). so...this might interrupt their schedule a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted February 15, 2007 Author Share Posted February 15, 2007 at this very moment, the pair is voraciously cleaning right around the same area they spawned last time. there are now three scored acrylic tiles around the anemone. however, neither of which is where theyre trying to prepare a nest. i also turned on my moon light last night, and switched to OSI spirulina flakes. if i were to slip in a tile right where they are aggressively cleaning, what do you think the chances are of them continuing their behavior there? the female is visibly swollen, and i have never seen such continued, combined effort from both of them in a specific area. if i had to guess, i would imagine theyll breed tonight. any one ever tried to slip in a tile or spawning medium over a preferred spawning area, and had their pairs ignore the change and proceed with the spawn on the tile instead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted February 15, 2007 Author Share Posted February 15, 2007 tonight, was very exciting. ironically enough, it was valentines day on the second spawn of my clownfish. i happened to be present for the entire thing. the temperature was 82 degrees. the pH was 8.29. around noon today, i had turned on my RO unit, which feeds directly into my tanks. the salinity is rarely affected by much, but it may be worth noting. i fed my anemones silversides today. and was watching man on fire at the time spawning began. at approximately 8pm, almost on the dot, the clownfish began to lay eggs. it wasnt until 8:06pm that i noticed 5 eggs on the glass and for the next 54 minutes watched the pair lay a beautiful mass of eggs. much deeper orange than the previous nest. much larger. and much more organized. i took as many pictures as i could of the process. if interrupted, either by a passing body or movement outside the tank, they were quick to continue. for 54 minutes they spawned. and here are the pictures: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted February 15, 2007 Author Share Posted February 15, 2007 it appears the late night work on the tank i did two days ago: stopping all water flow, readjusting flow, adding a 295 gph powerhead and the addition of more tiles did not interrupt them very much; which was my biggest concern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted February 15, 2007 Author Share Posted February 15, 2007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted February 15, 2007 Author Share Posted February 15, 2007 compare the picture above taken on feb 14th, to the nest laid on jan 29th: much larger quantity and better coloration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbrownies Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 Is it just me, or is he smoking a cigarette in the last picture? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mister crabs Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 nice....they missed the tiles though...lol.....they gotta work on thier aim! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 Clutches are getting better, a couple more and they will be well worth hatching out. Exciting !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DChemist Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 Those are awesome. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted March 4, 2007 Author Share Posted March 4, 2007 so the third spawn occured tonight, seventeen days since their last, and finally, on a removable tile. i noticed them doing their intense cleaning this afternoon, and knew a spawn was imminent. the spawn started a bit early tonight around 645 pm. temperature 83.1 F, pH 8.2 and salinity 1.025. here are some images, followed by a video! the female makes her pass ... an apprehensive male... the male fertilizes just behind the females laying... and finally the nest alone...on a spawning tile. thank the heavens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DChemist Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 That's awesome. Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted March 4, 2007 Author Share Posted March 4, 2007 what i always find amazing, is how hard she breathes during this entire episode. i can now understand just how taxing it must be for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drock59 Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 Nice video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 Sweet. Now the fun begineth!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted March 12, 2007 Author Share Posted March 12, 2007 so the eggs hatched saturday evening as expected in their 10 gallon hatchery tank. the tank has about 5 gallons of water taken from the parents system. i left the night of the hatch, and had the egg tile propped in a way to receive a flurry of air. of course when i returned a few hours later it had moved and alot of the eggs were not receiving any movement. the next morning alot of the nest still hadnt hatched, but there were hundreds of dead fry and eggs among the bottom of the tank. after vacuuming them out, i took a jug with dechlorinized water and using a valve dripped it into the hatchery tank. over several hours, i lowered the salinity from 1.026 to 1.020. temperature is about 79 degrees. i added rotifers and a mixture of the phytofeast i received from waves and my own cultures to their water. today, on day two, there doesnt appear to be any more deaths. i have about 16 fry swimming around very well. with purpose. there is a tremendous amount of rotifers in the water, probably an unhealthy amount. the fry have an electric blue shimmer to them. ill work on pictures this afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotjs Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Where are the pic's Ron? Can't wait to see baby !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 well i tried, but photographing these tiny guys is next to impossible. actually, it is impossible. im going to give them a few days to get bigger, and then maybe put them in a shot glass or something and try that. at the end of day two things seem to be going well. they appear to be eating. ill probably try to locate a sample of S strain rotifers as the L strain im currently using appear just a smidge too large. im also having a hard time discerning if im seeing a full stomach of rotifers or just a large amount of yolk still left. regardless, im very optimistic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted March 14, 2007 Author Share Posted March 14, 2007 day three. today there appears to be 9 fry. i was worried the rotifers i had might have been too big for their tiny little mouths as i wasnt noticing any distinct hunting behavior yesterday or the day before. today however, it appears that most of them have gotten very good at it. it still takes them a bit of time to recognize what they are staring at, but the strikes are fast and effective. i enjoy watching them trail a very specific rotifer for several moments before they attack. all of them appear to move with haste and purpose. im almost relieved that i have only nine to worry about, as a tank full of several hundred might make things overly time consuming and stressful. so far water quality has remained great. there are slightly more rotifers in the tank than i would prefer, but for the past two nights ive been sieving several thousand out. in the mornings and late evenings im adding small amounts of alternating microalgaes (isochrysis, tetraselmis, nannochloropsis) to maintain rotifer nutrition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyles Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Keep in mind with so few after as few weeks they may try and get territorial where if there where hundreds this would not be a problem, however this may not develop for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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