Fry are 15 days now

[dive girl]

Sorry to hear about the babies. I've heard all sorts of time periods for the enrichment stage from 4 hours on up. I try and have a couple of different types of enrichment food on hand to mix things up a little with my dwarfs. I figure that way if one enrichment is missing something, then the another should help supplement.
I do something like Rynka. For the BBS I am growing out, I add enrichment after 24 hours and then feed in another 24 hours.
I read something somewhere that you add enough enrichment so that the water is slightly cloudy. You know when the enrichment is gone when the water is clear again. I was thinking of adding a little food coloring to my enrichment to help with that process.
So much of this is trial and error it's frustrating especially with something that is living.

 

[teresaq]

it is frustrating, though I feel lucky with my first batch to have made it to almost 5 weeks. I have added a few more enrichments and am now mixing several kinds together.
T

 

[dive girl]

I have about 4 hatcheries going at the same time. As I use one I clean the container and restart it. I always have an extra because I'm afraid to miss a feeding if something goes wrong (I could drop one or have a failure to hatch). I just put the extra in my grow out or give a treat to my reef tank.
This is in my garage. Each container is one liter (old large water bottle) I hang them on a screw with a rubberband stretched across to add some leverage and to hold the airline up above the waterline.
There is a heating pad (for warmth) behind all of them that is on 24 hours/day and they get light 24 hours/day too. The black material is so that I can cover everything; 1. to hold in some of the warmth and 2. because my garage door has windows and it covers the light at night.
More to come...

 

[dive girl]

Usually after 24 hours I'll move the grow out brine into another container, now in my laundry room (I love my husband for puting up with me!

). I use a brine shrimp net to drain them off, give them a rinse and put them in a new container with some enrichment. Here they are at room temperature and get natural light.

The grow out brine shrimp are on the left, with copepods in the middle and rotifers on the left.

When I want some I just take out the water, run the water through a net, discard the old water replacing it with new and dump whatever in the selected tank. The water that I use to replace what is removed is just old tank water from my ponies that I've saved from water changes. I've only been doing this for a couple of weeks so no long term success yet but it seems to be working. About once a week I remove the water, clean the containers and then replace everything. I add enrichment when the water gets clear.
I got the jugs with the spouts at Walmart for $6. Can't beat that and makes removing water and bugs easy. I drilled a couple of holes in the lid. One hole for the airline and one for escaping air. The containers are plastic and were easy to do.

 

[cranberry]

Originally Posted by lauremf2002
http:///forum/post/2984078
I think the coffee drinkers mean they want you to know they are reading, so keep posting. Its just so you know people are interested soo...

That is so odd.... I would totally misinterpret that as almost a rude emoticon. Like I'm bored...... Maybe it's the half closed eyelids. But then again.... I can't remember a negative thing that involved coffee.... ever.
Congrats Teresa

 

[teresaq]

I kinda took it that way too Renee. To me its a smilie you use if you are bored and waiting for something interesting. Oh well.
T

 

[rykna]

Originally Posted by Cranberry
http:///forum/post/2996751
That is so odd.... I would totally misinterpret that as almost a rude emoticon. Like I'm bored...... Maybe it's the half closed eyelids. But then again.... I can't remember a negative thing that involved coffee.... ever.
Congrats Teresa
I love coffee!

When I see this emotions face I interpret it as meaning the person wants to see more info on the subject.
~Rykna

 

[dive girl]

I'm curious about the set up of the tank. I understand having a bare bottom and no live rock for ease of cleaning and so that they don't bring in any hydroids.
In my tank, I used live rock and bagged live sand (not true live sand but not dead). The reason I went this way when so many people say not to is because I decided that I would go ahead and treat with panacur. So many people are very careful but then still get the hydroids. I thought that the benefits of the live sand/rock would outweight the negatives of dosing.
Even though it is more time consuming to clean and there is still some small risk of hydroids the sand and rock are a good biological filter and offer a place for little buggies to hide, breed, and florish.
When I finally transfer my dwarfs over to their permanent home, I was going to break down my QT toss all the sand, rock, and macro but I think that I might keep it up and running for any erectus fry. I think that I'm going to try and keep it as close to what they might get in nature and see how that goes.

 

[teresaq]

I think most dont is because you have to keep a very very clean tank. I syphone the bottome several times a day to clean up all the poop. Most use sponge filters for filteration.
I am going to try a divided tank for my next batch. Another lady is doing this and is have much more sucess then I am.
I would research, talk to other breeders, get opinions.
TeresaQ

 

[dive girl]

How does the divided tank work?
You keep the fry on one side and then move them to the opposite so you can clean the now dirty side?

 

[teresaq]

The one on the other forum is split 3 ways. She keeps fry on both ends, and in the middle she has a skimmer and filter.
I am using a 20 gal tank. I split off one third, and will put a sponge filter in the main part with the fry, and a canister filter in the small section. The divider i am using has wholes so water can flow thru.

 

[dive girl]

Interesting. That gives me something to think about since I haven't had any fry other than the dwarfs. Kind of sounds like a refugium set up without the main tank.