My fish breeding journal!

[LordJoshaeus]

Hi everyone! I am going to be breeding saltwater fish and will be documenting my journey in this journal. I am currently in the process of setting up the 20H broodstock tank...here it is;

The filters are custom and use fluidized bed media to provide a high surface area for the beneficial microbes in the absence of live rock. The tank is not complete; I just started cycling it today and I need to add PVC near the top to provide refuges from aggression. I will use Fritz Turbo Start 900 to help cycle the tank and will likely use suction cup soap dishes to help prop some PVC near the top. (EDIT; It just occurred to me that if that pile of PVC pipes ever moved it would likely not end well for any nearby fish...thus, at some point before fish arrive, I will zip tie the pipes together so they cannot roll around).

I am planning to keep two species in here; the exact species are TBD. I will rear the fry (one species at a time!) in a black 15 gallon rope handle tub with a single air line split in two, with wooden air stones on each end; before I can rear any fry I will also need to set up a pair of rotifer cultures, which will be complimented with copepods (likely purchased for each rearing attempt, as I don't have a lot of space). Eventually I would like to buy copepod resting eggs from Europe, but those are expensive...

Enough of my rambling...have any suggestions or other thoughts for me? Thanks for following along :)

 

[Baldyreef]

any specific list of species in mind yet?

 

[LordJoshaeus]

any specific list of species in mind yet?

My thoughts are leaning towards skunk clowns and orchid dottybacks. My marine breeding handbook on Amazon said clowns and orchid dottybacks work well together in tanks this size.

 

[Jasonak]

Hi everyone! I am going to be breeding saltwater fish and will be documenting my journey in this journal. I am currently in the process of setting up the 20H broodstock tank...here it is;

The filters are custom and use fluidized bed media to provide a high surface area for the beneficial microbes in the absence of live rock. The tank is not complete; I just started cycling it today and I need to add PVC near the top to provide refuges from aggression. I will use Fritz Turbo Start 900 to help cycle the tank and will likely use suction cup soap dishes to help prop some PVC near the top. (EDIT; It just occurred to me that if that pile of PVC pipes ever moved it would likely not end well for any nearby fish...thus, at some point before fish arrive, I will zip tie the pipes together so they cannot roll around).

I am planning to keep two species in here; the exact species are TBD. I will rear the fry (one species at a time!) in a black 15 gallon rope handle tub with a single air line split in two, with wooden air stones on each end; before I can rear any fry I will also need to set up a pair of rotifer cultures, which will be complimented with copepods (likely purchased for each rearing attempt, as I don't have a lot of space). Eventually I would like to buy copepod resting eggs from Europe, but those are expensive...

Enough of my rambling...have any suggestions or other thoughts for me? Thanks for following along :)

Practice doing live food cultures and once you have that mastered start breeding fish as that seems to be the big hurdle for most species is getting the fry to adulthood.

 

[LordJoshaeus]

Practice doing live food cultures and once you have that mastered start breeding fish as that seems to be the big hurdle for most species is getting the fry to adulthood.

Don't worry - I will master rearing rotifers before trying to rear any broods. Reef nutrition carries a rotifer culture kit and that is what I will be using.

 

[NeedAReef]

sea horses, already plenty of clown breeders. I say seahorses :)

 

[Baldyreef]

My thoughts are leaning towards skunk clowns and orchid dottybacks. My marine breeding handbook on Amazon said clowns and orchid dottybacks work well together in tanks this size.

awesome I will definitely be following along this is gonna be very interesting

 

[LordJoshaeus]

sea horses, already plenty of clown breeders. I say seahorses :)

Fair! I can try something else other than clowns. Not sure this tank is big and/or tall enough for seahorses, though (not to mention I'm not sure you can keep seahorses with much of anything else).

awesome I will definitely be following along this is gonna be very interesting

Thanks so much! Currently shopping for supplies...I'm currently relying on reverse osmosis water I purchase from my LFS, but that won't fly for long with a breeding setup, so I am investing in some RO units.

 

[Baldyreef]

sea horses, already plenty of clown breeders. I say seahorses :)

IMO skunk clowns are a lot less bred by hobbyists than percula and occelaris and maybe maroons, would be cool if @LordJoshaeus even manages to create a new variation

 

[NeedAReef]

IMO skunk clowns are a lot less bred by hobbyists than percula and occelaris and maybe maroons, would be cool if @LordJoshaeus even manages to create a new variation

probably true but ... well... I am tired of clowns and all the variants. glad there are people that breed fish though tip of the ole cap to all of them. better than pulling from the reef

 

[LordJoshaeus]

I zip tied the PVC pipes together, then ran to wally world and picked up some suction cup soap dishes to suspend some of the PVC near the top. I also picked up some heaters for the future rotifer cultures...I am planning to use S strain rotifers, which if I recall correctly like it warm.

 

[Decamicron Labs Verified Sponsor]

Awesome! Following along. I'd actually suggest getting a pair and getting them to spawn before buying rotifers. You may be waiting for months for them to spawn, but once they start, it will usually be regular. Rotifers need to be maintained and often suffer crashes.

 

[LordJoshaeus]

Awesome! Following along. I'd actually suggest getting a pair and getting them to spawn before buying rotifers. You may be waiting for months for them to spawn, but once they start, it will usually be regular. Rotifers need to be maintained and often suffer crashes.

Thank you so much! I was going to use the culture kit sold by reef nutrition, as well as their RG Complete. Would 1.5 gallons be a large enough daily water change/harvest per the roughly 14 liter culture?

 

[Decamicron Labs Verified Sponsor]

Thank you so much! I was going to use the culture kit sold by reef nutrition, as well as their RG Complete. Would 1.5 gallons be a large enough daily water change/harvest per the roughly 14 liter culture?

Personally, it really depends upon how heavy you're feeding. I think Reef Nutrition/Reed has pretty good starter instructions though.

Keep in mind, it will take months before your fish start spawning. Even if you purchase a previously spawning pair, it could take a while as well.

 

[LordJoshaeus]

Personally, it really depends upon how heavy you're feeding. I think Reef Nutrition/Reed has pretty good starter instructions though.

Keep in mind, it will take months before your fish start spawning. Even if you purchase a previously spawning pair, it could take a while as well.

Fair.

 

[Decamicron Labs Verified Sponsor]

Not saying its not a fun and rewarding experience! Just trying to save you a lot of work beforehand. Keep us updated