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Finding and safely catching b/n fry


Teamsherman

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Hi all,

This question is lurking in the forum somewhere but i couldnt seem to find it.

I have about 120 b/n fry in a tank at home and i can only see about 15 at any time. I was wonder what is the safest and easiest way to lure them out of hiding and into a net/catcher/whatever to separate them for selling/giving away?

Or, if i just remove all the ornaments and stuff can i just siphon them into a bucket? is this going to harm them much or at all??

Cheers, Alan.

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Bend the head of a 3-4 inch net at right angle to the handle. Put a slice of blanched zuccini in the net. Put the net on the bottom of the tank and pull it out when the fry start eating the food.

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Bend the head of a 3-4 inch net at right angle to the handle. Put a slice of blanched zuccini in the net. Put the net on the bottom of the tank and pull it out when the fry start eating the food.

David, when you say blanched, does that just mean boiled? i can never seem to get it to sink, and if i boil it too long, it just turns into mush.

Have you got any tips to keeping the zuccini on the bottom??

Cheers, Alan.

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Yeah I find either holding it onto a rock with an elastic band or attaching some of the plant weights to a piece of zucchini helps keep it down. I never blanch mine either as it seems to last longer in the water raw.

Hey, but great tip on catching them in the net. I may have to try that soon when my fry are all out and about. I just haven't got the heart to disturb the Dad from under his rock at the moment so I am just hoping that they will all make it out OK and not get eaten by the other fish in the tank.

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Hey, but great tip on catching them in the net. I may have to try that soon when my fry are all out and about. I just haven't got the heart to disturb the Dad from under his rock at the moment so I am just hoping that they will all make it out OK and not get eaten by the other fish in the tank.

they are pretty small when they leave the cave, so depending on the fish they might end up as snacks, just watch what the other fish do, cause anything over an inch could easily chomp up a baby b/n.

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Yeah that is what I am worried about as I have some large Angels in there that would love a fry feast....or rather, snack.

So I have the Dad and eggs under a rock cave. I think the eggs would be at least wrigglers by now as they have been in there over a week now. So what would be the best way to remove them all without hurting them. I thought that maybe I could just scoop up the lot in a large net and then place it all in a plastic container before lifting it out of the water. I would like to leave Dad in the tank as I don't want to lose him at all if he doesn't appreciate the transfer to a new tank. I have a small tank set up that would be OK for fry so I suppose I could move them all into there and see how they go.

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I thought that maybe I could just scoop up the lot in a large net and then place it all in a plastic container before lifting it out of the water. I would like to leave Dad in the tank as I don't want to lose him at all if he doesn't appreciate the transfer to a new tank

Miscus,

You need to leave your baby bristlenoses with one of the adults for at least a couple of weeks to enable them become innoculated with some bacteria from the adults gut. Without the bacteria in their guts they will not be able to digest food and will die seemingly for no reason.

Apparently they ingest some of the adult's poo and with it the bacteria, I'm really glad my mum just gave me tins of baby food. LOL.gif

Cheers

Mike

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Hey Mike, that's interesting wink.gif

Do you have a resource where you found that info? I'd be interested in reading more about the process and how it benefits the fry.

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of course i find the best way is to relocate them (with the daddy) as eggs or wrigglers to their own tank but when i get lazy or wait too long i usually use Bijengum's method but i tie the raw zuchinni down with tiny fishing sinkers and stick them in a cave (flowerpot, whatever)instead of a net, wait till numbers build up and then grab em. i usually do this about 3times in a day (5min work each time). i wouldn't syphon them as baby bn's react bad to any form of stress.

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Do you have a resource where you found that info? I'd be interested in reading more about the process and how it benefits the fry.

offtopic.gif

Hey Andy,

I read it on the internet so it must be true! LOL.gif

I can't remember the exact details but the info was from a highly reputable website, possibly here or The Australian Catfish and Loach forum, and was posted by a renowned breeder. I promise it wasn't 12 year-old Pete from Black Stump talking about the BN he has with 4 guppies in a 1-footer.

But your point about having experience or a reference to back up what goes into a post is taken blush.gif .

The hypothesis goes:

* The cellulose Bristlenoses ingest while rasping away on driftwood is broken down in their gut by bacteria X and turned into useful nutrients.

* Baby BNs do not have bacteria X in their gut when they hatch, therefore, they are unable to digest cellulose.

* Baby BNs ingest small amounts of adult BN poo and along with it bacteria X. *Colonies of bacteria X multiply in the babies' guts and allow them to digest cellulose and obtain nutrients from eating driftwood.

*Therefore without ingesting the bacteria the baby BNs slowly starve to death.

I haven't had a breeding pair of BNs for a couple of years so I haven't been able to test the theory personally.

Cheers

Mike

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Do you have a resource where you found that info? I'd be interested in reading more about the process and how it benefits the fry.

Found it here.

I believe both Alan and Chipimbi are well regarded and experienced fish keepers, certainly more than me on both counts wink.gif .

thumb.gif Mike

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As I am new at BN breeding I am going to take on this piece of advice and just leave the fry in the big tank with the parents and just hope that they don't all get eaten by the other fish. If they do, then next time I will move both the eggs and Dad to a tank of their own. Anyway, it will be fun trying to play spot the BN fry in a 4 foot well planted community tank.

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