ALL ABOUT BREEDING FEEDERS

[hybridtheoryd16]

Nice write up. Provides some good insight. I had problems with my male and female convicts getting along. Turns out that dithers were needed to lower the level of harrassment.

Thanks alot

What did you end up using as dithers just incase I run into this problem myself?

I would imagine some danio's, neon's, maybe guppies might work.

The only time I have noticed any aggression with my parent fish is when I was breeding them in a 10g. It never amounted to anything but some tattered fins and i switched my parent tanks to 20g's and I haven't had a problem in a year. (knock on wood)

 

[Pharaoh]

Thanks alot

What did you end up using as dithers just incase I run into this problem myself?

I would imagine some danio's, neon's, maybe guppies might work.

The only time I have noticed any aggression with my parent fish is when I was breeding them in a 10g. It never amounted to anything but some tattered fins and i switched my parent tanks to 20g's and I haven't had a problem in a year. (knock on wood)

Just used some random hybrid growout cichlids. The feeders and the hybrids were growing out for Mike D's turtles to eat.

 

[hybridtheoryd16]

Ok thanks

 

[hybridtheoryd16]

figured I would give this one bump before i let it die out.

Hope this helps

 

[gzeiger]

Are you sure you got Gambusia to breed with Poecillia? Both can store sperm/remain pregnant for some months after contact with their own species. This seems like an odd crossbreed.

 

[hybridtheoryd16]

Are you sure you got Gambusia to breed with Poecillia? Both can store sperm/remain pregnant for some months after contact with their own species. This seems like an odd crossbreed.

Not really 100% sure
Because there was no genectic testing done on any of the fish. But they are both known to be prolific breeders and having them mixed together in the same tank will usually end up in a cross or 2 with in the first 2 years. Or so my research suggest .

I noticed a fancy male chasing the gambusia for what seemed to be days on end. It could have been more than 1 gambusia female as they are hard to tell apart but it was definetly the same fancy male as it was the only sun rise guppy i had.

So maybe or maybe not.

 

[Darth Scohin]

Great work I say Stick this Baby

 

[hybridtheoryd16]

Thanks alot for the sticky notation.

I think it would help alot of people out as i see breeding feeder threads all the time.

But i don't know how you go about getting something stickied?

 

[Wajrhall]

I've been kicking this Idea around for a while. I like the idea of the convicts just for the quantity of feeders that will be produced in a short time, but I hesitate because they are spiny finned and I thought that guppies would be the better choice. Not to mention cichlids are more resiliant at surviving and finding hiding spots once in the predator tank. Any thoughts on the fin issue? Great thread btw.

 

[hybridtheoryd16]

I thought alot about the spiny fins of cichlids as feeders.

What made me feel fine about it is what my fish would naturally consume in the wild.

Which for my fish are many many fish that have the same body layout.

And yes the convicts are survival experts. And that for me is even better. Because it keeps the fish very active as the hunt for them. Sort of mimicking what would happen in the wild. Except in a tank.

I have seen them last for up to a month before. But sooner or later they will be food. I think it is great. There is always food available to my preds and with living food you do not have to worry about decay and water quality problems.

But if the live bearers grew as fast as convicts and the parents cared for the fry there would be no question about which one I would breed for food.