Just wanted to throw this out there and tell about an interesting surprise I just discovered.
I have a 125g tank set up which I cycled using the live cycle method complimented with a starting culture from my friends 75 gallon filter. I had 6 baby Buenos Aires tetras that were my cycle fish. The cycle completed without a hitch in a little less than two weeks using primarly a gigantic sponge filter, like the ones the fish shops use for all of their tanks. Its huge, 16 inches tall and has a diamater of 8 inches. I have a 500 gph bulkhead pushing it. The tank has a great deal of live plants now and my water is spot on perfect.
Moving on. So we now have a tank with the original 6 Buenos Aires tetras, 2 large Green Cory cats, a single 4" Pleco, 6 algea eaters, 6 Cardinal tetras, 3 Nerite snails, 6 Golden snails, untold numbers of little pointy snails(hitch hikers), 2 dwarf african frogs (the kids wanted them), 3 Danios, and 2 Angel fish.
The Angel fish are thus far the center pieces of my tank. Particularly one that, although is farm raised, has the most exceptional colors. This fish could pass for a wild caught specimen. And with that, I intended on breeding this fish. The other angel is an albino, nothing special. My plans from the start was to see if I could breed these Angel fish. I started feeding them top quality frozen foods for several months in addition to the usual dried bloodworms and tubefex worms. They have grown very quickly. As well as all the other fish too.
As luck would have it, my two Angels did indeed happen to pair up. Although they never started this behaviour until after the Buenos Aires started breeding. I have a mass of floating Hornwort in the tank and the B.A. tetras started attempting to spawn in it. The Angels joyfully waited below and ate the falling eggs. It was soon after this event that that they started their own breeding and laying eggs. I got excited and started transplanting some of the Hornwort from the 125g tank into my sick tank to start prepairing for a nursery tank. However, the first batch of eggs was a failior. All of them turned white after 24 hours. I did some reading and discovered that sometimes two female Angels will go through the motions and act like a breeding pair, of course without fertilization. I was a little disappointed, but did not dispair. I would just go buy some more Angel fish and add to the tank. Surely a male would be amoung them. I also decided to be picky as can be about the stock of any additional Angles. I wanted them to be as nice as my prize Angel, or even nicer. As it would turn out, all the local fish shops did not have any Angels that met my quality check. In fact, months later, I still haven't found any.
5 days ago I was drinking my morning coffee and noticed my two Angels are at it again. This time I have a leaf on one of my large plants laiden with eggs. I didn't give it much though and went to work. 3 days ago the kids are telling me the eggs are moving. I didn't believe it until I saw it. Sure enough, those eggs were fertilized and have little babies wiggling in them. The two parents fiercly gaurding their corner of the tank and the eggs. I was taken back. I do have a breeding pair! I decided not to move the eggs and watch the behavior of the parents. They have turned out to be great parents. They sufferred a snail attack and learned to move the eggs. About halve the eggs were lost in than event. A mistake of dropping live bloodworms over the site of the eggs led to another huge loss. (The kid did it)
Today we have 10 little baby Angels which are trying their best to be free swimming. The mommy Angel keeps catching them and putting them back in this crevise in the driftwood which is serving as the new home. I know she won't be able to keep up with this long, and they need food. My attention went back to the hospital tank. I decided to transfer most of the surviving fry to it to grow out. The tank has been mostly unattended for a few months now. I drop in a single shrimp pellet every fews days to keep the bacteria culture alive and offer some nutrition to the Hornwort growing inside. The light stays on constantly and algae is growing on the water surface on the floating plants. Not out-of-control algea, but enough to warrent a water change. I lift off the lid of the 10g and set it behind it with the light on to see. My daughter starts yelling, A fish! a fish! a fish! Theres no way I tell her. There can't be a fish in there, I didn't put any fish in there. I bend down to look, and sure enough. I have a single baby Buenos Aires tetra, about 3/4" long swimming around. I was floored. I thought about how this could happen and it hit me. Remember those tetras spawning in the Hornwort? There must have been an egg that survived and was transplanted with the Hornwort. It must a some kind of miracle it made it. I sure didn't treat the tank as if there was an occupant. Much less a fry in it. The miracle of nature.
I took the baby tetra out and put it in with its parents and proceeded to do a 75% water change. I transplanted 5 of the 10 Angle fry into the tank and watched them swimming around. I think they like not having momma keep them from exploring. I'll be keeping an eye on them and see how they do. Updates as the story unfolds.
Cheers
Wick
I have a 125g tank set up which I cycled using the live cycle method complimented with a starting culture from my friends 75 gallon filter. I had 6 baby Buenos Aires tetras that were my cycle fish. The cycle completed without a hitch in a little less than two weeks using primarly a gigantic sponge filter, like the ones the fish shops use for all of their tanks. Its huge, 16 inches tall and has a diamater of 8 inches. I have a 500 gph bulkhead pushing it. The tank has a great deal of live plants now and my water is spot on perfect.
Moving on. So we now have a tank with the original 6 Buenos Aires tetras, 2 large Green Cory cats, a single 4" Pleco, 6 algea eaters, 6 Cardinal tetras, 3 Nerite snails, 6 Golden snails, untold numbers of little pointy snails(hitch hikers), 2 dwarf african frogs (the kids wanted them), 3 Danios, and 2 Angel fish.
The Angel fish are thus far the center pieces of my tank. Particularly one that, although is farm raised, has the most exceptional colors. This fish could pass for a wild caught specimen. And with that, I intended on breeding this fish. The other angel is an albino, nothing special. My plans from the start was to see if I could breed these Angel fish. I started feeding them top quality frozen foods for several months in addition to the usual dried bloodworms and tubefex worms. They have grown very quickly. As well as all the other fish too.
As luck would have it, my two Angels did indeed happen to pair up. Although they never started this behaviour until after the Buenos Aires started breeding. I have a mass of floating Hornwort in the tank and the B.A. tetras started attempting to spawn in it. The Angels joyfully waited below and ate the falling eggs. It was soon after this event that that they started their own breeding and laying eggs. I got excited and started transplanting some of the Hornwort from the 125g tank into my sick tank to start prepairing for a nursery tank. However, the first batch of eggs was a failior. All of them turned white after 24 hours. I did some reading and discovered that sometimes two female Angels will go through the motions and act like a breeding pair, of course without fertilization. I was a little disappointed, but did not dispair. I would just go buy some more Angel fish and add to the tank. Surely a male would be amoung them. I also decided to be picky as can be about the stock of any additional Angles. I wanted them to be as nice as my prize Angel, or even nicer. As it would turn out, all the local fish shops did not have any Angels that met my quality check. In fact, months later, I still haven't found any.
5 days ago I was drinking my morning coffee and noticed my two Angels are at it again. This time I have a leaf on one of my large plants laiden with eggs. I didn't give it much though and went to work. 3 days ago the kids are telling me the eggs are moving. I didn't believe it until I saw it. Sure enough, those eggs were fertilized and have little babies wiggling in them. The two parents fiercly gaurding their corner of the tank and the eggs. I was taken back. I do have a breeding pair! I decided not to move the eggs and watch the behavior of the parents. They have turned out to be great parents. They sufferred a snail attack and learned to move the eggs. About halve the eggs were lost in than event. A mistake of dropping live bloodworms over the site of the eggs led to another huge loss. (The kid did it)
Today we have 10 little baby Angels which are trying their best to be free swimming. The mommy Angel keeps catching them and putting them back in this crevise in the driftwood which is serving as the new home. I know she won't be able to keep up with this long, and they need food. My attention went back to the hospital tank. I decided to transfer most of the surviving fry to it to grow out. The tank has been mostly unattended for a few months now. I drop in a single shrimp pellet every fews days to keep the bacteria culture alive and offer some nutrition to the Hornwort growing inside. The light stays on constantly and algae is growing on the water surface on the floating plants. Not out-of-control algea, but enough to warrent a water change. I lift off the lid of the 10g and set it behind it with the light on to see. My daughter starts yelling, A fish! a fish! a fish! Theres no way I tell her. There can't be a fish in there, I didn't put any fish in there. I bend down to look, and sure enough. I have a single baby Buenos Aires tetra, about 3/4" long swimming around. I was floored. I thought about how this could happen and it hit me. Remember those tetras spawning in the Hornwort? There must have been an egg that survived and was transplanted with the Hornwort. It must a some kind of miracle it made it. I sure didn't treat the tank as if there was an occupant. Much less a fry in it. The miracle of nature.
I took the baby tetra out and put it in with its parents and proceeded to do a 75% water change. I transplanted 5 of the 10 Angle fry into the tank and watched them swimming around. I think they like not having momma keep them from exploring. I'll be keeping an eye on them and see how they do. Updates as the story unfolds.
Cheers
Wick
