feeder fish help please

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
L

littlevic34

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 28, 2008
236
0
0
somewhere
hey guys
im looking to breed my own feedr fish for my aro royal ck and pbass
just wondering what i should try to breed
what size tank and filtration and substrate
just general info would be great im new to the whole breeding game
thanks
vic
 
I started a convict breeding program for feeders a few months ago. I figured i would use about 5-8 feeders a day, so thats about 200+ feeders a month. A good batch of fry will have around that many in it. I also wanted to grow the fry to a 1-2'' size before i used them. And thru research I found that it would take about 3 months to reach the 2'' mark and maybe a little longer. So then I set my design by these findings. I started with 2 10g tanks for the parents to have the fry in and i was planning to leave the fry with them so they would grow faster for the first 3-4 weeks. Then i have a 20g tank to move the young fry to when the parents laid the next set of eggs. And then a 29g tank for the next step up and then a 55g for the last step. I was going to cycle the fish thru the tanks. Like start in the 10 then go to the 20 and then the 29 and then finally the 55. This way by the time they made it to the 55 they would be at least 3 months old and a good feeder size. I started this plan and got a few batches of fry and -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Then i found that a local fish bait store sells live minnows for fish bait for 1.35 a dozen or 14.00 for a pound of minnows. i researched what a pound of minnows was and found out it is 28-30 dozen 2-3'' minnows. All for 14bucks. And that makes the feeder cost about 4 cents a piece. And you can't raise a convict fry for 3 months for 4 cents. So I scratched that idea and now have a minnow fish rack. I house 30dozen minnows in the 55g for one week to quarantine them. Then I feed away. When they run low i move all remaining minnows to the 29 and go get another batch and throw them in the 55g and quarantine again. And while they are being quarantined I feed out of the 29. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I would suggest you did the same but its up to you. If you can raise a convict up to 2-3'' for less than a nickle let me know how.
 
I breed rosy red and fat head minnows as well as guppies, and I do believe the fun of breeding and raising the fry is worth the cost. Just my $0.02, but, I agree, it's cheaper to buy farm-raised, but is safer to do yourself so that you do not introduce disease into the tank. A quarantine tanks certainly helps.
 
if u have a 20g or so a few livebearers would prduce more than enough fry.
 
When purchasing guppies for a 10 gal. tank, get about 3 male guppies and about 9 females. You want a ratio of approx. 1:3 males to females. The males chase the females and stress them out since they are constantly spawning. Breeding guppies also shortens their lifespan, so separate males form females when you don't want them to breed. The females will retain sperm for about six months, so you will still end up with fry, but it helps reduce stress. I purchase my fancy guppy breeders from the "assorted guppies" tanks at my LFS for about $4.00 a pair. Put them in a tank with lots of "bushy" plastic plants as cover for fry and you're good to go. Patience is a virtue.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom