Incredible project. Thanks for sharing.
Are you an American teaching in Taiwan? Or are you native to Taiwan?
Are you an American teaching in Taiwan? Or are you native to Taiwan?
Guppy Line Breeding Project Log
- Thread starter cockroach
- Start date
The tubs have been doing well this summer. Breeding as can be expected. At the start of summer I had very few plants in and as a result, very few fry. I added water hyacinth and the babies duid really well. Later i dropped some guppy grass in a few ponds and it did well.
I had to add shade cloth as the Taiwanese sun was beating down relentlessly. That too helped.
To make water additions easier, i took an old garden hose that was hardening. Made a few holes that matched up to the tubs then added air valves. Now to change water or top up i simply open a faucet and all tubs get freshwater. I leave it on about 10-15 mins, once or twice a week and that has been enough since the rain also helps "change" water.
The full tubs overflow onto the ground and the water flows out of drains. no mess no fuss.
The hyancinth has been a hit and miss. Some tubs had it growing large, others never really took off.
The hillbilly water change system. It ain't pretty but it works and cost 0$ as I had everything I needed.
The blooms are so nice. 2 tubs regularly have blooms.
I had to add shade cloth as the Taiwanese sun was beating down relentlessly. That too helped.
To make water additions easier, i took an old garden hose that was hardening. Made a few holes that matched up to the tubs then added air valves. Now to change water or top up i simply open a faucet and all tubs get freshwater. I leave it on about 10-15 mins, once or twice a week and that has been enough since the rain also helps "change" water.
The full tubs overflow onto the ground and the water flows out of drains. no mess no fuss.
The hyancinth has been a hit and miss. Some tubs had it growing large, others never really took off.
The hillbilly water change system. It ain't pretty but it works and cost 0$ as I had everything I needed.
The blooms are so nice. 2 tubs regularly have blooms.
I am about to set up the rack. I made some changes to it before rebuilding it.
I painted the whole stand black to match the rest in the fishroom.
I also put brand new, 1" wide foam tape around every surface that will touch a tank. The last foam that came with the tank was really crappy and caused some damage. It now fits snug into each corner.
Painted black against a black wall. To just looks neater.
I also bought 100m (300') of black airline tubing so it matches more.
The exciting part is I have space to add 2 more strains. Still shopping around to see what I want.
I painted the whole stand black to match the rest in the fishroom.
I also put brand new, 1" wide foam tape around every surface that will touch a tank. The last foam that came with the tank was really crappy and caused some damage. It now fits snug into each corner.
Painted black against a black wall. To just looks neater.
I also bought 100m (300') of black airline tubing so it matches more.
The exciting part is I have space to add 2 more strains. Still shopping around to see what I want.
I have sadly not got further with this setup. BUt I have enrolled the help of an extra set of hands and hope to have it done by the end of the month(ish).
The cleaner doing his duty dutifully.
This guy kicked it after about 3 years. But passed on some genes that will keep going.
The cleaner doing his duty dutifully.
This guy kicked it after about 3 years. But passed on some genes that will keep going.
Supercool! Very nice project, progress and success!
One suggestion I can think of (probably you are implementing something equivalent) is to separate the growing fry by gender as soon as they can be recognized, which is relatively early relative to getting to full maturity.
In my experience, both males and females develop much better (stronger, healthier, and attaining larger final size) if separated, such that no energy is spent in courting (males) and on having babies (female) at an early age. Males develop better tails and overall coloration, females are stronger and larger when grow-out is separated by gender.
Of course this requires additional work (constantly because they don't all develop at the same rate), and more aquarium space. But in my personal experience, it is well worth the effort.
One suggestion I can think of (probably you are implementing something equivalent) is to separate the growing fry by gender as soon as they can be recognized, which is relatively early relative to getting to full maturity.
In my experience, both males and females develop much better (stronger, healthier, and attaining larger final size) if separated, such that no energy is spent in courting (males) and on having babies (female) at an early age. Males develop better tails and overall coloration, females are stronger and larger when grow-out is separated by gender.
Of course this requires additional work (constantly because they don't all develop at the same rate), and more aquarium space. But in my personal experience, it is well worth the effort.
Now you are going to need a separate cichlid tank to get rid of all the excess fry. That's a lot of guppies!
I have a 75 gal tank to take care of that. But only for deformitites.
All unwanted fry will go to ponds around community.
