makeing the best HRP possible
- Thread starter jaws19
- Start date
They also come to the conclusion that you have no HRP based on your pics. Your pics look nothing like my HRP.
what to you mean? my i have 100% HRPs just because they don't look like yours doesn't mean there not hrps. there are different types of hrps.
Can you post your HRP pics? if the ones you displayed are your HRP's I would question your source.
Hi Jaws,
Selective breeding is a great part of the hobby. i started way back when with livebearers, then angelfish, and now I breed for color on FM's.
Some things you will need to get started are some extra tanks and filters. many hobbyists use sponge filters in their fry tanks and growout tanks. I am more of a fan of HOB powerfilters as they can handle higher bio-loads and prevent any damage caused by elevated ammonia spikes to young fish.(Fin erosion, gill deformities, etc)
I like a 55g for the adult breeding tank, then another 55g for semi-adult juveniles(6month olds). I like 15g for fry and keep 3 at a time. Spawns come quickly and you have to pick and choose when to keep a spawn and when a spawn is food.
The fry tanks should be kept on a shelf type rack close together so that temp and water params stay relatively the same.(meaning water changes will be done at same time 1,2,3 and that the ambient temp of tanks will be same) Use a power filter on the tanks to increase bio-load capability.
Fry tanks should be kept with live floating plants like Hornwort for cover and refuge. If 3 15g tanks are setting side by side but turned sideways so the side glass is your viewing pane, than a standard 48" lamp across the top will light all 3 tanks. Each tank should receive a daily 5g water change for maximum water quality and growth rates.
After you set up the breeding tank and get fry, strip them with a siphon hose to a bucket and transfer the fry to the fry tanks. 1/3 fry in each tank to start. As the fry mature and grow colors will become visible. Fish to color up first will be the strongest and will also become the largest.(in most cases observed) Separate these colorful fry to one of the 3 15g and leave the others in the other 2 tanks.
Be patient and continue to watch the fish develop. You may notice a fish with drab colors has some really great finnage forming. Save any fish like this also. You will want these desirable traits later. Color and form are equally important.
Once these fish(Good form and color ones only) are 1.5"-2" in length they are ready to be transferred to the 55g growout system. Continue to watch them grow and select the top 6 fish with the best colors and fins. Try for 3 males/females=6 fish.
These are your first generation. Your adult parents(original fish) will have spawned again. Do the same with the new fry and discard the older fry that was not your top 6 fish. This second batch of fry is still 1st generation fish. They should be referred to as 1st gen "A" and 1st gen "B". These fish are considered cousins.(separate brood hatches)
The fish in each separate gen are considered siblings.(same brood hatch) You are going to want to keep these 2 generations separate.
Your new goal is to take the single best specimen Male of "A" and breed it to the single best Female of "B". This means "kissing cousins". Ha! Just joking!LOL This practice of breeding cousins and not siblings helps dramatically with inbreeding issues and also allows set-up the first step in "fixing" a trait to breed true later.
Now, it has probably a year later and you are ready to work with Generation 2. This will be the offspring of the spawned cousins. You will again growout these fry and select the top best 6 fish.(6 is a good number to try to get pairs from later and helps with space and diffusing aggression.) Once you get these 2nd gen fry to a breeding age it is time to select the best fish(Usually a male) and breed it back to the original female. This is the lock to fix the trait. The color and finnage you seek will breed true from the 2nd gen fry and the original female. This will be your most important 3rd generation.
Once you reach the 3rd generation you can get rid of the other fish and begin working with line breeding this generation now. Your fish will continue to have more enriched colors spawn after spawn if you continue to breed only the best picks to one another.
The fish you seek are about 3.5 years away but very do able. With more tanks and time you can do this faster. I am being more realistic in the time frame for the average hobbyist.
HTH, Rich
Selective breeding is a great part of the hobby. i started way back when with livebearers, then angelfish, and now I breed for color on FM's.
Some things you will need to get started are some extra tanks and filters. many hobbyists use sponge filters in their fry tanks and growout tanks. I am more of a fan of HOB powerfilters as they can handle higher bio-loads and prevent any damage caused by elevated ammonia spikes to young fish.(Fin erosion, gill deformities, etc)
I like a 55g for the adult breeding tank, then another 55g for semi-adult juveniles(6month olds). I like 15g for fry and keep 3 at a time. Spawns come quickly and you have to pick and choose when to keep a spawn and when a spawn is food.
The fry tanks should be kept on a shelf type rack close together so that temp and water params stay relatively the same.(meaning water changes will be done at same time 1,2,3 and that the ambient temp of tanks will be same) Use a power filter on the tanks to increase bio-load capability.
Fry tanks should be kept with live floating plants like Hornwort for cover and refuge. If 3 15g tanks are setting side by side but turned sideways so the side glass is your viewing pane, than a standard 48" lamp across the top will light all 3 tanks. Each tank should receive a daily 5g water change for maximum water quality and growth rates.
After you set up the breeding tank and get fry, strip them with a siphon hose to a bucket and transfer the fry to the fry tanks. 1/3 fry in each tank to start. As the fry mature and grow colors will become visible. Fish to color up first will be the strongest and will also become the largest.(in most cases observed) Separate these colorful fry to one of the 3 15g and leave the others in the other 2 tanks.
Be patient and continue to watch the fish develop. You may notice a fish with drab colors has some really great finnage forming. Save any fish like this also. You will want these desirable traits later. Color and form are equally important.
Once these fish(Good form and color ones only) are 1.5"-2" in length they are ready to be transferred to the 55g growout system. Continue to watch them grow and select the top 6 fish with the best colors and fins. Try for 3 males/females=6 fish.
These are your first generation. Your adult parents(original fish) will have spawned again. Do the same with the new fry and discard the older fry that was not your top 6 fish. This second batch of fry is still 1st generation fish. They should be referred to as 1st gen "A" and 1st gen "B". These fish are considered cousins.(separate brood hatches)
The fish in each separate gen are considered siblings.(same brood hatch) You are going to want to keep these 2 generations separate.
Your new goal is to take the single best specimen Male of "A" and breed it to the single best Female of "B". This means "kissing cousins". Ha! Just joking!LOL This practice of breeding cousins and not siblings helps dramatically with inbreeding issues and also allows set-up the first step in "fixing" a trait to breed true later.
Now, it has probably a year later and you are ready to work with Generation 2. This will be the offspring of the spawned cousins. You will again growout these fry and select the top best 6 fish.(6 is a good number to try to get pairs from later and helps with space and diffusing aggression.) Once you get these 2nd gen fry to a breeding age it is time to select the best fish(Usually a male) and breed it back to the original female. This is the lock to fix the trait. The color and finnage you seek will breed true from the 2nd gen fry and the original female. This will be your most important 3rd generation.
Once you reach the 3rd generation you can get rid of the other fish and begin working with line breeding this generation now. Your fish will continue to have more enriched colors spawn after spawn if you continue to breed only the best picks to one another.
The fish you seek are about 3.5 years away but very do able. With more tanks and time you can do this faster. I am being more realistic in the time frame for the average hobbyist.
HTH, Rich
thank you Rich... i went out and bought 2 10 gallons today.. this is before i read your post rich. i will go back out later and buy a 20 gallon. my original pair is showing breeding behavior and thous the reason i bought more tanks. im culling all fry that i can find
So you know, culling fry would be the removal for destruction of fry.(However some culls are used as food and sale/trades)
Stripping fry is a term used to harvest fry to a growout tank.
Just mentioning it to keep the term straight and avoid any confusion in later posts.
I have been seriously considering some Cryptoheros nanoluteus just to see how yellow they can get. I am still obsessing with ny albino FM fixation. LOL( I need help)
Stripping fry is a term used to harvest fry to a growout tank.
Just mentioning it to keep the term straight and avoid any confusion in later posts.
I have been seriously considering some Cryptoheros nanoluteus just to see how yellow they can get. I am still obsessing with ny albino FM fixation. LOL( I need help)
