Rays on a budget- My (somewhat long) story w/pics
- Thread starter Clearwater guy
- Start date
On a side-note, my pair of Blue and Gold Macaws seem to have recognized the season, and are beginning their mating and nesting behavior. They are not yet proven, however they are at the age where they should be ready. I have had 2 clutches of infertile eggs from them (Common for birds just reaching maturity), and I'm hoping that they get it right this year. In fact I'm hopin' like a last-dollar Lotto player...
Consecutive clutches of babies would do a LOT for my business...And conveneintly, I actually am finally in a position to hand-feed them 24/7 like they will initially need.
These 2 were originally bought as a hobby/side money plan, but now I have rolled them in as an asset of Clearwater Systems...hoping that they do what they're supposed to.
If there is such a thing as a fertile egg dance, someone please fill me in so I can get started with it!
Consecutive clutches of babies would do a LOT for my business...And conveneintly, I actually am finally in a position to hand-feed them 24/7 like they will initially need.
These 2 were originally bought as a hobby/side money plan, but now I have rolled them in as an asset of Clearwater Systems...hoping that they do what they're supposed to.
If there is such a thing as a fertile egg dance, someone please fill me in so I can get started with it!
you could try freshwater clams, theyre suppose to be real easy to breed and keep your tanks crystal clear, i was talking to a guy on here a while back about them, he had regular clam shaped ones and then ones that looked kinda like a tiger sharks tooth. he was selling them. you could try those to help with filtration, and im pretty sure you could breed them in the same tank as your prawns if you wanted to do both.
Awesome Idea! I knew that they filtered water for thier food...but for some reason I forgot that while thinking about what to add... Also, I think clams could be raised on trays that would allow me to flow water through multiple levels of them, then the Prawns maybe could stay on the bottom level...
I'll have to do moree research on all of that...plenty of time before I can make the addition...In the meantime, I need to finish another pool.
More rays coming this week... The best rays yet... And I'm not tellin what they are until I post pics!
Mike
I'll have to do moree research on all of that...plenty of time before I can make the addition...In the meantime, I need to finish another pool.
More rays coming this week... The best rays yet... And I'm not tellin what they are until I post pics!
Mike
ah comeon man the suspense is killing me, have you thought of getting some convicts to feed your tilapia? just get two or 3 pairs and breed the in seperate 10 gallons, then get a 5gallon as primary grow out and a 20 or so as a secondary grow out. that way youve got a good food source for you tilapia. one of my friends did it for his. or you could use the convicts as feeders for your rays as well, as they will breed anywhere. a guy on here breeds them in an empty 10 gallon bare bottom with clay pot and then siphons the young out. he has 2 breeding pairs and uses them as feeders,
Suspense is good... 
Tilapia eating Convicts? They are Omnivores... Are some Tilapia predators? The feed conversion rate on Tilapia Nilotica is 1.5 to one if I feed accurately, which means I only need 1.5 lbs of food to grow out 1lb of Tilapia. The feed is $.44/lb at full retail price... But the biggest thing with the Tilapia is that I am trying to document "worst case" production costs to prove some numbers in order to go bigger with them...If the numbers crunch with an inefficient Tilapia system, then they will certainly work out quite well if I am able to build a massive ultra-efficient system.
So for those reasons, all the maximizing of efficiency is being focused on the Stingray systems.
I have thought about other Cichlids like Frontosa, etc... But at the same time, I'm trying to stay focused on my original intent (which initially didn't even involve Rays...lol.). My goal was to find a way to overcome the cost of heating a massive Tilapia farm in a northern climate. I did all the calculations on production cost and feed cost and all of that, but when I provided the info to the University Product development center, he bet me a beer that I couldn't do it for that price.
So I just spent my entire life savings for the purpose of winning a beer bet... LOL.
Ok, half of this weeks Rays are delayed for a couple weeks which is absolutely fine. That will give me time to expand. I'll give a hint on this weeks...They aren't domestic bred, but they aren't wild. They traveled a long way to get where they are currently, and they will travel again to get to where I am... All true...but really doesn't help much does it.
The best of the best is what has been delayed...so you have to wait even longer now. It's ok...you can hate it...
Mike
Tilapia eating Convicts? They are Omnivores... Are some Tilapia predators? The feed conversion rate on Tilapia Nilotica is 1.5 to one if I feed accurately, which means I only need 1.5 lbs of food to grow out 1lb of Tilapia. The feed is $.44/lb at full retail price... But the biggest thing with the Tilapia is that I am trying to document "worst case" production costs to prove some numbers in order to go bigger with them...If the numbers crunch with an inefficient Tilapia system, then they will certainly work out quite well if I am able to build a massive ultra-efficient system.
So for those reasons, all the maximizing of efficiency is being focused on the Stingray systems.
I have thought about other Cichlids like Frontosa, etc... But at the same time, I'm trying to stay focused on my original intent (which initially didn't even involve Rays...lol.). My goal was to find a way to overcome the cost of heating a massive Tilapia farm in a northern climate. I did all the calculations on production cost and feed cost and all of that, but when I provided the info to the University Product development center, he bet me a beer that I couldn't do it for that price.
So I just spent my entire life savings for the purpose of winning a beer bet... LOL.
Ok, half of this weeks Rays are delayed for a couple weeks which is absolutely fine. That will give me time to expand. I'll give a hint on this weeks...They aren't domestic bred, but they aren't wild. They traveled a long way to get where they are currently, and they will travel again to get to where I am... All true...but really doesn't help much does it.
The best of the best is what has been delayed...so you have to wait even longer now. It's ok...you can hate it...
Mike
ah gotcha, well being omnivores does mean they will eat some meat, herbivorous is when they eat solely plant matter. i just figured itd give ya some variety and at the low cost of breeding convicts thought it may be worth it. just a thought, still cant wait to see new pics, are the new rays BD's?
You are an inspiration..man. Hope you have pups soon to help you with the cost. Currently I am making an 8'X6'X28" indoor pond to house my ray (as the hobby). I 've never thought that you can breeding ray for profit especially with low end operation (but very cost effective like yours). Best luck....
tscharf;4067401; said:
In my best "president of the united states" voice-
I can neither confirm or deny this....Some may be lesser, but some may be greater.
Oh dang you hate this...lol. I probably can't keep it to myself for 2 weeks though.
Mike
