WAL breeding??? info please????

[ermgravy]

hey guys, i got another wal today, mainly as it was free cos the shop couldn't sell it....

so i get it home and it hasn't occurred to me yet that they are could be m + f. I was more thinking i wonder how bad the aggro is, sop i put it with mine..... now i took it out after 10 min... but before i did.. interesting stuff:

they seemed to do the length of each other, having a good sniff, then they rolled into a knot... before calmly taking up residency in a corner together... then five min later the newbie went off to explore the tank and i divided it.


So questions:

Is this breeding behavior?

Any good sources of info on this subject?

Any way to sex them?

 

[beblondie]

Any way to sex them?
nope not without blood tests
Is this breeding behavior?
not necessarliy any signs of a burrow?
Any good sources of info on this subject?
heres odballs account of SAL mating which is about the same for all except AUL
I spawned L. paradoxus back in the 70s. I used a 10ft diameter x 24" kid pool to spawn them in my basement. The substrate was sterilized lake-bottom mud and fresh plant leaf litter. I "combed" the sticky mud to form 2 cupped pits in the pool. Each cup became occupied by each single LF. Once they decided it was time to breed, they both occupied the male's cup. To spark a spawn, I allowed the water level to drop to the point that the rims of the cup edges protruded the surface (about 3 months). I also brought the temp slowly to 84F. Once the males pectorals developed branchi, I "rained" rainwater back into the pool (heated/aerated RO 450gal storage tank). Spawning started that evening, once the temp hit 81F, and continued through the next morning. Although I know I lost some to the mud, I had a clutch count of 330 eggs. I didn't allow the parents to remain in the pool even though I knew the male would guard the clutch (he would have also killed the female). I also took the eggs out of the pool and incubated them in egg tumblers. I can't remember how long it took for them to hatch (maybe a week to 10 days). The yolks were prominent on the hatchlings. Once the yolks were spent, I fed them on a diet of newly hatched Brine Shrimp and blendered bloodworms, earthworms, and beef heart (there was no supply of all the foods available today). Growth was quick. I lost a few to cannibalism when I mixed them into one grow out tank. I separated 300 fry (no easy feat) into sectioned 10s, 20s, floating hatchers, nets, betta tanks, jars in heated plant tanks, tupperware, etc. (you get the idea...total mayhem). At 4 months old and 2 3/4" long, I brought the parents and fry to the North Jersey Aq Soc show/auction. I sold the young for $10/ea and all were sold out within a month. I had 35mm pics of the entire spawning regimen but they (along with all of my possessions back then) was stolen in a break in of the storage unit I was renting during my first Navy deployment.
Understand, there was no method available back then. I just tried to match up an environment from what little info I was able to find in the local and college libraries (pre-internet). There may be folks out there that have spawned this species in less elaborate setups. I haven't taken the time to search since I've "been there, done that" already.

 

[ermgravy]

Any way to sex them?
nope not without blood tests
Is this breeding behavior?
not necessarliy any signs of a burrow?
Any good sources of info on this subject?
heres odballs account of SAL mating which is about the same for all except AUL
I spawned L. paradoxus back in the 70s. I used a 10ft diameter x 24" kid pool to spawn them in my basement. The substrate was sterilized lake-bottom mud and fresh plant leaf litter. I "combed" the sticky mud to form 2 cupped pits in the pool. Each cup became occupied by each single LF. Once they decided it was time to breed, they both occupied the male's cup. To spark a spawn, I allowed the water level to drop to the point that the rims of the cup edges protruded the surface (about 3 months). I also brought the temp slowly to 84F. Once the males pectorals developed branchi, I "rained" rainwater back into the pool (heated/aerated RO 450gal storage tank). Spawning started that evening, once the temp hit 81F, and continued through the next morning. Although I know I lost some to the mud, I had a clutch count of 330 eggs. I didn't allow the parents to remain in the pool even though I knew the male would guard the clutch (he would have also killed the female). I also took the eggs out of the pool and incubated them in egg tumblers. I can't remember how long it took for them to hatch (maybe a week to 10 days). The yolks were prominent on the hatchlings. Once the yolks were spent, I fed them on a diet of newly hatched Brine Shrimp and blendered bloodworms, earthworms, and beef heart (there was no supply of all the foods available today). Growth was quick. I lost a few to cannibalism when I mixed them into one grow out tank. I separated 300 fry (no easy feat) into sectioned 10s, 20s, floating hatchers, nets, betta tanks, jars in heated plant tanks, tupperware, etc. (you get the idea...total mayhem). At 4 months old and 2 3/4" long, I brought the parents and fry to the North Jersey Aq Soc show/auction. I sold the young for $10/ea and all were sold out within a month. I had 35mm pics of the entire spawning regimen but they (along with all of my possessions back then) was stolen in a break in of the storage unit I was renting during my first Navy deployment.
Understand, there was no method available back then. I just tried to match up an environment from what little info I was able to find in the local and college libraries (pre-internet). There may be folks out there that have spawned this species in less elaborate setups. I haven't taken the time to search since I've "been there, done that" already.

Thanks Anne! I've got that account memorized i have read it so many times. There currently is no substrate in either tank.
As i have no way to be sure on sex, im not sure i will proceed any further, if space allows in the future i may try for a divided setup with substrate and see if that sparks further activity but as for now, no space and lots to think about.

 

[fwlion]

Any way to sex them?
nope not without blood tests
Is this breeding behavior?
not necessarliy any signs of a burrow?
Any good sources of info on this subject?
heres odballs account of SAL mating which is about the same for all except AUL
I spawned L. paradoxus back in the 70s. I used a 10ft diameter x 24" kid pool to spawn them in my basement. The substrate was sterilized lake-bottom mud and fresh plant leaf litter. I "combed" the sticky mud to form 2 cupped pits in the pool. Each cup became occupied by each single LF. Once they decided it was time to breed, they both occupied the male's cup. To spark a spawn, I allowed the water level to drop to the point that the rims of the cup edges protruded the surface (about 3 months). I also brought the temp slowly to 84F. Once the males pectorals developed branchi, I "rained" rainwater back into the pool (heated/aerated RO 450gal storage tank). Spawning started that evening, once the temp hit 81F, and continued through the next morning. Although I know I lost some to the mud, I had a clutch count of 330 eggs. I didn't allow the parents to remain in the pool even though I knew the male would guard the clutch (he would have also killed the female). I also took the eggs out of the pool and incubated them in egg tumblers. I can't remember how long it took for them to hatch (maybe a week to 10 days). The yolks were prominent on the hatchlings. Once the yolks were spent, I fed them on a diet of newly hatched Brine Shrimp and blendered bloodworms, earthworms, and beef heart (there was no supply of all the foods available today). Growth was quick. I lost a few to cannibalism when I mixed them into one grow out tank. I separated 300 fry (no easy feat) into sectioned 10s, 20s, floating hatchers, nets, betta tanks, jars in heated plant tanks, tupperware, etc. (you get the idea...total mayhem). At 4 months old and 2 3/4" long, I brought the parents and fry to the North Jersey Aq Soc show/auction. I sold the young for $10/ea and all were sold out within a month. I had 35mm pics of the entire spawning regimen but they (along with all of my possessions back then) was stolen in a break in of the storage unit I was renting during my first Navy deployment.
Understand, there was no method available back then. I just tried to match up an environment from what little info I was able to find in the local and college libraries (pre-internet). There may be folks out there that have spawned this species in less elaborate setups. I haven't taken the time to search since I've "been there, done that" already.

^^^^^^^^^ THAT NEEDS TO BE A STICKY