Baby Rotkeil Serverum Diary. Hatched 4/3/10

[Balloons&killies]

man i love sevs

i had t sell mine
but it was for the good since i had a small tank:'(

 

[star4]

Comming to the nerve wracking bit, on batch 1 at this stage I started loosing babies at an alarming rate hence only 30 left, keeping a very close check this time, although thankfully only 14 havnt made it so far, still expecting to loose a few more its only natural, just hoping I dont have the same disaster as last time.

 

[star4]

Tried taking a picture of batch 1, just comes out blurry blobs, not much to see and photobucket wont re-size anyway , but they seem to be comming along nicely.

Batch 2 doing great, sadly one non swimmer this morning I am pretty sure it was the same one that managed to get itself under the filter last night (silly fish!) the others are doing ok, driving me mad by investigating the airline when I am cleaning the tank and going for a ride up it into the water tub takes me just as long to do a water change on the fry tank as it does on the big tanks with having to catch them and put them back again, they joys of rearing fish.

 

[star4]

Hit a disaster yet again, found 30 babies under the filter, somehow the filter tilted back slightly and they got underneath, 5 are just about swimming dont hold out much hope for them but got to give them a chance. With everything else going on I am thinking about packing it all in

 

[chrisbassist]

Don't give in ! You're doing so well!

 

[kaivalagi]

Don't give in ! You're doing so well!

+1

Please don't give it all up, you've done such a grand job so far...little set backs are inevitable.

I guess all of us wanting some Rotkeil juvies from you are putting undue pressure on you, please don't feel that we matter at all right now!

 

[minxfishy]

Dont give up, your doing a great job, these things happen, I know how you feel after the last few weeks with my lot, so hang in there

 

[star4]

Thanks for your support everyone, just gut wrenching seeing the little ones dying off. I think maybe it could be I dont use chemicals like methylene blue or the many others that seem to be available. I have been googling allsorts of information , from what I have read Rotkeil fry are difficult to raise and I really dont like the idea of these "fast grow" foods and high protien foods just to make them survive. I guess its just must be natures way, survival of the fittest, well thats what I am hoping anyway. I am trying to convince myself I am doing it the right way to end up with a few strong, healthy young fish rather than just a lot of fish. The remaining 30 from the first batch all seem to be doing really really well, 2 of the largest ones are getting really fat tummies as they are always waiting for food and they all look like they are on a bit of a growing spurt!

 

[chrisbassist]

Glad to hear it.

If every fry survived in the wild then there would be no spacve left in the water...

 

[kaivalagi]

If every fry survived in the wild then there would be no spacve left in the water...

Nicely put lol

I for one Star would be much happier with fry that have grown well naturally than grown quickly with chemicals, I think you're doing the right thing! Who knows what problems the fish would have in later life from all the chemicals to speed up growth anyway....I bet no research has been done on the after affects of such treatments because it's all about getting the fish ready for market and not what happens next.

 

[star4]

Interesting artical, made me more confident I am doing the right thing. Its the last section on potential pitfalls for fast growing fry.

http/www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquarium/growth.php

It has made me think, last year I bought 10 GBR off a local breeder, all the fish seemed healthy upon purchase, I did loose 3 to a plec (different story) but out of the 10 I have just 1 left, the breeder told me they were 6-8 weeks old, they had full colours and were almost full size, now I have bred some fish myself I realise at 6-8 weeks they shouldnt have looked like they did. I have been so upset loosing the GBR wondering why and blaming myself thinking I was doing something wrong when maybe it was not my fault at all?

 

[chrisbassist]

From my limited time on the forum, there aren't manynpeople who would do a better job. Give yourself some credit!

You got them to breed to start with. That's one success.
The hatched, another success
you made it past a few weeks with lots surviving. Another success.

Give yourself some credit and have some confidence.

 

[star4]

Good news, hopefully the mass die off has stopped all batch 2 are swimming about happily this morning and feeding well. The first batch are growing slowly the majority of them look lovely and have a really nice shape a couple seem to have stretched a little and are still longer than they are tall, worrying now I moved them to a bigger tank too quick going from 2ft to 4ft, will move batch 2 from the 2ft to a 30" then 4ft I think when they are ready to be moved. Oh the decisions of being mum lol



Batch 3 is underway

 

[kaivalagi]

Batch 3 is underway

Frisky sevs aren't they....Mum, you need to get them some contraception

 

[chrisbassist]

I wonder how the pill would affect water chemistry once dissolved... Might stop em.....


Congrats on getting yourself even more hard work.