:s Please Help!

[windhopper]

Ok so here is the big dilemma. I currently have 2 tanks running, a juwel rekord 800 (about 120 litre) and a 20litre fry tank. Mum has decided Im not allowed to run my 20ltr guppy fry tank any longer as she is adamant that its using tons of electricity - as if! all thats on there is a 25watt heater and an air pump sponge filter.

Anyway, unfortunately i have no way of winning this battle with mum or with dad who agrees with her. So all my fry will have to go back into the main tank. I am worried that my german blue ram cichlids will eat them all If they dont then it doesnt really matter but i have a strong feeling they will, does anyone have experiance of this? Also if they will i will need a breeder net, either floating or that will clip under the tank lid, does anyone know a good make?

Thanks,
Jorel

 

[Spishkey]

ah ha youve edited. in all honesty if you keep all your fry, in a few months you'll be over run with guppy. perhaps get a floating breeder and just save a few from every birth. keeping them in a hanging floating large breeder net will be fine for them, guppy fry grow fast and should be ok in the main tank at a few weeks old


or you can plead with your mum, perhaps offer to do chores to pay for the electricity?

 

[Truck]

i know the feeling, ive been there and got the t-shirt, rehome them and then shut it down, or try to persuade her. my mother is the same she doesnt understand that a little fry tank isnt going to hurt, even though you are learning about husbandry, and biology, your having fun and enjoying yourself, you can put on your CV that you have bred fish.

 

[windhopper]

sorry everyone, i pressed the post key before id actually finished typing it, so had to go and edit it,
sorry for the time waste

 

[Spishkey]

no probs, have edited my post now i realise what you were trying to say!

 

[windhopper]

ah ha youve edited. in all honesty if you keep all your fry, in a few months you'll be over run with guppy. perhaps get a floating breeder and just save a few from every birth. keeping them in a hanging floating large breeder net will be fine for them, guppy fry grow fast and should be ok in the main tank at a few weeks old


or you can plead with your mum, perhaps offer to do chores to pay for the electricity?

Already tried the pleading ploy Most the fry are now 3 weeks or more old that are in the fry tank except the ones that were born this week. Do you reckon the rams will still eat them?

 

[Truck]

how big are they? my rams can choke down 1cm guppy fry

 

[windhopper]

how big are they? my rams can choke down 1cm guppy fry

probably not much bigger than 1 cm, they seem to grow fairly slowly.

 

[Darkerwhite2]

Instead of pleading to keep it up permanently ask for more time for them to grow. Wait till they are big enough to join the rams. But i agree that the rams will be perfect for keeping your fry numbers down so you don't get overrun.

 

[windhopper]

Instead of pleading to keep it up permanently ask for more time for them to grow. Wait till they are big enough to join the rams. But i agree that the rams will be perfect for keeping your fry numbers down so you don't get overrun.

I spose im just being pathetic really arent i lol

 

[LellowFish]

You could always buy a breeding net from EBay, they aren't too expensive and just stick to the side of the tank with sucker cups.

 

[Truck]

Instead of pleading to keep it up permanently ask for more time for them to grow. Wait till they are big enough to join the rams. But i agree that the rams will be perfect for keeping your fry numbers down so you don't get overrun.

I spose im just being pathetic really arent i lol

no your not, but youve got to obey your mothers rules, does your rekord have a cabinet?

because my mum says i can have no more tanks and i want a DP tank so im putting it in the cabinet (with a light of course) and she will be non the wiser but she does know, my advice is always be honest

 

[windhopper]

no your not, but youve got to obey your mothers rules, does your rekord have a cabinet?

because my mum says i can have no more tanks and i want a DP tank so im putting it in the cabinet (with a light of course) and she will be non the wiser but she does know, my advice is always be honest

No it doesnt have the cabinent, it sits on my pullout desk/drawers. She would shoot me if she found id hidden another tank from her She also wants me to get rid of my coldwater tank aswell

 

[StatMan]

As a parent myself I can see two differnet points here.

First be totally up front with what you want to do. Back doors will only work for a very limited time frame and you will lose trust for anything you might want to do in the future.

I would suggest doing some research, find out how much the devices attached to your tank draw in electricity, with the heater you might need to take say 3 readings morning afternoon and evening (for an hour) to show how long it is on for and then calculate the average hours per day it will be on for.

Take these values and then find out the cost of electricity in your house, present the facts, my tank costs £2.24 per week to run (for example) and I am willing to clean the car fortnightly to cover it. Cleaning the car won't seem so bad when you go back in and look at your fry!

They will hopefully appreciate the effort and realise you are keen on what you are doing, as mentioned earlier explain the learning in your hobby, are you just keeping the fry or trying to breed the best ones, therefore getting a basic understanding of genetics, without knowing your age maybe you could ask a science teacher at school if they have anything that could help your understanding of breeding.

If you have access to powerpoint or the open Office equivalent put a presentation together, a good learning skill and it has won discussions for my kids when they propose it almost like a business proposal.

And I understand your problem, I could think of a couple of uses for some more tanks but I am banned, (the wife) from getting any more, though I hope to work on that one also!

Good Luck

StatMan

 

[windhopper]

As a parent myself I can see two differnet points here.

First be totally up front with what you want to do. Back doors will only work for a very limited time frame and you will lose trust for anything you might want to do in the future.

I would suggest doing some research, find out how much the devices attached to your tank draw in electricity, with the heater you might need to take say 3 readings morning afternoon and evening (for an hour) to show how long it is on for and then calculate the average hours per day it will be on for.

Take these values and then find out the cost of electricity in your house, present the facts, my tank costs £2.24 per week to run (for example) and I am willing to clean the car fortnightly to cover it. Cleaning the car won't seem so bad when you go back in and look at your fry!

They will hopefully appreciate the effort and realise you are keen on what you are doing, as mentioned earlier explain the learning in your hobby, are you just keeping the fry or trying to breed the best ones, therefore getting a basic understanding of genetics, without knowing your age maybe you could ask a science teacher at school if they have anything that could help your understanding of breeding.

If you have access to powerpoint or the open Office equivalent put a presentation together, a good learning skill and it has won discussions for my kids when they propose it almost like a business proposal.

And I understand your problem, I could think of a couple of uses for some more tanks but I am banned, (the wife) from getting any more, though I hope to work on that one also!

Good Luck

StatMan

Thanks statman that sounds like a really good plan . Im 16 and in my frist year of alevels, and im hoping to look at the genetic variants (not on this batch though as the females were already pregnant) of the guppies that i breed, and i hope to selectivley cross them and see what strains i get as i have a some nice males to use as my fathers (1 metalic blue, 1 metalic white and rainbow dotted, 1 metallic purple, and a tuxedo guppy with an interesting tail). I may ask at school as i know they have a tank that isnt in use, maybe i could hijack a corner of the animal house XD, failing that i may see if my parents will let me put a fry tank in the garage.
Jorel