Starting A Breeding Log?

[CathyGo]

My 2 larger males are currently about an inch and a half along. One of my females is also about that large and looks like she may be carrying eggs. She has a dark mass where my bettas are full of eggs. I'm not quite sure how old they are but the breeder said they could be ready in a month and I've only had them a week. They are growing real fast though. The male that I only identified as one a few days ago now has his full colors. So, I assume they are going to be able to start breeding soon.

Is there any interest in me doing a spawn log like a few of the betta people have done? It'll be my first so I'm sure to make a few blunders.

 

[BigC]

In my opinion they are still too young to be called breeders. Ideally if the tank is large enough I would divide it and seperate the sexes for a while, feed with a variety of livefoods etc. and perform frequent waterchanges. You will get eggs if they are left togrther some viable and even more will not. IMO the resulting fry will be weak stock so hence the seperation. They breed loosely similar to Aphyosemion australe (see my pinned topic at top of page). Make sure you aquarium hood is tight and secure as killifish will leap through the smallest of gaps. Block any gaps arounf pipework with filter floss or similar.
Always keep a breeding log.
Headings include
Tank size, water stats, fish condition, feeding regime, eggs collected, eggs disguarded, fry hatching date, egg storage times for annuals (collected/expected) fry feeding, waterchanges %, fry sexing out times etc. etc.
Proper water conditions, varied diet and regular water changes is a good basis for starting out with killies.
Regards
BigC

 

[CathyGo]

Thanks BigC! I've been looking at cheap ways to build dividers and found one I like. I'm actually going to do four dividers so I can seperate them by sex and size. My big males are almost twice the size of the small ones and they already shove aside the others to get to the food first. The small females I haven't seen getting to a lot of the food. I'm getting a grindal worm and microworm culture and I found a local source for blackworms which I've heard you can culture too. I figured it would still be a few weeks before their ready. Guess I better plan on more like a month or two. I'm willing to wait for stronger fish and babies though.

 

[BigC]

Yeah, their are still quite young and a couple of months will make all the difference. Good to see you are sourceing livefood cultures.
I have never kept the blackworms as I use midge larvae from garden butts. I have some printouts/data sheets on culturing micro, grindal and whiteworms that I send out with my cultures so if you would like these then I'll send them via PM.
Regards
BigC
PS dont forget the tight fitting lids on your tanks!!

 

[CathyGo]

I have never kept the blackworms as I use midge larvae from garden butts. I have some printouts/data sheets on culturing micro, grindal and whiteworms that I send out with my cultures so if you would like these then I'll send them via PM.
Regards
BigC
PS dont forget the tight fitting lids on your tanks!!

I would love to have more info on culturing live food. I went around and stuffed the gaps around the filter yesterday with filter floss. I bought a bunch when it was only $1.50 a pack and carbon and zeolite were also on sale. I've gotten into the habit of counting my killies when I feed to make sure everybody is still in the tank and eating.

 

[BigC]

I would love to have more info on culturing live food.

Email sent.

 

[CathyGo]

I have mops and java moss in with my killies to give them shelter and defuse the light a little and while transferring the mops to my second ten gallon I found an egg! So I went through all the mops and found 9 eggs. Two I popped acidentally with too much pressure with the tweezers but I have 7 in a small gladware thing. Have nothing to feed the fry so they will be fed to the adult fish when they hatch. I will also finish dividing the tank tonight so they don't produce any more till I'm ready with food for the fry. Went out to a new fish store tonight and they had nice clean blackworms so I got a portion. For $2 they gave me enough to last a few weeks.

 

[CathyGo]

I had to put them in another tank while I divided theirs and I put their mops in with them and ended up with 11 more eggs about a week ago. I put them in the small cup and most of them fungused but I have 4 that look like they're going to hatch anytime now and another 3 that are eyed up. I also hatched out some baby brine shrimp so it looks like I'll be raising the killi fry. Found a local store that offers microworm cultures so I will be getting those today.

 

[BigC]

You will always get eggs from young fish such as yours, but not in great quantities, a lot will develop fungus or not be viable but having said that a few will eye up and hatch. You have the correct food available. feeding at least 4 times per day little and often. Cleanliness is a big factor to consider, so any uneaten food straight out (meat baster or syringe useful tools) Water changes bi-daily in fry tubs/tanks will give you a faster growth rate.
Keep me posted about your results.
BigC