Early Christmas gift!

[Hellfishguy]

I still have a male & 3 females. They've been spawning like clockwork, but I haven't had time to raise up some more fry. I'll make an effort over the holidays.

BTW I got a close to 50/50 sex ratio in super soft NYC tap water pH 6.

 

[gerald]

Great news! I'd be very happy to get a batch of newly hatched fry, raise them, and distribute any extras to Dicrossophiles on this forum. If siphoned out as wigglers and shipped in breathing bags before they start feeding, i'd bet they'd do OK. I can send you a small thick-wall styro and B-bags if you want to try it. Also, what temp range did you raise them at (for 50/50 ratio)?

 

[Hellfishguy]

Newly free-swimming D. maculatus fry are TINY - only slightly bigger than baby gouramis. I wouldn't risk shipping them (or wrigglers) until they're at least 3/4 of an inch, & as they grow slowly that could take a while.

In my first successful breeding attempt I siphoned the wrigglers from an anubias leaf into a rearing tank. I managed to raise 40+ fry. In later spawnings I transferred newly free-swimming fry (I couldn't find the wrigglers; the female had them very well hidden), but none survived longer than a week. It's possible the temperature was too high; in the summer my tanks are in the low to mid 80s. For the 50/50 ratio the temp was 78.

 

[gerald]

Yeah my tanks get hot in summer too; I have a 1902-vintage house with no basement in central NC. No obligate coolwater species for me, unless I can pass them on to friends for the summer. Newborn fry can actually do quite well if properly shipped; it's pretty common in aquaculture industry. Breathing bags work well for fry because (a) no sloshing, and (b) bag folds and corners can be minimized. Anyway, if you get more eggs/fry than you can deal with and they're gonna end up as food, we might could try it (in suitable weather). For leaf-spawners like Dicrossus, shipping eggs might work ... just an idea.

 

[gerald]

Grandson of Hellfishguy's pair, via Don Kinyon

 

[Hellfishguy]

Wow! I'm so proud!